Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din writes about Dua
Dua as taught by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din
Translated by Zahid Aziz
Besides the importance of studying the Quran, Hazrat Mirza sahib also turned the attention of his Jama‘at towards dua and emphasised to everyone that he should say dua for himself in his own language. He told them that whenever they face any tribulation, before writing to him to pray for them they must say dua themselves. Whenever I went to Qadian and asked him to pray in some matter, Hazrat Mirza sahib promised to pray but at the same time he said to me: You should pray yourself at about 2.00 to 2.30 a.m. because at that time I will be praying for you.
The qunut prayer is much-mentioned by people but it has become a mere ritual which is performed during the witr prayer [after isha]. But Hazrat Mirza sahib revived the example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He urged that at times of troubles, in every salat you should say dua in addition to the prescribed words of prayer. In the postures of the salat the prostration (sajda) is the most suitable for offering dua. In Hazrat Mirza sahib’s time, in every congregational prayer, not just in witr prayers, dua was offered [by the imam] upon standing up from the bowing position. Ahmadis still continue this practice in some places.…
In brief, among Ahmadis dua became a reality, just as the Quran became a reality to them. Every Ahmadi was seen engrossed in dua. Just as salat is obligatory for a Muslim, dua was considered by Ahmadis as almost obligatory.
After his recommendation to his followers to offer dua during the five daily prayers, his next advice was the saying of tahajjud prayers. If anyone was able to persuade English-educated young Muslims to take up tahajjud prayers, it was Hazrat Mirza sahib. I knew many young men in the time of Hazrat Mirza sahib who said tahajjud prayers for years, just as regularly as the five daily prayers. They used to be restless, looking forward to saying tahajjud prayers.
A curse afflicting English-educated Muslims is that they stay up late at night, and therefore they are still asleep long after the sun has risen. The English-educated young men among Ahmadis were saved from this bad habit because they used to be concerned to rise for their tahajjud prayers, so they went to bed early.
(From Mujaddid-i Kamil, p. 81-82)
From Omar:
While I am in agreement Ahmadi's should pray as their forefathers did, sadly that is not the case now. I have tried but could not do so on a regular basis. Until the will of Allah occurs I will continue to persevere. If I am successful it will be Allah's will that be the cause of my success as there is no compulsion in this matter as per the Hadith of prophet Mohammad when he tried to convince Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Fatima they demurred and said it was the will of Allah they could not do so indicating even the blessed from prophet Mohammad's jamaat could not comply until permitted by Allah. Though the prophet Mohammad regretted their statement he permit them their decision in this matter. Until it is the will of Allah we will continue to live in this manner as we cannot wake up for fajr in time much less say the Tahujjad.
Omar
From Omar:
While I agree the tahujjad prayer is recommended, it is not obligatory as when the Prophet prayed there would be a consensus his prayer was enjoined on his followers like the early Muslims. With the passage of time the Hadith of the Prophet comes into effect that " a time will come if my followers can do 10% of what I do they will be forgiven"
Omar
From Dil Sooz:
May 2nd is national prayer day in USA. Where I work, people from various faith traditions get together to pray for our nation and world. This is relevant information about dua, but I need more info- if someone can provide. Thank you
From Zahid Aziz:
To Dil Sooz:
Does this booklet by Maulana Muhammad Ali help you with your query?
From Dil Sooz:
Yes indeed. Thank you doctor Sahib
From Zahid Aziz:
Even though we might not be able to live up to standards such as those mentioned by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din above, these teachings can still serve as our ideals. Our elders also tried to facilitate these observances for us. Maulana Muhammad Ali advised that during Ramadan, as we have to wake up on time for our fast starting meal, we should try to rise a little before that and say tahajjud prayers at least in that month. He even said that you will have a better appetite for that meal if you have been active for a while before it, rather than having the food immediately on getting up from sleep.
Our last Hazrat Ameer, Dr Asghar Hameed, used to advise that you can try praying tahajjud if the next day is a holiday from work.
Of course, all these elders themselves did much more than what they urged others to do, and set an example beyond what they asked of others.
From Zahid Aziz:
1. In his book about the efficacy of prayer, Barakat-ud-dua, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes:
"That strange event which took place in the desert land of Arabia, by which millions of people who were spiritually dead were resuscitated in a very short time, and people who had remained corrupted for generations became imbued with Divine attributes and the blind regained their power of vision and the dumb became eloquent in respect of the knowledge of God, and a revolution took place in the world in such a sudden manner that the like of it no eye had seen before and no ear had heard – what was it after all?
It was at bottom the silent prayers in the darkness of the night of a lonely man who had annihilated himself in God that created this huge tumult in the world, and produced those strange phenomena which seem almost impossible to have been effected by that unlettered, helpless man."
2. "Once a lady guest of Maulana Muhammad Ali’s wife, belonging to a family who were well known for their hostility to the Ahmadiyya Movement, stayed for one night in their house when they lived in Ahmadiyya Buildings. Before leaving she disclosed to the Maulana’s wife that she had stayed there purposely in order to know the real truth, at home, about Maulana Muhammad Ali’s reputation for religious observance. She had stood outside the room where he had just started saying his tahajjud prayers and observed him through the slightly open door.
She related:
He was reciting the Holy Quran with utter humility. I could hear some echo of his voice. He stood for so long that I got tired. At long last he went into ruku and was in that posture for a considerable time. Then he went into sajda and spent an equally long time in that position. I could not stand any longer, and I found a stool and sat on it. He raised his head from sajda at long last and then went into the second sajda for a long time. As he had taken more than half an hour in the first rak‘a of the prayer, I could not wait any further and went back to bed. Some time later I again went to have a look, and saw him still at prayer. Many hours later, when the call for the fajr prayer was sounded, he went to the mosque. I am now sure that he is not an ordinary man but a saint of God. I came here with many doubts and ill-feelings [about Ahmadis], but I am leaving after being deeply convinced of his righteousness and greatness." (A Mighty Striving, p. 455-456)
3. Rais Ahmad Jafari, in a book on the subject of the people he had known, wrote an article about Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, headed "A hidden saint and an apparent kafir". He came across Khwaja sahib just once, at the annual conference of Nadwat-ul-Ulama in 1924. He writes:
"After the speech of the Khwaja sahib, the Conference was adjourned to the next day. All the guests went to their respective rooms. One room was reserved for the Khwaja sahib and he went to his room. At the end of the session I was roaming about and passed by the Khwaja sahib’s room. There was complete silence; no one was in the gallery except me. I saw the Khwaja sahib all alone offering his ‘asr prayer. I have seen all kinds of people offering their prayers, great and small, learned and uneducated. But witnessing the concentration, absorption, humility and submissiveness with which the Khwaja sahib was offering his prayer made a deep impact on my heart and created an indelible impression which still exists even today.
The definition of prayer [in Hadith] is that the person offering it should feel as if he is seeing God, or if not then at least he should have the feeling that God can see him. It was clearly evident from the Khwaja sahib’s prayer that he was feeling as if he was seeing God. Without this feeling, that state of concentration, absorption, humility and submissiveness cannot be attained, of which the Khwaja sahib was a visual embodiment.
It is possible that some people still consider him a kafir, but my heart carries a deep impression of his practice of Islam which even vicissitudes of time could not efface."
From Omar:
I agree with Khwaja Kamal-Ud-Din that the night prayer is essential for our salvation as it there in the middle of the night we realize how futile our efforts will be in the face of the lie that occurs about our faith. We are Muslims but are categorized as kafirs as long as we maintain that Hazrat Mirza Sahib is a saint. While we consider the objective of our faith will we ever change this sentiment by staying with ourselves without the objective of mixing with them who are ignorant of our faith. Lets raise ourselves from this slumber and meet those who hate our conduct with the faith we are both Muslims in regard to the law of men.
Omar
From Bilal Tahir:
From where can I get the book Mujaddid-i-kamil. It is not there at aaiil neither I was able to found it anywhere else. Kindly Help me
From Zahid Aziz:
Dear Bilal Tahir, We will try to obtain this book for you.
From Zahid Aziz:
Bilal Tahir, you can access this book as a pdf file at this link.
From Bilal Tahir:
Oh Zahid thanks alot. thats so nice of you