Conditions of Bai'at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi — Page 66
C ONDITIONS OF B AI ‘ AT AND R ESPONSIBILITIES OF AN A H MAD I 66 Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Abb a s ra relates that the Holy Prophet sa said, ‘Whoever clings to istighf a r (i. e. , performs it regularly and often) Allah the Almighty grants him a way out of all difficul- ties, and grants him ease under all difficulties, and grants him provisions from ways that he could not imagine. ’ ( Sunano Ab i D a w u d , Kit a b-ul-Witri, B a bun fil-Istighf a r) The Promised Messiah as says: … istighf a r , which brings strength upon the roots of faith, is mentioned in two ways in the Holy Qur’an. One: to strengthen the love of Allah in one’s heart, and through the relationship with Allah, stop the emergence of sins that arise in privacy—to be engrossed completely in God and to thereby seek His help. This is the istighf a r of the elect, who consider it a ruin to be separated from Allah even for the briefest of the moments. They recite istighf a r so that the mercy of Allah may keep sustaining them. The second type of istighf a r is to emerge from the bondage of sin and to flee towards Allah; to try that, as a tree is firmly planted in the soil, your hearts should become completely devoted to Allah. Your hearts should thereby be captivated by the love of Allah and, by attaining pure nourishment, be saved from the dryness and decline of sin. These two types of istighf a r have been called as such because ghafara , from which [the word] istighf a r has been derived, means ‘covering’ or ‘suppressing. ’ In other words, istighf a r means that Allah may suppress the sins of someone who has immersed himself in His love and may not permit the roots of humanness from being exposed. Rather, He should grant him a place under the mantle of His Holiness;