Sympathy and Compassion for Friends

The Promised Messiah (as) said: The fact of the matter is that my friends are a part of me, as are my limbs. We observe in our daily lives that even the smallest of parts, such as a finger for example, if subject to pain, agitates and distresses the entire body. Allah the Exalted is well-aware that in exactly the same way, constantly at every moment, I forever remain anxious and concerned about whether my friends are in a state of ease and comfort. This sympathy and compassion which I feel is not the result of any artificial effort or unnaturally. In fact, just as a mother is incessantly absorbed in ensuring that each and every one of her children are in peace and comfort, no matter their number, I find my heart replete, in the way of Allah, with the same tenderness and compassion for my friends. This sympathy is so burning that when I receive a letter from any one of my friends alluding to a grief or illness with which they are suffering, my disposition becomes restless and disturbed, and I am taken aback by grief. As our dear ones increase, this grief increases in equal proportion. There is no hour in which I am free from some form of apprehension and grief, because from among the vast number of my friends, one or the other is afflicted by some form of grief or pain. When they inform me of their worries, my heart becomes perturbed and restless. I cannot describe the amount of time that I suffer from worries. Since there is no being other than Allah Almighty who can deliver one from such worries and concerns, I engage myself constantly in prayers. The foremost prayer that I offer is for my friends to be saved from grief and worry because the thought of them overwhelms me with anguish and agony. Then, I pray in the general sense that if there is anyone who suffers from some form of grief and hardship, may Allah Almighty grant them deliverance. My entire effort and every ounce of my passion moves me to supplicate before Allah the Exalted. Much hope can be gained from the acceptance of prayer.[i]

[i] Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Volume 1 (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications, 2018), 101.