The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 204
204. Essence of Islam II exaltation is that the supplicant should be one of the elect of God Almighty and the lights and signs of his being one of the elect should appear in him in all directions. . God Almighty does not accept the prayer, as a true acceptance, of the disobedient ones. He accepts the prayer only of those who in His estimation are righteous and obedient to Him. The distinction between the two acceptances is that in the acceptance of the prayer which is as a trial, there is no condition that the supplicant should be righteous and a friend of God, nor is it necessary that on accepting such prayer God Almighty should intimate the acceptance through special communication. Nor are those prayers of such a high degree the acceptance of which is a wonderful and extraordinary event. Those prayers that are accepted by way of exaltation have the following signs:. First, that the supplicant is righteous and truthful and a perfect individual. . Second, that he is informed of the acceptance of his prayer through the word of God. . Third, most of these prayers are of a high degree and relate to great affairs, the acceptance of which shows that it is not the work or planning of man, but is a special sample of Divine power which is manifested in the case of select servants. . Fourth, the prayers by way of trial are accepted rarely, but the prayers by way of exaltation are accepted in large numbers. Very often a supplicant by way of exaltation is involved in such difficulties that if any other person had been involved in them, he would have seen no way out of