Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 27
26 December 1906 27 take steps to act upon it. I do not know who from the people that are present in this gathering will be here in the future and who will not. This is the reason that I took the trouble and deemed it necessary to say something at this time so that I may discharge my duty. Thus, the gist of this address about the Kalimah is verily that Almighty Allah alone is your Ma‘b u d [One worthy of worship], Ma h b u b [Beloved], and Maqs u d [Objective], and this status will only be achieved when you are cleansed of every kind of inner vice, and purge those that are within your hearts. Essence of S al a t Subsequent to that—hearken! The second commandment is S al a t [the obligatory Prayer] whose strict observance is repeat- edly mentioned in the Holy Quran. Also keep in mind that that very Holy Quran has cursed those observers of Prayer who are oblivious to its true essence and are miserly towards their brethren. The essential point is that Prayer is a plea in the court of Almighty Allah, seeking His protection from all kinds of vice and evil deeds. Man is in a state of agony and separation from the Beloved, and desires to attain the nearness of God Almighty in order to gain satisfaction and tranquillity which is the fruit of salvation. However, this cannot be attained through some cleverness or virtue of one’s own. He cannot go until God calls him, and he cannot purify himself until God purifies him. 1 Many people can testify that on countless occasions pas- sionate enthusiasm rises in their hearts to rid themselves of a 1. From Badr: Various kinds of collars, and diverse forms of chains are placed around a man’s neck and he very much desires to get rid of them, but they cannot be gotten rid off. ( Badr, vol. 6, nos. 1, 2, p. 12, dated 10 January 1907)