Source / Courtesy: A book, Habits of Highly Effective Muslims, published in 2000 by Khuddam ul Ahmadiyya, USA.

The greatest weapon of a Muslim should be and is prayer.  It has been emphasized by Khalifatul Muslimeen Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad time and again.  Because of the enormity of this subject the first chapter of this booklet will focus on this most important tool for success.

Prayers have a much wider role in our lives than most people realize.  In the present times because of the pervasive influence of materialism even religious people do not fully appreciate the phenomenal influence of prayers. The Holy Quran says that God had raised the Prophet Muhammad in acceptance of the prayers of Abraham several hundred years ago (2:130).  The Quran also claims that present day progress of the Western society is a result of acceptance of a prayer of the prophet Jesus Christ (5:116).  These claims do not imply that other factors are not or were not involved in achieving these objectives.  Human life is woven of two threads.  The first thread is that of human effort and ordinary laws of nature and the second is of divine Providence and the spiritual laws; both threads coexist simultaneously.  So the above two claims of the Quran can be and are true in presence of other observations.

However, not all prayers are answered.  Allah has said in the Holy Quran that He will accept prayers if He so wills and would reject if He so wills.  In time of distress when we call upon Allah, the Holy Quran informs us about the result of such prayers, “He will remove that which you call on Him to remove, if He pleases” (6:42).  This verse clearly states that all prayers are not to be heard and it is the discretion of Allah as to which prayers He will respond.  However, His will or discretion is not exercised in a random fashion but is guided by very clear principles which He has outlined in the Holy Quran.  Lack of acceptance of some prayers should not be used as an argument against the truth of the school of prayers.  Like, in all other human affairs, if acceptance of some prayers is established on the basis of clear observations then lack of similar results by some others will only point to the failure of the methods of the latter group, and not absence of the phenomenon.  The Promised Messiah has explained this phenomenon in his book Barkat Ud Dua.  He has equated the phenomenon and effectiveness of prayers to efficacy of medical remedies.  He says that medicines have not obviously shut the door of death, we see thousands die every day.  Yet as the effectiveness of medicines has been established by observations both scientific and crude in several different cases so we firmly believe in their use and do not label them as useless or futile.  The same standard needs to be applied to Dua and prayer as their effectiveness is demonstrated by thousands of the prophets and the pious people of Allah.  Indeed the Holy Quran is replete with the examples of the prayers that were honored by Allah.  The Promised Messiah says that it is easy for Allah to accept whatever prayers He chooses to as He is the ultimate cause of all causes.  If Allah has created this universe then at the time of creation of this universe in line with His infinite being He would also have left infinite possibilities to influence the universe when He chooses to control affairs in a certain way.

In this article I intend to present incidents and observations to establish the truth of prayer and lay down a few principles that increase the likelihood of acceptance of prayers.

For the purpose of achieving success in this regard, like achieving anything else in life one has to follow certain rules and regulations.  One of the rules as outlined in the portion of the verse written in the beginning of the chapter is, “So they should lend an ear to Me”.  This rule implies that relationship with God is a two way street.  It cannot be that a man should completely ignore the Lord and when the man should need the Lord, He should come running for the man.

To illustrate this concept let me borrow an allegory from the sermons of Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad.  God is an infinite being and man is almost nonexistent in proportion to Him.  However, for the sake of illustration to consider the relationship of man to God Almighty because of lack of a better scenario, one can take the example of a servant and his human master.  In human affairs of a servant and his master we see that it never happens that the servant should ignore the master in all his orders and when the servant should need the master the master should rush to take care of the servant.  On the contrary, what we see many a times is that even if a servant had been loyal and deeply service minded towards his master all his life and then did not behave properly on one occasion, the master may be disillusioned by that one shortcoming.  When such is the state of human affairs then in case of Almighty Allah how can we disregard our part of the bargain.  However, Allah is most Gracious and Merciful and He does not ask for total commitment before He should start to listen to our prayers.  In whatever sphere of life man inclines himself to Allah, He begins to respond to him in that area.  Many a believers keep asking themselves the question as to whether Allah belongs to them in a certain sphere or not.  That is a more difficult question to answer as many of the variables for directly answering this question are unknown to man.  There is a simpler question to ask in this regards, “Do I belong to Allah in that particular sphere?”  If the answer to this question is an unequivocal yes! then Allah automatically belongs to him at least in that sphere.  This is because Allah is the best among those who keep their promises.  It is beyond His majesty that He should not return the favor.  As a matter of fact He returns it with a 700 or a greater multiple.  (2:262).

The early Islamic history is replete with incidents of fulfillment of prayers.  These incidents are historically well founded as many of these are described in the Holy Quran.  For the believers it does not get any more authentic but it is important to note that even the non-believers have no choice but to believe these incidents.  This is because there is almost consensus among the orientalists that when the Quran describes an observation pertaining to the 23 years of its revelation then it needs to be taken on face value.  There are several reasons for this consensus of orientalists, however, we will not go into those details here.

In the year 624 AD only a year after migration of the Holy Prophet from Makkah to Madinah, the Quraish (the Makkans) marched onto Madinah with a well-armed and well-equipped force of more than a thousands warriors.  The Quraish army set forth from Makkah in great pomp and display (8:48-49).  They were accompanied by singing women who with the beating of drums and the singing of martial songs incited the men towards deeds of valor.  They had 700 camels and 100 horses.  Most of them were in armor and were well armed.  On hearing the news of the Makkan Army the Holy Prophet set forth from Madinah with a body of 313 companions which included some minors. The Muslim army lacked almost everything.  Many of them had no experience in warfare.  They had only 70 camels and 2 horses, only seven men were in armor.  It was a totally unequal contest in all respects.  The two armies met at a place close to Madinah called Badr.  The Makkan army was camped on hard soil and the Muslims position was all sandy, and therefore unsuitable for the maneuvers of fighting men.  The Prophet was very concerned and anxious at the several disadvantages that his companions had in the combat that was expected the next morning.  The Muslim party was indeed very weak as compared to the Makkan Army.  The odds were so high against the Muslims that the non-believers thought that Muslims were foolish to fight against such odds.  The non-believers actually thought that the religion had deluded these men (8:50).  The question for Muslims was, “To be or not to be”, to the worldly eye the answer seemed “Not to be.”  The Holy Prophet spent his whole night praying earnestly, to Allah, between sobs and tears.  Again and again with trembling voice he said:

My God, over the entire face of the earth today, there are only these three hundred men who are devoted to You and determined to establish Your worship.  My God, if these three hundred men die today at the hands of their enemy in this battle, who will be left behind to glorify Your name?  I beseech You to help us today!  Please help Your religion and give us victory today.[i]

God heard the earnest supplication of His Prophet (8:10).  He helped the believers in several ways, some of which are recorded in history.  Firstly, rain came overnight (8:12). The sandy part of the field, which the Muslims occupied, became wet and solid and the dry part of the field occupied by the enemy became muddy and slippery.  Secondly, by Divine grace, the Makkan army appeared to the Muslims to be less than their actual strength, i.e. only twice instead of thrice the number of the Muslims.  This was a Divine design so that the few weak and ill-equipped Muslims, seeing the full strength of the enemy do not lose heart (3:14; 8:44-45).  What might have happened was that one third of the Makkan army was behind a mound and the Muslims could see only two thirds of them i.e. 600 of them rather than the total of 1000.  Thirdly, at the time of combat God caused a dust-storm to blow in such a direction that it was pushing the Muslim army forwards and was shutting the eyes of the Makkan army with dirt and dust (8:18 and Zurqani).  Whatever, the causes may have been, The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s prayer was heard and the Makkan army was badly defeated.  The Makkans had seventy casualties and a similar number of them were taken prisoners.

The importance of Badr and the odds against which Muslims had been bestowed a victory may be deciphered in the light of these quotes from Sir William Muir, who did not have a friendly bias towards the Holy Prophet:

There was much in the battle of Badr which Muhammad could represent as a special interposition of the Deity on his behalf.  Not only was it a decisive victory gained over a force three times his own in number, but the slain on the enemy side included in a remarkable manner many of his most influential opponents.  In addition to the chief men killed or made prisoners, Abu Lahab, who was not present in the battle, died a few days after the return of the fugitive army, as if the decree marking out the enemies of the Prophet was inevitable (Life of Mahomet, p.236).

Bring me the garments in which I went forth to Badr; for this end have I kept it laid up to this day’.  So spoke S’ad, the youthful convert, now about to die at four score years. Gowned with renown as the conqueror of Persia, the founder of Kufa, and the Viceroy of Iraq.  These honors were cast into the shade by the glory of having been one of the heroes of Badr.  In his eyes the garment of Badr was the highest badge of nobility, and in it would he be carried to his grave  (Life of Mahomet, p.234).

One of the important principles in order to have one’s prayers heard is to have patience.  A devotee to prayer may well be compared to a farmer who goes out and sows a seed in the field.  Apparently it seems for the time being that he throws away a seed which could have been used otherwise.  Who can then assure him that it will in time grow into a beautiful plant and yield fruit?  Even the farmer himself, not to speak of others cannot see how the seed is assuming the shape of a plant inside the earth.  But in a short time the seed will lose its existence and begin to grow into a plant underneath the ground till in the end its green sprout will come forth and be visible to all.  The seed begins to germinate from the very moment it is sowed.  But we know nothing about it till it sends forth its sprout.  Still the fruits are months or years away.  A child looking at the sprout will feel impatient when he sees that it does not give him any flowers or fruits immediately.  A wise farmer, however, knows perfectly well that in proper time and season it will bear him fruit.  Hence he carefully tends it and patiently waits till it bears him fruit and the fruit ripens.  The same is the case with prayer.  It comes to bear fruit but patience is essential.  What a beautiful fruit of his patience did Hazrat Zachariah receive.  The Holy Quran gives an account of the mercy of Allah shown to His sincere servant Zachariah:

When he called upon his Lord in a low voice.  He said, ‘My Lord, my bones have indeed become feeble due to years and my head is all aflame with old age but never, my Lord, have I been unblessed in my prayer to You’.  (I have not lost hope even in this particular instance but it has been a long wait, my Master).  And I fear my relations after me, and my wife is barren.  (I know odds are against my prayer, but You are Omnipotent, these odds mean nothing to You).  So grant me from Your bounty and grace a successor, and the heir of the blessings of the House of Jacob.  And make him, my Lord, well-pleasing to You.  (Oh my Master!  I humble myself before you like a beggar, please do grant my supplications).’ (19:2-7).

After Zachariah had shown long years of patience God turned to him and said, “O Zachariah, We give you glad tidings of a son whose name shall be Yahya.  We have not called any one before him by that name.” (19:8).  In utter surprise and happiness, Zachariah was now struck with the oddity and eccentricity of his prayers, as a reflex he asked, “My Lord, how shall I have a son when my wife is barren, and I have reached the extreme limit of old age” (19:9)?  This was now Allah’s turn to remind Zachariah of what he knew and had been praying all along.  Allah had the angel bearing the revelation say, “’So shall it be.’  Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me, and indeed I created you before, when you were nothing’” (19:10).  The secrets of the fulfillment of Zachariah’s most improbable prayer lay in the facts that he used to do good works and vied with others in doing good deeds, secondly he was patient and he humbled himself totally before the Lord (21:90-91).  As we begin to develop these qualities we can be assured fulfillment of ordinary prayers in day to day life and as we excel in these very qualities then the possibility of fulfillment of prayers despite heavy odds arises.

The waiting period however does not always have to be long, sometimes it can be instantaneous.  We will review, here, how earnest prayer of the Promised Messiah (as) cured a patient of rabies (hydrophobia) within 24 hours.  Iain Adamson writes, “One of Ahmad’s intercedings with God on behalf of a person on the brink of death, took place in 1907.  It concerned Abdul Karim, who was later to become one of his followers.  At that time Abdul Karim was 12 years old and had been sent to Qadian (where Ahmad lived) from Hyderabad, South India, roughly a thousand miles away, to pursue his religious studies.

At Qadian he was bitten by a mad dog and was rushed immediately to the Pasteur Institute at Kasauli for treatment.  He returned to Qadian, but a few days later showed unmistakable signs of hydrophobia or rabies.  A telegram was sent to the director of the Pasteur Institute asking for advice as to what should be done.

The telegram that came back said, ‘Regret!! nothing can be done for Abdul Karim’.

When Ahmad was told of the reply (in the telegram) he was deeply moved and in earnest prayer beseeched God for the return to health of the young man.  Within 24 hours Abdul Karim’s condition began to improve.  In due course he recovered completely.

The events described are from 1907.  Cure of hydrophobia was unheard of at that time.  Even today, with immediate hospital care and the use of the latest drugs and intensive care management people bitten by a rabies‑infected dog stand only a small chance of recovery.

The telegram from the Pasteur Institute is still retained in the archives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, as a sign of gratitude to Allah for the acceptance of prayer.”[ii]

What do we hear from the experiences of those who do not claim to be saints or prophets. Admiral Richard Byrd knew what it meant to “link ourselves with the inex­haustible motive power that spins the universe.”  His ability to do that pulled him through the most trying trial of his life.  He tells the story in his book, “Alone”.  In 1934, he spent five months in a cabin buried beneath the ice in the Antarctic, a continent bigger than USA and Europe combined.  He was to spend this time there on a scientific mission.  The plan was to collect meteorological data of the Antarctic.  He was occupying that cabin alone. Blizzard after blizzard roared above his cabin; the temperature went down to eighty degrees below zero.  It was so cold that he could hear his breath freeze and crystallize as the cold wind blew past him.  He was com­pletely surrounded by an unending night.  It was the month of April and there was to be no sun until August.  He went through many near death experiences.  Once he was locked out of his cabin in extreme cold.  On another occasion he lost himself in a snowstorm without any idea of the direction of his cabin.  But the worst ordeal was yet to come.  To his dismay, he found, he was being slowly poisoned by carbon monoxide that escaped from his stove.  He was becoming very weak and sick, because of the toxic exposure.  He was faced with a dilemma, he could neither survive without heat and nor with it.  What could he do?  The nearest help was miles away, and could not possibly reach him for several months.  He tried to fix his stove and ventilating system, but to no avail.  He became so weak that he could hardly leave his bed.  He frequently feared he wouldn’t live until the next day.  He was convinced he would die in that cabin.

What saved his life?  One day, in the depths of his despair, he reached for his diary and tried to set down his philosophy of life.  “The human race,” he wrote, “is not alone in the universe.”  He continued:

The universe is not dead.  Therefore, there is an Intelligence there, and it is all pervading.  At least one purpose, possibly the major purpose, of that Intelli­gence is the achievement of universal harmony.

Striving in the right direction for Peace (Harmony), therefore, as well as the achievement of it, is the result of accord with that Intelligence.

It is desirable to effect that accord.

The human race, then, is not alone in the universe.  Though I am cut off from human beings, I am not alone.

For untold ages man has felt an awareness of that Intelligence.  Belief in it is the one point where all re­ligions agree.  It has been called by many names.  Many call it God.[iii]

He slipped into his sleeping bag and repeated the sentiment over and over again as if he was incessantly praying to this Intelligence, God Almighty.  This realization that he was not alone — not even in a hole in the ice at the end of the earth — was what saved Richard Byrd.  “I know it pulled me through,” he says.

He survived April and May, but the sunlight was still months away.  There was to be no day till August.  In July when he was faced with further difficulties he wrote:

I’ve been feeling like a joke without a laugh or, more apt, like a tortoise on its back.  This damnable even­ness is getting me.  …  I must pull out of it somehow, and the only way I can do it is by invoking help from my faith, which I depended upon last month.  For I have lost almost entirely the inner peace which I had almost achieved then, and which I know pulled me through.  I must somehow win this inner harmony back. Somewhere I must have got off the track.[iv]

This is the testimony of one in extreme need, who did not have any deep religious inclination prior to the trial.  The God has promised in the Quran that He is more likely to hear prayers of those who call him in extreme distress and agony.  The Quran affirms this in the form of a question, “Who answers the cry of the distressed person when he calls upon Him, and removes the evil, and makes you successors in the earth?  Is there a god with Allah?” (27: 63)

Another important means to achieve acceptance of prayer is not to be selfish in our prayers and pray also for friends, people around us and humanity in general.  One needs to develop a selfless attitude in general, and in regards to prayers in particular.  If one develops this attitude of mercy and graciousness in one’s prayers, then God who is the most merciful of all, turns to such a servant of His, in compassion.  The Holy Quran has said repeatedly, “Allah is with those who do good to others.” (29:70).  In other words God is more likely to hear the prayers of those who are gracious and merciful to other fellow beings.  Such was the story of Harriet Tubman.  She was born in slavery in USA on a Maryland plantation around 1821.  One summer night in 1849, she began to walk north, risking her life to secure her freedom.  She later returned to help members of her family escape, and eventually made some twenty trips into the South to guide three hundred slaves to Northern safe havens.

The following account is extracted from the first biography of Harriet Tubman, published in 1869 and in revised form in 1886; it rightly calls her “The Moses of Her People”.  My description is borrowed from William Bennet’s book, “The book of virtues”.  She risked her life several times, to seek freedom for three hundred slaves, prior to the civil war of America.

On one of her journeys to the North, as she was leading a company of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town where a black man had lived whose house had been one of her stations on these pilgrims to freedom.  They reached the house, and leaving her party a little behind, Harriet went to the door, and gave the peculiar knock, which was her customary signal to her friends.  There was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat the signal several times.  After some time, a window was raised, and the head of a white man appeared, with the harsh question, “Who are you?” and “What do you want?”  Harriet asked after her friend, and was told that he had been obliged to leave for “harboring niggers”.

Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was the enemy of the flying fugitives.  Their faithful leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen Protector (God), and the answer came as quickly in a suggestion to her of an almost forgotten place of refuge.  Outside of the town there was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a hiding place.  To this spot she conducted her party and entered the swamp.  She ordered them to lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and waited for deliverance.  The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get supplies. For no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch for them.  The fugitives were truly in a miserable condition, but Harriet’s faith never wavered, her prayer still ascended, and she confidently expected help from some unknown quarter.  William Bennett describes further:

It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid pathway on the edge of the swamp.  He was clad in the garb of a Quaker, and proved to be a “friend” in need and indeed.  He seemed to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice caught the words he was saying, “My wagon stands in the barnyard of the next farm across the way.  The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail.”  And the man was gone.  Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place designated.  Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing to the next town.  Harriet or any one in the party had never known the man who left them this well provisioned wagon.  In the next town, dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet never knew.  But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of faith, and she expected an answer.[v]

Sometimes prayers are heard by not being heard.  It implies, that the prayer is heard and the petitioner is granted, that which is most appropriate and beneficial for him in God’s knowledge and wisdom.  The supplicant, however, lacking in complete wisdom and knowledge, does not appreciate the hidden beneficence of God.  The petitioner may feel frustrated despite the acceptance of his prayer.  This is implied in the verse of the Holy Quran, “It may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you and it may be that you desire a thing, which is harmful for you.  Allah knows the true nature of things and you know not” (2.217).

The examples of fulfillment of prayers are numerous.  As a matter of fact, prayer is instinctual in human nature and in time of distress man’s attention is automatically drawn towards it.  The creator for good reason has placed the instinct I believe.  Many of the readers, if they probe deep into their memories of time of distress and failure will be able to recall that they have personal experience of prayer being instinctual in human nature.  Even atheists are not immune from this.  “And when an affliction befalls men, they cry unto their Lord, turning to Him in repentance; then, when He has made them taste of mercy from Him, lo! A section of them associate partners with their Lord” (30:34).  The Quran has noted this natural instinct of man on many occasions.  In another instance it says,  “And when trouble befalls a man, he calls on Us, lying on his side, or sitting or standing, but when We have removed his trouble from him, he goes his way as though he had never called on Us for the removal of the trouble that befell him” (10: 13).  Once, wife of a World War II veteran told me that her husband always says that there are never any atheists on the war front.  In patients undergoing cardiac surgery,  Saudia et al have reported in medical literature that 96% of them used prayer as a coping mechanism to deal with their stress of major and risky surgery.[vi]  The fact that we seek God in time of need is such a common observation that there is a proverb for this, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”  Dale Carnegie enlists the name of many political and military leaders, who resorted to prayers in important matters.  He lists numerous figures from American history: Eisenhower, General Montgomery, Lord Nelson, General Washington, Robert E Lee, boxer Jack Dempsey and the greatest financier of his time J Pierpont Morgan, to name but a few.  These facts I believe are proof enough of the truth of the above verses of the Holy Quran.

We do not need to fight this instinct we need to put it to use and benefit from it.

Dale Carnegie found prayer as the perfect way to conquer anxiety.  Writing about the psychological benefits of prayers he writes:

Even if you are not a religious person by nature or training — even if you are an out‑and‑out skeptic — prayer can help you much more than you believe, for it is a practical thing.  What do I mean, practical?  I mean that prayer fulfills these three very basic psychological needs which all people share, whether they believe in God or not:

1. Prayer helps us to put into words exactly what is troubling us.  We saw … that it is almost impossible to deal with a problem while it remains vague and nebulous.  Praying, in a way, is very much like writing our problems down on paper.  If we ask help for a problem — even from God — we must put it into words.

2. Prayer gives us a sense of sharing our burdens, of not being alone.  Few of us are so strong that we can bear our heaviest burdens, … all by ourselves.  Sometimes our worries are of so intimate a nature that we cannot discuss them even with our closest relatives or friends.  Then prayer is the answer.  Any psychiatrist will tell us that when we are pent‑up and tense, and in an agony of spirit, it is therapeutically good to tell someone our troubles.  When we can’t tell anyone else — we can always tell God.

3. Prayer puts into force an active principle of doing.  It’s a first step toward action.  I doubt if anyone can pray for some fulfillment, day after day, without benefiting from it — in other words, without taking some steps to bring it to pass. The world‑famous scientist, Dr. Alexis Carrel, said: ‘Prayer is the most powerful form of energy one can generate.’ So why not make use of it?  Call it God or Allah or Spirit — why quarrel with definitions as long as the mysterious powers of nature take us in hand?[vii]

Harold Kushner had the following to say about the benefits of prayers:

Prayer is not a matter of coming to God with our wish list and pleading with Him to give us what we ask for. Prayer is first and foremost the experience of being in the presence of God. Whether or not we have our re­quests granted, whether or not we get anything to take home as a result of the encounter, we are changed by having come into the presence of God. A person who has spent an hour or two in the presence of God will be a different person for some time afterward.[viii]

The fact of the matter is that praying is not a distortion of reality, it is its absence that is a distortion and lack of understanding.  If the existence of God were established on philosophical proofs, then why would not man want to share in the biggest force in the universe.  It would be extreme arrogance and ignorance, not to search for the existence of such a Beneficent Force and come in line with that.  The Holy Quran says:

Is he who prays devoutly to Allah in the hours of the night, prostrating himself and standing in prayer and fears the Hereafter and hopes for the mercy of his Lord, like him who is disobedient?  Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those who know not?’  Indeed, only those endowed with understanding will take heed. (39:10)

Effectiveness of Prayers (Dua) As Presented By Islamhttp://t.co/sFAXCnvgCb pic.twitter.com/IB1lPP5Yp8

— The Muslim Times (@The_MuslimTimes) March 22, 2015

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