Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 433
4 May 1908 433 used to pray to God Almighty for his protection like the other Prophets [did]. This belief of those people that Jesus as did not engage in istighfar is false. This is their stupidity and ignorance, and they level a false allegation upon Jesus as. A study of the New Testament reveals that he repeatedly confessed to his weak- nesses and even performed istighfar. What was meant by his cry یْلی لما سبقتانی ا یلی ا — Eli, Eli lama sabachthani ? 1 Why did he not cry out ی ب ی ِب ا ی ب ی ِب ا Abi, Abi [‘My Father, my Father!’]? In Hebrew, God is called Ail. The very meaning of this [verse] is ‘Have mercy and help me and do not leave me abandoned like this (in other words, Protect me). ’ In reality, the difficulty is that the true meaning and pur- pose of istighfar is lost in India due to the burden of a difference in language. These prayers are considered the magic words, whether it be Salat [obligatory Prayers], istighfar , or repent- ance. If you advise someone to do istighfar , they reply that they recite istighfar one or two hundred times on a rosary, but if you ask them its meaning, they know absolutely nothing. Istighfar is an Arabic term that means seeking forgiveness, that O my God, protect me from the consequences of previous sins—as sin is a poison that has an inevitable effect—and grant me such protection in the future that I will not commit sin. Mere verbal repetition of the words will not serve the purpose. Taubah Taubah means to turn away from sin through repentance and remorse. There is no harm in it. On the contrary, it is written 1. Meaning, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’— see Matthew, 27:46. [Publisher]