Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 401
2 May 1908 401 offer sacrifices? However, God cursed them and declared them to be disbelievers. In fact, He has even cursed the Prayers of some worshippers where He says: 1 ٌلْيَو َنْيِّلَصُمْلِّل۠ ۰۰َنْيِذَّلا ْمُه ْنَع ْمِهِتاَلَص َنْوُهاَس۰۰ ٌلْيَو َنْيِّلَصُمْلِّل۠ ۰۰َنْيِذَّلا ْمُه ْنَع ْمِهِتاَلَص َنْوُهاَس۰۰ Meaning that, accursed are those worshippers who are una- ware of the true essence of Salat [obligatory Prayers]. Prayer, in essence, is throwing oneself into the fire, and burning down one’s self and everything that exists besides God by throwing oneself into the fire of the love and fear of God. This is the state in which God alone becomes man’s focus, and man advances to the stage in which he speaks only when God desires him to speak and he moves only when God desires him to move. All his moving and all his stopping, all his activity and all his inac- tivity become aligned to the will of God—his own ego being eliminated altogether. All these things can happen but only if God bestows the ability upon someone. Save until God opens the doors of some- one’s heart can anyone do anything. It is only God who can open the doors of hearts: ٖ إِذَا ۤ أَرَاد َ الل ُّٰبِعَبْد ٍ خَیْـرًا أَقَام َ وَاعِظًا فِی ْ قَلْبِہ. 2 When aus- picious times arrive for a man and God desires his reformation and improvement, God raises an admonisher within his own heart. And until an admonisher comes into being within the person himself, admonishment from the outside has no impact on him at all. However, that is God’s work, not mine. 1. Woe to those who pray, but are unmindful of their Prayer ( S u rah al-M a‘u n, 107:5–6). [Publisher] 2. Although the essence is the same, this hadith is recorded in different books with slight variations: ٖ إِذَا أَرَاد َ الل ُّٰ بِعَبْد ٍ خَیْرًا جَعَل َ لَہ ٗ وَاعِظًا فِی ْ قَلْبِہ ٖ إِذَا أَرَاد َ الل ُّٰ بِعَبْد ٍ خَیْرًا جَعَل َ لَہ ٗ وَاعِظًا فِی ْ قَلْبِہ T a rikh Dimashq al-Kab i r, by Ha fi z Abu Q a sim ibn ‘As a kir, Juzw 55, p. 165, Muhammad bin S i r i n Ab u Bakr bin Ab i ‘Amrah. [Publisher]