Understanding Salat — Page 102
Understanding S al A t 102 brings people to Allah, our example could make people turn away from Allah. If someone graduates from Harvard, he feels responsible for being successful and living up to the name of the institution he attributes himself to. If he suc- ceeds in school only to end up failing in life, then every mention of Harvard would make him feel ashamed rather than proud. His academic accomplishments could be used to mock him, and Harvard, rather than to praise him. When we say that Allah is ‘my’ Lord, we attribute ourselves to Him. A servant of Allah is an ambassador of Allah; it carries great responsibility. If we then cheat someone out of their money, he would not just mock us, in his anger, he could also mock the God we claim to attribute ourselves to. Whenever we see a weakness in ourselves, we should worry as to how it reflects on Allah. Expressing this sentiment, Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I ra quoted a prayer found in poetry. I fear that an enemy, seeing my needy and desperate condition, may mock You, saying, “This is a servant of the God who they claim is Benevolent!” ( H ay ā t-e- N u r, pp. 37) The words ‘Holy is my Lord’ also carry hope. While we are burdened with the responsibility of creating within us the attributes of Allah, we also seek help from the Lord who cre- ated us from nothing. By saying ‘holy is my Lord’ ( ى ِّ سُبْحَان َ رَب ),