Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 248
248 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 9 July 1900 Prayer Is the Best Form of Sympathy The Promised Messiah as states: “Remember that sympathy is of three kinds: firstly, physical; secondly, financial; and the third form of sympathy is prayer, in which one is neither required to spend their wealth, nor undertake a physical effort. The grace of this third form of sympathy is extremely vast. An individual can only show sympathy physically if they possess the bodily strength to do so. For ex- ample, if there were a poor man who lay wounded in a helpless state, writhing in pain, how would a person who has no power and strength themselves be able to carry the man and help him? In the same manner, if someone were destitute , im- poverished, poor and empty-handed, and they were suffering from hunger, until one possesses wealth, how can one show sympathy to such an individual? Howev- er, sympathy through prayer is a form of sympathy for which one neither requires wealth, nor physical strength. So long as an individual is a human being, they can pray for others and benefit them. The grace of this sympathy is immensely vast and if an individual does not show this form of sympathy, then know that such a one is a very unfortunate human being. I have stated that in showing sympathy financially and physically, an individual is tied by constraints, but there are no constraints in showing sympathy with prayer. It is my belief that in prayer one should not exclude one’s enemies either. The wider the scope of a person’s prayer, the more beneficial this will be for the supplicant themselves. The more miserly a person is in their prayer, the more they will be distanced from Allah Almighty. In actuality, an individual who limits the favour of God—which is tremendously extensive—is also weak in faith. The Recipe for a Long Life Another magnificent benefit in praying for others is that one’s own life is pro- longed. Allah the Exalted has promised in the Holy Quran that those who ben- efit others and prove to be beneficial beings themselves, their lives are prolonged. As such, Allah the Exalted states: 1 ِ الْاَرْض يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ فَيَمْكُثُ فِي مَا وَ اَمَّا As to that which benefits men, it stays on the earth. 1 ar-Ra’d, 13:18