Acceptance of Prayer – A Ticket Back Home

Zaki-ud-Din – Canada

An historic event took place in 2017. Every year, the Ahmadiyya Muslims Community UK holds an international convention, where tens of thousands of Ahmadi Muslims, guests, and dignitaries of different faiths from all over the world converge to take part in this spiritually uplifting event. Of course, the highlights are the various addresses delivered by the Fifth Caliph and Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslims Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba). In 2017, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association in Canada, chartered an entire plane to take hundreds of Ahmadi youth to experience this blessed event and also assist in winding up the elaborate set-up required for a gathering of such magnitude. This was the first time an entire plane had been chartered for the sake of attending this convention.

Though I’d already attended this convention in the past, I longed to be part of such an historic milestone. Unfortunately, I did not have the funds to join this historic flight. Naturally I was sad, but I continued looking for flights which were within my budget. The only ticket I was able to find was a one-way connecting flight. At that moment, I decided to book the ticket, despite the fact that I had no way to return home. I thought that I would leave the matter to God and trust that He would help me find a way home.

So, I travelled to London and by the grace of God, soaked in the blessings of this auspicious convention. All the while, I took every opportunity to pray behind His Holiness (aba), and implored God to help create a way for me to return home. Throughout this time, as far as I am able to recall, I did not mention the fact that I did not have a ticket back home to anyone; it was a matter between myself and God.

One day, after offering prayers in the Fazl Mosque in London, I was headed out of the door when another brother from Canada stopped me. Without any prompting, he said to me, ‘We have booked a ticket for you to return to Canada with us.’

I was utterly astonished!

Although I recognized this brother, I had not even hinted to him that I was searching for a way home; in fact, if memory serves correct, I had not mentioned this to anyone at all.

To this day, I do not know what prompted this brother to book a ticket back to Canada for me so that I was able to return home free of any cost. I realized that this was completely and solely the result of my humble, fervent supplications at the threshold of the Almighty. In this way, God Almighty accepted my prayers, and granted me a ticket back home.