Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 214
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 214 in Baitud-Du‘ a ’ [the Abode of Prayer]. Both of these times are conducive to the acceptance of prayers. S al a t should not be a burden. Supplicate with simplicity before Allah the Exalted in your own language. Difference between S al a t and Supplication The Promised Messiah as said: Once, I was thinking about the difference between S al a t [the obligatory Prayer] and supplication. We find in a noble hadith that, 2 ِ ِبَادَۃ ٰع ْ ۃ ُ مُـخ ُّ ال َو ٰ ل َ. اَلص ِ ِبَادَۃ ٰع ْ ۃ ُ مُـخ ُّ ال َو ٰ ل َ. اَلص 1 ُ ِی َ الدُّعَآء ُھ ُ ۃ َو ٰ ل َ اَلص ُ ِی َ الدُّعَآء ُھ ُ ۃ َو ٰ ل َ اَلص ; meaning, S al a t is indeed supplication and S al a t is the essence of worship. When a person supplicates only for worldly affairs, it cannot be called S al a t. However, when a person wants to meet God; keeps His pleas- ure in mind; and stands in the presence of Allah the Exalted with respect, humility, modesty, and complete self-effacement seeking His pleasure; then he is observing S al a t. The true essence of prayer is that which increases com- munion between God and man. Prayer is indeed the means of attaining nearness to Allah the Exalted and safeguards man from unreasonable things. The essential thing is that a person should attain Divine pleasure, after which it is permissible for a person to pray for their worldly needs as well. This has been allowed as sometimes worldly problems can become an obstacle 1. In Mufrad a tul-Qur’ ā n, lil-Fur a h i , Z i r Laf z a s - S al a h, p. 212, published by Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, the words are ُ ء َا دُّع َ ال ي ِ ُھ َةَ َ َاَل ص ال ُ ء َا دُّع َ ال ي ِ ُھ َةَ َ َاَل ص ال [Publisher] 2. In Tafs i r al-Kab i r, by Imam Fakhr-ud-D i n al-Razi, Tafs i r S u rah al-Kauthar, verse 2, vol. 32, p. 121, published by D a rul-Kutub al-‘Ilm i yyah, Beirut, the words are ،ِ َة َ د َا ب ِ ٰع ْ ل ا ُّ خ ُ م ُ ََة َاَل ص َال و ،ِ َة َ د َا ب ِ ٰع ْ ل ا ُّ خ ُ م ُ ََة َاَل ص َال و [Publisher]