Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 92
92 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad possibility of the acceptance of their prayer becomes. How true it is: �پ�ی�دا اتس دنارا ہک دنلب تسہ انجتب It is clear from the voice that your royal court sits at a lofty station. As I have said, although God is the Knower of the unseen, the law of nature stipu- lates that nothing can be gained without righteousness. Sometimes a foolish per- son will renounce their faith due to the non-acceptance of their prayer. The True Nature of Voluntary Deeds There is a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari that through voluntary acts of worship a believer grows closer to Allah. There are obligations and then there are deeds done voluntarily. In other words, there are those injunctions that are necessary rights that must be fulfilled, and then there are voluntary deeds which are above and beyond one’s obligations. These voluntary deeds are prescribed to comple- ment a potential deficiency in one’s obligations. People believe that voluntary worship is limited to the formal Prayer alone. This is not the case. Every deed can be supported by an act of voluntary service. For example, a person who pays the zakat should give charity that is above and beyond this basic requirement. People fast during the month of Ramadan, but one should fast at other times during the year as well. If someone must repay a debt, they ought to return an amount that is somewhat greater, because the one who gave them the loan did them a kindness. Voluntary deeds serve to complete a person’s obligations. When a person per- forms voluntary deeds, they do so with humility and fear in the hope that this will compensate for the lapses in their obligations. This is the secret that underpins the very deep relationship between voluntary acts of worship and nearness to God. Essentially, people who engage in voluntary service develop within them- selves a state of humility, meekness, and detachment from the world. Fasts are observed on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth day of the lunar month and also there are the six fasts which are observed in the month of Shawwal. All of these are voluntary acts of worship to attain the nearness of God. So remember that perfect love of God can only be developed through voluntary acts of worship. As a result of this, God states: ‘I become the sight of My believing servants who are close to Me’, that is to say that the sight of such people is directed p. 80