Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 69
29 December 1904 69 is indeed the thing about which Muslims should be proud. 1 Other nations do not value prayer at all, nor can they show pride and delight in this pure method. Instead, this pride and delight belong only to Islam; other religions are entirely bereft of it. For example, Christians think that a human being (whom they come to accept as God) has sacrificed himself for them. They have come to rely on him and think he has taken [the burden of ] all their sins upon himself. Then what remnant is left to motivate him to pray? It is impossible for him to pray with a humbled heart. Supplication is done by one who realizes his responsibility and accountability, but why would a person who imagines himself unaccountable pray? He has already real- ized that another person has taken on the burden of sins, and thus he bears no responsibility and has nothing to answer for, so how will there be any prompting in his heart [to pray]? He has put his trust in something else, and thus he has gone far away from the method of supplication. 2 Thus, prayer is utterly useless in the view of a Christian, and he cannot practice it. His heart cannot have the passion and enthusiasm that creates a zeal for prayer. Similarly, an A ryah who is convinced of transmigration and thinks that repentance cannot be accepted and his sins cannot be forgiven in any way, why would he pray? He believes with certainty that it is necessary to go through the cycle of rebirths and become an ox, horse, donkey, cow, dog, pig, etc. He will not come to this path at all. It is clear from this that prayer is the distinct glory of Islam and Muslims take great pride in it. 1. From al-Badr: ‘The fact is that people are unaware of the reality of prayer, and the Muslims have also stumbled with regard to it by abandoning such a thing as prayer’ ( Al-Badr, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 10, dated 1 January 1905). 2. From al-Badr: ‘So, when will he who trusts any other path come to the path of prayer?’ ( Al-Badr, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 2, dated 10 January 1905)