Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 139
Lecture Ludhiana 139 The Door of Dialogue and Converse [with God] is Open for the Ummah But together with this, it should also be borne in mind that the door of [Divine] converse and revelation remains open for this Ummah. This door is an ever-present and lasting testimony to the truth of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. It was to this end that God Almighty taught us this prayer in S u rah al-F a ti h ah : 1 َطاَرِص َنْيِذَّلا َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع اَنِدْهِا َطاَرِّصلا َمْيِقَتْسُمْلا۰۰ َطاَرِص َنْيِذَّلا َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع اَنِدْهِا َطاَرِّصلا َمْيِقَتْسُمْلا۰۰ The prayer taught to be shown the path of َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع [ an‘amta ‘alaihim— on whom You have bestowed Your blessings] suggests seeking the excellences of the Prophets, peace be upon them all. It is obvious that the excellence vouchsafed to the Prophets, on whom be peace, was indeed the cognisance of God, and they received this blessing through direct communion and converse with Him. This is what you should also remain desirous of. However, if you think that though the Holy Quran directs us to offer this prayer, we are unlikely to achieve anything from it, or that none of the Muslims would be privileged to attain this spiritual station and the door to the acceptance of this prayer has been shut to us till the Day of Judgment, then would this not amount to insulting Islam and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or would it be its beauty? I honestly affirm that the person who holds this belief defames Islam and has failed to understand the very essence of the Shariah. Islam’s objectives set forth that mere verbal pro- nouncement of the belief in the Oneness of God is not enough; 1. Guide us in the right path—The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings ( S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:6–7). [Publisher]