The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 218
218. Essence of Islam II. Why even the Prayers of Perfect People are not. Always Accepted. Some ignorant people ask why some of the prayers of those who are perfect are not accepted. The answer is that God Almighty has kept under His own control the manifestation of their beauty. When this great manifestation takes place and their beauty shines forth in respect of any matter, then the particles of the universe are drawn to it and the impossible happens which, in other words, is called a miracle. But this spiritual manifestation does not appear always and at every place and depends upon external elements. This is because, as God is SelfSufficient, He has invested His elect also with the quality of self-sufficiency. Like God, they are also self-sufficient and till someone puts in motion their mercy with full humility and sincerity that quality of theirs is not activated. These people possess the quality of mercy to a greater degree than the rest of the world, but it is a matter of wonder that it is not within their own power to activate it. They often wish that it should be manifested, but it is not manifested without the Divine will. They have no regard for those who deny them and for the hypocrites and for the weak in faith and consider them like dead insects. Their self-sufficiency is of the type which is possessed by a beloved person who conceals his face behind a beautiful veil. One aspect of this selfsufficiency is that when a wicked person thinks ill of them, they often foster this ill-thinking by disregarding them completely, for they take on Divine qualities, as. God Almighty has said: