Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 305
305 goodness of the Holy Prophet and pray to God that He may raise his dignity still higher and crown his mission with still greater success. Then will you taste the sweet fruit of the acceptance of prayer, for there are only there ways to it; firstly, that indicated in the verse M ) f&w. ^ j*$ ^ ^ J ^^ ^ & I J* "Say if you love God, then follow me and God will love you"; se- condly, that spoken of in the verse )4* 3 *^ J * ) ^ I ^. ^) V. ) ^ m^j* ) " ye faithful ! pray for peace and the blessings of God on the Holy Prophet;" and thridly, the grace of God. " "Instances of this abound in all holy books and the miracu- lous owes its existence to a great extent to the acceptance of prayer. What was it that happened in the sandy deserts of Arabia? The dead were raised to life in thousands, the blind were made to see, the dumb were made to utter words of heaven- ly wisdom, and the depraved of long generations were clothed in Divine morals. The whole peninsula underwent in a few days a transformation which no eye had seen and no ear heard. Ah 1 these were the midnight prayers and deep sighs of a perfect one. which shows tbese wonderful works whose execution by a help- less unlearned orphan seemed an impossibility. Pour down Thy favour?, blessings and peace upon him, God, in as great an abundance as was his grief and anxiety for the welfare. of Thy people, and cause the lights of Thine mercy to descend Upon him to all eternity !" ' k It must also be borne in mind that there are four reasons for which Almighty God has rendered prayer obligatory upon the Muslims. Firstly, that by turning to God at all times and in all states, we may. acquire firmness iu onr faith in the Divine unity, for our entreaties to God are equivalent to our, confession that He is the soul Giver of all gifts. Secondly, that on the ac- ceptance of our prayer and the attainment of the object prayed