How Can We Attain Righteous Progeny?
4 Questions to Ask Ourselves
in light of the life of
Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra)
Personal Reflection:
Are you worried about your children and their
level of righteousness?
Please share your general concerns.
Personal reflection:
What steps have you taken to try to guide your children
back to the right path?
Have you sent them to expensive counsellors or
therapists?
Are you paying for extracurricular activities to keep
them busy?
…Then what’s missing?
The most important child-rearing tool is
absolutely free:
PRAYERS
Personal Reflection:
God has told us we can talk to Him and no
prayer will go unheard.
Do we treat Allah as a living God in our
everyday lives?
Do you have an example of a time that you
prayed for your children and God answered
your prayers?
Please share.
QUESTION #1:
Do I have firm faith that God is Alive and Will
Hear me when I pray?
Another companion of the Promised Messiahas, Hadhrat Sheikh Ghulam
Ahmad Sahib narrates that one night he decided he would spend the entire
night in worship of God Almighty at the Mubarak Mosque in Qadian. He said
when he arrived he saw a young person bowed down in prayer. The emotion
of the scene was such that the narrator said that he himself started to pray to
God that whatever this person is beseeching Allah may grant it to him. He
continued by saying he did not know for how long prior to his arrival the
person had been bowed down in prayer but that whilst he was there this
continued for a long time. Finally when he arose the narrator saw that it was
Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mehmud Ahmad (ra). He said that he immediately
went to meet him. Hadhrat Sheikh Ghulam Ahmad Sahib inquired: ‘Tonight
what have you taken from Allah?’ Upon this Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra) replied, ‘I
have only asked that may Allah grant me the ability to see Islam as a living
religion.’
God is Alive and Hears Your Prayers
“It is strange that our religious scholars make efforts regarding death
of Hazrat Isa but do not try to bring God Almighty to life. They do
not generate the spirit which instills insight and perception of Allah
the Exalted. Our main effort should be to bring God to life and to
inculcate greater connection with Him. If we have a living
connection with God, then no matter how much noise is made by
those who consider that Hazrat Isa is alive, our faith will not be
corrupted because God will guide us every step of the way.”
-Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him)
QUESTION #2:
Am I praying for my children before they are born?
Is it important to pray for our progeny before we
become parents?
How can we pray for our children before they are even
born?
What can we pray for?
Please share your thoughts.
Prophecy of Musleh Maud
The life of Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra) was blessed
due to the immense prayers offered by his father
before he was even born.
In January 1886. God revealed to the
Promised Messiah (as) the prophecy of
Musleh Maud, which he published on 20
February 1886
It is never too early to begin
praying for your children – even they can be encouraged
to start praying for their own children!
• A companion of the Promised Messiah(as), Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad
Sadiq Sahib had the fortune of seeing Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra)
during his childhood. He said three things characterized him firstly his
goodness, secondly his total honesty in all matters and thirdly his
interest in religious matters. He said that he regularly saw him offering
prayers at the side of the Promised Messiah(as). He further narrates
that on one occasion, when Hadhrat Musleh Maud(ra) was around ten
years old, he saw him praying next to the Promised Messiah(as) in the
Aqsa Mosque. He narrates that even though he was but a child he was
bowed down and weeping constantly in holy supplication beseeching
God Almighty.
QUESTION #3:
Am I Praying for My Children in Seclusion?
• The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wished to
perform a “Chilla” (a spiritual exercise entailing prayer in
seclusion for 40 days).
• For this purpose, divinely guided, he went to Hoshiarpur in
January 1886. God granted him many glad-tidings as a
result of this Chilla. One of these was the aforementioned
prophecy of Musleh Maud.
Those whose lives have been significantly
blessed spent time praying in solitude:
• Holy Prophet (sa) spent much time in solitude in cave of Hira.
• Jesus (as) fasted in the desert for forty days and forty nights.
• Moses (as) fasted for forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai
• Elijah fasted for forty days and forty nights during his journey to the
mountain of God
• Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment after fasting and
• meditating under the Bodhi Tree for forty days.
• Guru Baba Nanak has known to perform many chillas.
• Many Muslim Saints have known to perform chillas.
The Holy Qur’an on Praying in Solitude
The Holy Qur’an on Praying in Solitude
Personal Reflection:
On average, how many hours have you spent in the last
week in solitude –
away from your family, friends, cell phone, computer,
and television set –
doing nothing other than praying to God for the
righteousness of your children?
Do you have any ideas that you can share with us on
how praying in solitude can be possible with a hectic
schedule and a busy house?
QUESTION #4: Are we offering Tahajjud to
pray for our children?
• "Every night there is a brief space of time during which
whatever of good pertaining to this life or the next a Muslim
supplicates for, it is granted to him. And this happens every
night.“
-Holy Prophet (sa)
Personal Reflection:
When was the last time you sacrificed your sleep
for the sake of your children and prayed for them
in the hours of the night, when God is listening
most closely?
Praying at Night
• “What was this, do you know? This most wonderful thing which happened in the
wilderness of Arabia? Spiritually dead millions became alive again in a matter of
days; those without eyes began to see, those without speech began to speak the
language of seers gifted with divine knowledge. This was, a revolution which no
eye had seen before nor had an ear heard of it before.
• What was it, do you know? It was a miracle performed by the mighty prayers of a
man who had dedicated his life to God. Prayers offered in the dead of night. These
prayers shook the world. They wrought changes impossible for an unlettered
person to bring about.
• God! Shower Thy blessings and send peace on this man! Bless not only him but
also those who come after him and follow him! Remove their fears, their sorrows,
and their anxieties. And on this his Umma, shower Thy bounties and Thy blessings
until the end of days.”
(Barkat-al Dua pg. 10-11)
Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra) & Tahajjud
• Another incident of his solicitation to Allah is enshrined in my memory and I feel
the presence and freshness of that awe even today some sixty-sevens years later. I
was asleep at the outer courtyard of our home in Qadian on the mardana (men's)
side on a summer night when I heard heart-rendering cries of prayers. The initial
impact on sudden awakening was scary and when I regained my composure, I
found it was Hazrat Musleh Maud engaged in Tahajjud prayers in the upper
courtyard of Hazrat Umme Nasir's home whose wall adjoined our home. As I tried
to listen closely, Hazur was repeating the prayers with such pathos that it looked as
if a kettle was boiling on a stove. And the repetition of this part of the verse and
prayer went on for what looked like eternity. The memory of that night and
experience has never left me any time ever.”
- (“Pearls of Memory” by M.M. Ahmad)
Khalifatul Masih V (atba) on Prayer:
“Every member of the Jama’at also needs to self-reflect and
reform practices. For this the greatest weapon is prayer and in
this regard we should keep in view that God states that one
should develop one’s faith and abide by the modus operandi
that has been given to us. If practice and prayer and prayer
and practice go hand in hand we will be able to truly reform
ourselves.”
Personal Reflection:
How many hours have you spent in the last
month worrying about your children?
Imagine if you devoted that many hours to
praying to God to Guide your progeny to
righteousness.
Say to the disbelievers: ‘But for your prayer to Him my Lord would not
care for you. You have indeed rejected the truth, and the punishment
of your rejection will now cleave to you.’
Personal Reflection:
What is one change you will make in your
prayers habits (Insha’Allah) in order to have
God’s personal protection for the
righteousness of your children?
Please share.