Blessings of Prayer — Page ix
Foreword Barakātud Duʻā, or The Blessings of Prayer, written by the Promised Messiahas in 1893, is a refutation of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan's view that there is no such thing as the acceptance of prayer, and that prayer is no more than a form of worship. The Promised Messiahas rejects this view and proclaims that Allah hears and accepts the supplication of believers which are offered in humility and sincerity, and that the acceptance of prayer sets in motion its own chain of causes which culminates in the fulfilment of the objective prayed for. In the second part of the book, which deals with Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan's other book Uşūlut Tafsir (On the Principles of Commentary of the Holy Quran), the Promised Messiahas presents his criteria or guiding principles for the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran. The initial translation of this book was done by the late Dr. Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry. It has now been thoroughly revised at Wakalat Tasnif. I am grateful to Sahibzada Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib, Wakīlul Ishāʻat, Tahrīk-e-Jadīd, Rabwah and Maulana Muniruddin Shams Sahib, Additional Wakīlut Taşnīf, London, for their valuable suggestions and their help in bringing out this book. I am also indebted to the following who assisted me in the various stages of this project: Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad Ayaz, Dr. Muhammad Shafiq Sehgal, Raja Ata-ul-Mannan, Syed Tanwir Mujtaba, Tahir Mahmood Mubashar. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Wakīlut Taşnīf, Tahrik-e-Jadīd Rabwah December 24th 2006 ix