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Mansur Ahmad
We
have often wondered if we are pious enough for Allah(SWT) to listen
to our prayers. Some times, we ask a sheikh or an imam to pray on our
behalf, so that the chance of acceptance of our prayers increases.
The Holy Qur'an narrates an incident about an insignificant person whose
prayer was not only accepted, but was rewarded manifold.
In Surah Al-i-'Imran, Allah(SWT) narrates the story of Mar-yam's(PBH)
mother. The Qur'ân refers her simply as a woman, suggesting her
insignificance, except some lineage to the family of 'Imran. As a person,
she did not receive any special recognition in the Qur'ân.
This
insignificant woman, whose name was Hanna, was expecting a child. Most
likely a baby boy, she thought. She wanted her 'son' to grow up and be
a priest in the temple. To fulfill her desire, she had invoked an earnest
prayer:
Rabbi
innî nadhartu laka mâ fî batnî muharraran fa-taqabbal
minnî; innaka anta-s samî'u-l 'alîm.
My Rabb! I do hereby dedicate to You what is within my womb to be devoted,
so accept from me; surely You, only You, are the all-Hearing, the all-Knowing.
(Al-i-'Imran 3:35)
Although she was insignificant, her devotion and sincere du'a was accepted.
A dedication of the child in her womb to the Rabb must not be misunderstood
to be blood-sacrifice; it is the tireless effort in the right path that
we all must exercise. When the baby girl was born, the mother was troubled
as her expectation was for a male child. To the Rabb, it is not the gender
but the sincerity that matters. As the supplication qualifies, Allah(SWT)
is surely all-Hearing, all-Knowing. He knows very well everything in a
womb (Ar-Ra'd 13:8), and in addition, what that child is going to do as
it matures (Al-i-'Imran 3:36).
The baby girl grew up to be an example of purity, prompting Zakariyya(PBH)
to long for such a pious child for himself. She not only became the mother
of a prophet, her virtues earned her the finest recognition-she is the
only woman who is named in the Qur'ân. A Surah named after her,
she is a Sign to the mankind (Al-Anbiya' 21:91, Al-Mu'minun 23:50). Mar-yam(PBH)
and her son 'Isa(PBH) may be of the most famous people, yet they were
the results of a sincere prayer from an insignificant expectant mother.
Even
if we are insignificant, Allah(SWT) attentively listens to our every du'a
and provides us beyond our imagination.
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