Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Sermon 19th May 2006

After greeting the members with salaams Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun read Tashahhud followed by sura Al Fatiha from the Holy Quran and then he read the following verse and gave its translation:

Oud ouni Astajib lakoum
Call upon Me and I will answer you

He then said:
In our study circle meeting of last week I started to talk to you about the subject of “Supplications” and in the sermon today I will continue to speak on the same topic. In the Holy Qur’an Allah has spoken a lot about the subject of supplications and in the verse that I have just quoted He says: “Call upon me and I will answer you”. This means that it is incumbent upon man to ask from Allah and Allah has promised him that he will answer his prayers. Therefore each member of the jamaat should make it a duty to make daily supplications to Allah during the prescribed prayers and also in supererogatory prayers.
Hazrat Masih Maoud (as), has talked about this subject matter at length in his speeches and writings. During this sermon I have selected a few extracts of what he has said to share with all the members of the jamaaat. I hope that you will reflect about them and act upon the advices that he has given us.

Hazrat Masih Maood(as) says:

1. Allah has, at the very beginning of the Holy Quran taught us to pray and has also taught us how to pray. The recitation of the first chapter of the Holy Qur’an “Al Fatiha” is indispensable in the prescribed prayers and this chapter is nothing but a supplication. This shows that it is in the prescribed prayers that real supplication is made. This divinely taught supplication “Sura Al Fatiha” starts as follows:
“All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds the Gracious, the Merciful.”
This shows that before supplication, glorification of Allah is essential. The glorification of Allah produces ardent desire and love for Him.

2. Remember one cannot benefit by prayer until one shows extreme patience and continues to pray steadfastly. One should never entertain any doubt about God and should firmly believe that He possesses all powers and can do whatever He wills and one should continue praying with patience. Then the time shall come when one’s prayers shall be accepted and answered by Allah. One who uses this prescription is never unlucky and frustrated, surely he achieves his purpose.

3. For the decision of every affair, the Holy Qur’an provides a criterion. After Joseph, peace be upon him, was separated from his father, through the machinations of his brothers, Jacob, peace be upon him, had been praying for him continuously for forty years. Had he been hasty he would have had no success in his prayer. He had been praying for forty years pinning his faith in the Omnipotence of Allah. After forty years his prayers brought Joseph back to him. Some fault finders ridiculed Jacob, peace be upon him, saying that he was praying for Joseph in vain. But his reply was that he knew from God what they did not know. Of course, he knew nothing more than that he got the scent of Joseph, peace be upon him. At first he only knew that the chain of prayers was being prolonged. Had Allah not intended to accept his prayers He would have answered sooner. The prolongation of the chain of his prayers indicated that eventually his prayers would be accepted. A compassionate man can never tolerate that a beggar should stay long at his door and then go away empty-handed. The stingiest of the stingy also does not do so; he would eventually give something to the beggar if the latter stays long at his door. The verse of the Holy Qur’an depicting Jacob’s grief for his son Joseph as “his eyes became white”, proves the length of the period of Hazrat Jacob’s as supplication. So one should never get tired of or disappointed at the prolongation of the chain of supplication.

4. According to my personal conviction, one should not forget one’s enemies in one’s prayers. The wider the range of prayers, the greater will the supplicant benefit. The stingier one is in one’s prayers, the more will one be deprived of Allah’s nearness. The truth is that he who limits the bounty of Allah which is very vast is weak in faith.

5. Remember, if prayer is answered very soon, generally it is not a good sign. So do not lose hope while praying. When the answer to your prayer is delayed, rejoice and prostrate before Allah, out of gratitude, because it is good and auspicious for you. Delay brings success.

6. It should be remembered that for the acceptance of prayer there are some conditions that should be fulfilled first. Some of them concern the person who prays, and some, the person at whose instance or for whom the prayer is offered. The person for whom the prayer is offered should have the fear of Allah in his heart and should always be afraid of Allah’s Self-sufficiency and should have compromise or adjustment and righteousness as his motto. When one pleases Allah by one’s righteousness and piety, the door of the acceptance of prayer is opened for him. On the other hand, if a person displeases Allah and fights Him, his mischievousness and evil deeds become a rocky wall of obstacles in the way of the acceptance of his prayers, and the door of the acceptance of his prayers is closed upon him. So, friends should save their prayers from being wasted and should place no obstacles in the path of their acceptance. These obstacles are created through their unbecoming actions. They should follow the path of righteousness as prescribed by the Sharia, the divine laws. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an that He accepts the prayer of the righteous. This is His promise and Allah does not break His promise. In short righteousness is an essential pre-requisite for the acceptance of prayer. So if a person who is negligent and goes astray expects his prayers to be accepted, he is foolish and ignorant. So every member of our community should, as far as possible, follow the path of righteousness, so that he may have the bliss and pleasure of the acceptance of prayer and also that he may be blessed and achieve an increase in faith.

7. For the acceptance of prayer man should fully confess his own weaknesses and frailties. The more he is aware of his own weaknesses, the more he will find himself in need of divine help and this will give him an impulse and incentive to pray. When a man is in danger, distress or sore straits, he cries and shouts vehemently and seeks help from others. Likewise, when a man becomes aware of his owns weaknesses, failings and shortcomings, he finds himself in need of divine help to overcome all these. Consequently his soul pours forth at the divine threshold, being restless in anguish and pathos and he weeps and calls upon Allah saying “My Lord! My Lord”. If you ponder over the Holy Qur’an , you will find that in the first chapter Allah teaches the prayer: “ Guide us in the right path, the path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed Thy blessings and not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure and those who have gone astray.”
It is my hope and prayer that Allah helps each one of us, young and old, man and woman to understand these advices and that we may put them into practice so that Allah may be pleased with us incha Allah.