Secrets to Success in the World
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Address delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), Second Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in Masjid Ahmadiyya, Sialkot on 12th September 1931
Translated by Dr Amtul Razzaq Carmichael for The Review of Religions Translation Team.
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) stated:
One of our friends has just recited a ruku’ [a small section] of the Holy Qur’an, the last verse of which states:
[1] قُلۡ مَا يَعۡبَؤُاْ بِكُمۡ رَبِّي لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡ
Meaning that Allah the Exalted commands, ‘O my Messenger, proclaim to the people from Me, “What obligation does your Lord have to care for you, if you do not continuously supplicate to Him?”’
If one contemplates their existence, it will easily become clear that God Almighty does not need mankind at all. Often, people assume that they are doing God a favour by offering prayers [salat], giving charity, paying Zakat and performing Hajj [the pilgrimage to Makkah]. Consequently, it is often observed that some ignorant people, when they fall into some trouble, say that they don’t know why they have been afflicted in this way, even though they offer their prayers [salat] and fulfil all the other religious commandments as well. In other words, they feel in their hearts that they have been wronged by God Almighty.
The Promised Messiah (as) used to narrate that on one occasion, a person’s son passed away and his friend went to visit him to offer his condolences. The grieving father wailed and cried, exclaiming, ‘God has been very cruel to me’. In his mind, he believed that God Almighty had denied him something that he was rightfully entitled to. However, one ought to ask, what possible claim could one have over God? I am always left astounded by those who pride themselves on their prayers [salat], fasts, Zakat, Hajj [pilgrimage] and taqwa [righteousness], but who, when faced with a trial, cry out that God has treated them unjustly. Yet a poet of India, who had a habit of drinking and was heedless of his faith, in a moment of insight, despite his addiction to alcohol, received a divine inspiration and uttered the following:
جان دی دی ہوئی اسی کی تھی
حق تو یہ ہے کہ حق ادا نہ ہؤا
‘Though I gave my life for Him, ‘twas His in any case; To speak the truth, I could not repay my dues to Him.’
But, whatever it is that one loses, one should consider: where did it originally come from? Ponder upon your own existence; is there anything that you can claim to be rightfully yours? For instance, a person claims his wife, but where did she come from? Likewise, there are children which one claims to be theirs, but again, where do they come from? In the same way, where do your house, property and all the other assets, that you believe to be yours, come from? If we deliberate over the reality of all our material possessions, it will become clear that these, in fact, are bestowed as a gift by God Almighty, the One Who has granted all these things to us, and Who has every right to take these back any time He wishes. And in fact, a gift is something that is never taken back; but everything granted to a person in this world is taken back eventually. This makes it clear that everything that a person has is not really even gifted to them, but is temporarily loaned to them. It is the right of the owner to take back whatever He has granted, as and when He wishes.
As God Almighty states, مَا يَعۡبَؤُاْ بِكُمۡ رَبِّي لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡ
[‘But for your prayer to Him my Lord would not care for you.’[2]]
After all, what do you think of yourself and what is the true significance of your being that God Almighty should care for you? Everything that exists in this world ultimately leads to God. As God Almighty says:
إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ مُنتَهَىٰهَآ
[‘The ultimate knowledge of it rests with thy Lord.’ [3]]
Thus, there is no thing and no living being which does not ultimately link back to God Almighty. And since everything originates from God, were it not for His benevolence that He reaches out to man, what is man’s worth that God Almighty be compelled to even care for him?
لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡ
[‘But for your prayer to Him.’ [4]]
This particular part of the verse has two meanings; first, ‘if God did not reach out to you’, and secondly, ‘if you did not supplicate to God’. If the first meaning is taken, then this verse would mean that had God not made it incumbent upon Himself to reach out to us and grant us prosperity and progress, we would have achieved nothing. God, out of His benevolence, has taken it upon Himself to bestow these favours, otherwise as mere human beings, we have no right of our own.
In the latter meaning of this verse, it would signify that God Almighty does not care for us unless we bow down to Him with humility and modesty, and supplicate to Him that we have no entitlement to anything, but if He were to grant us out of His kindness, this would be a great favour upon us.
So, in fact, these are the only two means through which one gains taqwa (righteousness), progress and success. All the progress in this world is achieved through these two means.
Supplication does not mean merely raising one’s hands and saying, ‘O Allah! Grant me such-and-such progress’, or spending one’s whole life holding a Tasbih chain [rosary beads] while chanting ‘Allah, Allah’. Rather, supplication means that one effectively uses all of those means that God has provided to achieve their goal. For example, in order to have children, the means established by God are that one ought to marry someone as they please. If, however, a person does not marry and yet keeps praying to God Almighty for him to be granted children, then this prayer will not be accepted, because the very essence of prayer is to first utilise all those necessary practical means which God Almighty has established for it. Thereafter, one ought to pray to God Almighty to be granted success.
For example, the government has issued money-order forms for and whoever wishes to transfer money from one place to another must first fill out the required forms. This is a provision that the government has established for the benefit of the public to transfer money from one place to another. But if a person chooses not to avail himself of this system, and instead adopts a method of his own – for example, he places the money inside a book of poetry and gives it to the post office for it to be sent to such-and-such place – then he will not be able to benefit from the system established by the government. This is because the system of the government can only be of any help to him when he completes the prescribed money order form or other official postal documentation. Or, for example, to file a case in the civil court, a certain fee has been set which must be paid. Suppose the court fee is set at 25 rupees and, a person, instead of paying the fee, burns a 50 rupees note, and claims that since he has spent twice as much money as required, his case should therefore be heard in the civil court. His request would be completely rejected because he has not followed the system established by the government to file a civil case.
Similarly, in order to achieve anything, Allah the Almighty has prescribed certain means and methods which need to be adopted. There are prescribed means for seeking supplication, likewise for the moral training of children, for business and for employment – each has its distinct means. Among the methods set forth for prayer is that when a person supplicates before God, He listens. In other words, when one utilises the prescribed means established by God for progress, God Almighty indeed grants it accordingly.
We observe this example in the European nations. They studied different fields of knowledge, excelled in research, worked hard, and released new inventions. As a result, God Almighty granted them success in the secular world. This is a principle which God Almighty has established whereby hard work and endeavour can lead to discoveries of the unknown. The people of Europe sought help from God Almighty through these very means, and in turn, God Almighty accepted their prayer [in the form of their efforts]. That is, they were granted sovereignty, wealth, fame, influence and glory, and all because they adopted all those means prescribed by God Almighty to attain these things. However, those who do not follow the prescribed methods, no matter how much difficulty they endure and how much they toil and struggle, will not benefit at all. A street performer, who spends the entire day walking around parading his monkey to the public, indeed may work harder than a merchant, but does not earn as much as he does. Why? Because the street performer does not utilise the means that have been outlined by God Almighty for earning wealth. Hence, one way to achieve progress in this world is that a person should call upon his God – in other words, make appropriate use of the resources that God Almighty has provided for one’s worldly progress.
The second meaning of this verse is that had God Almighty not cared for man, how would he have fared? I have already explained the example of the people of Europe and in the subcontinent, the example of the Hindus – that their calling upon God was in fact in reference to them making progress by utilising the full use of resources provided by God Almighty. In contrast, the example of God Almighty reaching out to man are His prophets. The Holy Prophet (sa) was unknown to the world and would worship in seclusion in the Cave of Hira. All of those avenues of worldly progress? He had abandoned them. However, an angel of God Almighty appeared before him and proclaimed, ‘Arise, for your God summons you.’ God Almighty took the Holy Prophet (sa) from being completely unknown and obscure and made him a king. He was granted such heights of success that his influence permeated religion, nation, civilisation and society, to the extent that his ardent devotees excelled in becoming teachers in every field of knowledge, without ever having set foot in a university or having carried out any laboratory experiments. Whichever discipline they pursued, they excelled the rest of the world.
A companion of the Holy Prophet (sa) narrates that he was given one ashrafi (gold coin) to purchase a goat for sacrifice. It occurred to him that in Madinah he would only be able to buy one goat for that one ashrafi, but that in a neighbouring village, he would be able to purchase two goats for that same ashrafi. So he travelled to the nearby village and bought two goats with the one ashrafi. When he returned to Madinah, he met someone who asked if he would be willing to sell one of his goats, to which he agreed. And so, he sold the goat for one ashrafi. He then returned to the Holy Prophet (sa) and presented the goat and also the one ashrafi. Upon enquiry, the companion narrated the entire incident to the Holy Prophet (sa). Noting his intelligence, the Holy Prophet (sa) prayed for him. Although the Arabs were not as skilled in trade as the Persians and Byzantines, the companion states that owing to this prayer of the Holy Prophet (sa), even if he purchased dirt, it would sell at the price of gold. He states that people would insist upon handing over their wealth to him for the purpose of trade and he would have to refuse them. [5]
This is the second interpretation of: لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡ
[‘But for your prayer to Him.’[6]
This did not involve any individual skill or effort; rather, this was God reaching out Himself. Through this, the Holy Prophet (sa) made immense progress and those who followed him also made tremendous progress along with him, just as when a person mounts a horse, his coat, trousers, and other garments also mount the horse with him. The companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) scaled such heights of success that it is stated that Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) was appointed the governor of a region at a time when the Muslims had been victorious and had acquired the riches of Chosroes. After the conquest, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) was given a handkerchief that Chosroes used to keep in his hand in the royal court as a form of embellishment. On one occasion, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) sneezed and wiped his nose with that very handkerchief. At this, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) reminisced and said, ‘What a change of fortunes for you, O Abu Hurairah! There were days when you would faint because of extreme hunger and people, thinking you were suffering from a seizure, would hit you over the head with shoes. Yet here you are today spitting in the handkerchief of Chosroes!’7
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) accepted Islam quite late – only three years prior to the demise of the Holy Prophet (sa). To make up for this lost time, he never left the mosque so that he could listen to every word of the Holy Prophet (sa). As a result of this, at times, he would miss up to seven consecutive meals. People would assume that he had eaten and so would not ask him whether he had eaten. He would faint due to intense hunger, and, assuming he was suffering from an epileptic fit, people would strike him on his head with shoes, as was the custom in Arabia in those days. Such was his previous condition, but his fortunes took such a turn that from this stage of abject destitution, he was granted a status whereby he was given the decorative handkerchief of the mighty Chosroes, which he later used to clean his nose with.
This is the second aspect of لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡ
[‘But for your prayer to Him.’[8]]
When the Holy Prophet (sa) made progress, those associated with him were also bestowed with progress. Just like in the court of the Viceroy, even respected aristocrats and nobility are not allowed to attend without prior permission at times, but his attendant can go there freely. In the same way, those who truly follow or form a bond with the prophets, experience tremendous success. Therefore, Allah the Almighty has commanded:
كُونُواْ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ
[‘…be with the truthful.’[9]]
This is because when the door (of success) is opened for the truthful, then those in their company are also ushered in.
Thus, to attain progress in this world, it is necessary that either a person strives to their utmost and exhaust their efforts; or otherwise forges such a strong bond with God Almighty that God Almighty, of His own accord, paves the path of his success.’
(Published in Al-Fazl, 27th September 1931)
The Review of Religions takes full responsibility for any errors in translation.
ENDNOTES
1. ‘Say to the disbelievers: “But for your prayer to Him my Lord would not care for you.”’ – The Holy Qur’an, 25:78.
2. The Holy Qur’an, 25:78.
3. The Holy Qu’an, 79:45.
4. The Holy Qur’an, 25:78.
5. The companion’s name is Urwah (ra) – Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Manaqib, Hadith no. 3642 (Riyad, Saudi Arabia: Dar al-Islam, 1999).
6. The Holy Qur’an, 25:78.
7. Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Zuhd & Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Riqab.
8.The Holy Qur’an, 25:78.
9. The Holy Qur’an, 9:119.
