Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 251
! ! 251 everyone regards them with honor, respect and call s them ‘ Haj j i Sahib ’ [a person who has performed Hajj] o nly because t he y undertook the journey in the way of God and suffered hardships for the sake of God. Thus, undertaking a journey in the way of God is a blessing in itself. Every individual who with pure intentions , travels to the place where God has manifested His glory , and does so with pure intentions, arrives back inheriting His special blessings. God Almighty sees the sacrifices : ؕ ◌ ِﻣ ۡﻨ ُﻜ ۡﻢ ا ﻟ َّﺘ ۡﻘ ٰﻮ ی َّﻳ َﻨ ﺎ 3ُُ ٰﻟ ِﻜ ۡﻦ َو ِد َﻣ ﺂ ُؤ َﻫ ﺎ َﻻ َو ُﻟ ُﺤ ۡﻮ ُﻣ َﻬ ﺎ ا َّٰﷲ َّﻳ َﻨ ﺎ َل َﻟ ۡﻦ “ Their flesh reaches not Allah , nor does their blood , but it is your righteousness that reaches Him. ” (Holy Qur’ān , Ch. 22 : V. 38) Which means, t he meat or the blood of the sacrifice does not reach Him, for He desires purpose and intention. Thus, every action an individual undertakes which is righteous or carries righteous intentions in which he fears God and is inclined towards God, such an action can never be wasted. If a person spends the whole night in prayer , how does that benefit his neighbor? How would the neighbor know that this person spends his whole night in prayer? W e have observed that from among some Hindus , there are individuals who stay awake all night; and some even abandon food and survive only on leafy vegetables , yet despite their actions, people label them k afir [ n on - believer]. Remember , faith is that which brings one closer to God. If you sit here with noble intention s and faith, even the trip to Qadian will be blessed. Once, t he Holy Prophet Muhammad sa was seated in a gathering where the space was tight. Three men arrived. One searched for a place and found a spot situated near the Holy Prophet sa. The second one looked for a space and sat in the middle of the aisle. The third one saw the crowd, did not look for a place , and left. God Almighty informed regarding this, ‘T he first man who searched for a spot and sat down will be greatly reward ed due to his action. The one who sat in the middle will also have a reward. However , I will not reward the man who left withou t looking for a space. ’ Thus, purpose and intention are what allow a person to succeed in e very deed and objective.