humans also. A person has to live as God’s faithful servant just as the rest of the universe totally obeys its Creator. The only difference is that the universe obeys God as a matter of compulsion, while a

Subsequently his desires, his feelings, his interests, his relations – everything become dyed in the hue of God. Then comes his daily life – his behaviour and dealings with others are moulded according to the virtues

externally he becomes an obedient person. A human being is created by God, so the right attitude for the believer is to live in submission to God in this world. In Islam, the right way of life is to live in conformity

brings the period of fasting to a close. ‘Lailatal-Qadar’ is also termed as the ‘Night of Decisions’ as God takes decisions for the coming year on this night. Once Aisha (the wife of the Prophet), asked Prophet

Prophet gave this prayer: “O God, You are the Forgiver, You love to forgive Your servants, so You forgive me.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 3850) The greatest thing to ask God is forgiveness. It is forgiveness

which leads one to eternal Paradise. Therefore Prophet Muhammad advised us to seek forgiveness from God Almighty on this night.

not followed God’s scheme. We have trodden the path of our own desires, seeking to achieve by futile and irrelevant protests what can only come from wise use of the opportunities that God has afforded

afforded us. The generations following Adam, the first man on earth, all worshipped one God. Mankind, as the Quran says, “were one community.”4 So the situation continued for a few centuries, but soon worship

it difficult to focus their attention on an invisible God, so they focused it elsewhere, on visible objects, and in so doing reduced belief in God to the lowly and unimportant status of an abstract creed

prophetic guidance: belief in God, the angels, the scriptures, the prophets, the resurrection of man and life after death, heaven and hell, as well as recognition of God as the overriding Lord and Sovereign

has truly submitted oneself to God. All one’s efforts in the world become oriented towards the Hereafter. One’s worship, sacrifices, life and death are all dedicated to God and His prophets. The self-guided

person he wishes to be, rather than what God and His prophets would like to see. People who adhere to the religion of some previous prophet can only be counted as God’s true servants if they believe in the

those divine attributes which exist in perfect form in God’s being. In the entire universe a human being is an exceptional creature. His is a living existence. He is the only creature who has been granted

level of realization. He may see God while He Himself is unseen. He may render himself powerless before God; in spite of having power; he may surrender himself before God without any compulsion. He is blessed

consciousness. When he does so, he finds truth at the level of personal discovery; the realization of God comes to him as he bows in selfprostration. Then he has to develop his personality to such a degree

granted to man those divine attributes which exist in perfect form in God’s being. In the entire universe a human being is an exceptional creature. His is a living existence. He is the only creature who

level of realization. He may see God while He Himself is unseen. He may render himself powerless before God; in spite of having power; he may surrender himself before God without any compulsion. He is blessed

consciousness. When he does so, he finds truth at the level of personal discovery; the realization of God comes to him as he bows in selfprostration. Then he has to develop his personality to such a degree

them worship Me and no other gods besides Me. Wicked indeed are those who after this deny Me. (24:55) From this it is abundantly clear that political power is a gift from God and is far from being a matter

true spirit, a time might come when God in His wisdom saw fit to invest them with political authority. Similarly, the Quran says for the benefit of the believers: “God is powerful and mighty: He will assuredly

(22:41). From the following verse also, we learn from God’s injunction to the Prophet that the matter of political power rests entirely in the hands of God: “Say, Lord, Sovereign of all sovereignty, You bestow

completely helpless. This helplessness is the meeting point between God and man. Acknowledging one’s helplessness make one deserving of God’s succour being granted to him. Among human beings there are those

and others who are weak believers. Referring to this difference, there is a Hadith which says: “To God, the strong believer is better and more loving than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both

goodness of the strong believer is that God has created him with greater capability, and the goodness of the weak believer is that, due to his lesser ability, God has compensated him with more divine succour

not followed God’s scheme. We have trodden the path of our own desires, seeking to achieve by futile and irrelevant protests what can only come from wise use of the opportunities that God has afforded

afforded us. The generations following Adam, the first man on earth, all worshipped one God. Mankind, as the Quran says, “were one community.”4 So the situation continued for a few centuries, but soon worship

it difficult to focus their attention on an invisible God, so they focused it elsewhere, on visible objects, and in so doing reduced belief in God to the lowly and unimportant status of an abstract creed

need of the succour of God. It is when man experiences this helplessness, ijz which is made manifest during the times when man feels hunger and thirst, that his true self meets God. Thus it is the discovery

satisfaction. This experience makes him aware of his duties as God’s humble servant. This feeling leads to caution in life. It makes one God-conscious and live a life of piety, taqwa. Roza is, therefore

therefore, an opportunity or the meeting point between man and God. This meeting point is the last stage of helplessness, which makes you realize that God is all-powerful and man is helpless.SPIRITUAL TRAINING