Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 125
Malfuzat - Volume I Note: The Promised Messiah (as) had delivered his address to this point, when it was time for Asr prayer. Hence, the Promised Messiah (as) and all of the attendees offered the Asr prayer with immense sincerity and true passion. Afterwards, they all began to listen attentively to this Man of God, and the Promised Messiah (as) resumed his address. From the Editor 125 I brought my discussion to a hold on the point that in teaching us the prayer (Guide us in the right path) Allah the Exalted wishes for man to keep three aspects in consideration: firstly, his own moral state; secondly the state of his doctrines; thirdly, the state of his actions. In summary, a person must first strive to reform his own state through the use of their God-given faculties and then supplicate before God. This does not mean, however, that a person need not pray once they have reformed themselves. Even in such a case, one should continue to pray. The words (Thee alone do we worship) appear together along with (Thee alone do we implore for help), however, the former clause takes precedence even in the context of time. For by virtue of divine graciousness (rahmaniyyat), God made us human, and blessed us with a vast array of faculties and bounties, without any prayer or request on our part. When all this was conferred upon us we had not prayed, this was merely on account of God's grace-that is why these words are first in sequence. The Graciousness and Mercy of God One ought to remember that there are two forms of beneficence. Firstly, there is graciousness (rahmaniyyat); and secondly, mercy (rahimiyyat). The divine grace of rahmaniyyat is that which was in practice even before our beings came into existence. For example, before anything else, through the insight of His eternal knowledge, Allah Almighty created a heaven and earth and other worldly things and heavenly bodies, which would all fulfil some purpose in our lives—and so they do. It is humans that ultimately benefit from all of these creations. When goats and sheep, and other animals are themselves beneficial to man, what benefit do they derive in the real sense? Among those things that are physical, just observe how humans consume many exquisite and excellent forms of food. High-quality meat is reserved for humans whereas scraps and bones are thrown to dogs. At a physical level, the pleasures and comforts that humans enjoy are experienced by animals as well, but they are the primary privilege of mankind. Animals do not