Understanding Salat — Page 93
Ruku’ 93 It is a pity, however, that many of those who pay heed and wish to gain the nearness of God Almighty seek immediate results. They know not the degree of patience and ambition that is required in mat- ters of religion. It is surprising that they wait years on end for the acquisition of worldly objectives, for which they strive day in and day out, and for which they exert their best efforts. A farmer plants a seed and waits for quite some time, yet when it comes to matters of faith, they would like to be transformed into saints in a heartbeat. On the very first day, they expect to reach the throne of Allah, without under- going any toil and hardship on this path, and with- out being subjected to trial. Remember well, this is not the law and practice of God Almighty. Even in religious matters, every form of progress is gradual ( R uhā n ī Khaz ā in , vol. 20, pp. 484, Advent of the Promised Messiah, pp. 38-39). The only result that can come of this impatience is despair. Many of us fall into despair in improving our S al ā t , and there are two causes of it. One is that when we set such unreasonable expectations for what we expect to achieve, we will feel disappointed when we fail to achieve it. Although our dream of com- pletely changing ourselves within a week is a delusion, it feels very real. If it feels real to us, then when we fail to achieve