The
power of sublime Prayers
‘It is He who accepts the prayers of those who believe and do good works, and gives them more than their due reward, out of His grace...He sends down in due measure whatever He will, for He is well aware of His servants and watchful over them: it is He who sends relief through rain after they have lost hope, and spreads His mercy far and wide. He is the Protector, Worthy of All Praise.’ [Surah Al Shura, 42:27-29]
In
shaping the destiny of man and in guiding his spiritual life,
invocations to the Lord Almighty have a significant role to play. The lives of prophets and saints, in all their varied circumstances and unusual settings through history, bear wonderful
testimonial to the eternal truth about the fulfillment of sublime prayers. Perhaps the finest example of the
enduring vitality of Divine invocations would be the sprouting of the
magnificent garden of Islam in the barren land of Arabia. Long ago, in a
corner of the world, away from his non-believing people, Hadhrat
Ibrahim (as) had made fervent supplications for the righteousness and spiritual progress of the generations to come and for the flourishing of
the message of Tawheed, the life-mission of all virtuous
souls. And the Qur’an records his soulful prayers for the benefit of
spiritual seekers of all times. For instance, the Book of God teaches that while re-building the
Ka‘bah with his pious son Hadhrat Isma‘il, Hadhrat Ibrahim (as)
offered the following prayer:
"Our
Lord, make us submissive to You and make of our offspring a people
submissive to You. And show us our ways of worship, and turn to us
with mercy; for You are Oft-Returning with compassion and are
Merciful.
‘And,
our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who
may recite to them Thy Signs and teach them the Book and Wisdom and
may purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.’"
(Surah Al Baqarah, 2:129-130)