The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 271
270 Α'ΙΝΑ-Ε-ΚΑMĀLĀT-E-ISLAM-DAFI UL-WASĀWIS Divine revelation when he falls upon the threshold of God in a state of great distress; when, cutting himself away from everything, he gives a fresh and new stimulus to the spiritual aptitude and sincerity with which every nerve and fibre of his body is saturated, and implores the help of God Almighty with a heart full of pain. Then, God Almighty gives him a hearing, responds to him with love and affection, sends His mercy on him, and generally accepts all his prayers. The ideas of some people of atheistic tendencies, who, under the influence of European philosophy and rationalism, deny the possi- bility of acceptance of prayer and allege that there is no such thing as acceptance of prayer and that praying or not praying for attaining one's desires is just the same, are totally invalid and unfounded. It should be borne in mind that from among the favours that God Almighty has bestowed upon a true believer, one great favour is that his prayers are accepted. No matter how difficult a matter may be, most of his entreaties are graced with acceptance. This, indeed, is the true essence of Wilāyat [Sainthood]; namely, the attainment of an honourable sta- tus and nearness to God, which renders a true believer's prayer more acceptable than the prayers of other people. A Walī is a friend of God, and the sign of genuine friendship is indeed that most of his requests are accepted. Therefore, anyone who says that the acceptance of prayer means nothing more than his voice reaching God Almighty, and God Almighty becoming aware that he has prayed, such an individual is a jester, utterly ignorant of the Book of God Almighty and His reli- gion. If the mere hearing of prayer equated to its acceptance, and there was nothing more to it, then everybody could say that their prayers were not rejected; for, if the acceptance of prayer merely refers to its knowledge, then is there anyone whose prayer remains unknown to God Almighty? Obviously, Allah, glorified be His eminence, being the Omniscient, All-Knowing and All-Hearing, hears everything, and the voice of everyone reaches Him. What, then, is the difference between the prayer of a believer and a disbeliever insofar as the mere hearing is