close
Saturday April 20, 2024

Prayers convey problems to God

Most common people when they are in trouble and do not find any rescuer they rush to city elders, preferably imams of mosques, for some help or advice to get rid of problems relating to daily life -- social, economic, financial and cultural etc. They are asked to go to

By Zafar Alam Sarwar
February 02, 2015
Most common people when they are in trouble and do not find any rescuer they rush to city elders, preferably imams of mosques, for some help or advice to get rid of problems relating to daily life -- social, economic, financial and cultural etc. They are asked to go to a mosque for direct communion with Almighty God. So, one sees people in large numbers at locality mosques early in the morning offering Fajr prayer. But the number increases ten times at Juma congregation.
Imams well versed in Islamic studies, who lead prayers, raise their hands in all humbleness and loyalty to the Creator and, on behalf of the followers, pray: “Almighty God, provide the jobless with opportunities to earn livelihood rightfully; cure the ailing brethren quickly and adequately; instil into grown-up children’s minds the spirit of kindness and gentle humility to parent who brought them up when he was strong and the child was helpless; save us from social and economic miseries caused by our own wrong-doings; and, inter alia, show us the right path; and enrich us with greater amount of unity, harmony and consensus in all matters of survival with dignity and honour.”
Whatever the social, economic and political situation and administration’s policies, there are 3.7 million jobless people in the country, which includes Rawalpindi and Islamabad, according to a local chamber of commerce and industry. Isn’t it a great problem? Such a problem can be well addressed if we recall the Nature has given us everything: we have unlimited resources. Unfortunately, about half a century has been lost in fighting for self-interest: it’s again time to build the motherland, and build as quickly and as well as we can -- we’ll have to go ahead for the welfare of the common man.
City olds say we’ll have to depend upon none except our own inherent strength; that’s our only safeguard and the best guard. Do we need to learn self-reliance? God helps those who help themselves.
Diseases have not yet been controlled absolutely; prices of medicines go up when the lower and poor people visit medical stores; quality of the prescribed drugs is another problem; hence special prayer for honesty and corruption-free medical supply. Socio-economic problems increase in society when grown-up children do not care for elders. One knows a member of the National Assembly who ignored his parent and was never kind to him.
The common people believe in one God, one Book and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and have faith in themselves. They need to be united on one platform, but leaders are not united.
Do they have own aspirations?
Hence, prayer at Juma congregation: “Almighty God, give us the wealth of unity we need so direly.”
zasarwar@hotmail.com