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We’re currently passing through Ramadan, the holiest month of Islam, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. But this isn’t the crux of Ramadan; Muslims fast to gain a greater understanding of God and connect with Him on a higher level.
This connection with God intersects with a crucial part of Islam: the acceptance of prayer. If we wish to truly establish that God exists, we must witness a sign, which convinces us that He must exist.
The Existence Project has had the honour of collecting these incidents from Ahmadi Muslims from all over the world, under the directive of the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba).
With these incidents, we answer the age-old question: does God listen to us? The Existence Project presents Ramadan as the perfect litmus test to prove the existence of God.
To begin our journey of discovering how prayers are accepted during Ramadan, we travel to Canada:
Uzair Ahmed writes:
‘When I decided to go to Medical School in Europe, I looked at dozens of universities, but only one was offering an entrance exam in London during my planned visit there, so that’s where I decided to apply: a university in the Czech Republic. During my few weeks in London, I began studying, and prayed daily behind the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) during the blessed month of Ramadan.
At that time, apart from my family, I literally only knew one person in London, my friend Fakhar. We became quite close as he would drive me to the mosque every morning to offer the pre-dawn prayer behind His Holiness.
One afternoon, as I tried to study, I felt as if I had hit a wall and became overwhelmed with frustration. This decision to go to Europe for medical school was unorthodox, I had zero guidance from anyone that had done it, and I just felt a little lost. I distinctly recall the feeling of helplessness that overcame me that afternoon.
Yet, here’s the thing. When that feeling hits you, something inside tells you that now is the time to pray because surely God will not forsake you. His love is so considerate that He can’t possibly leave you by yourself in your most vulnerable moments. So, I prayed to God to just help me in a really clear way, because I felt alone. I particularly had faith that this prayer would be accepted due to Ramadan, and I was receiving the blessings of praying behind His Holiness (aba) daily in those weeks.
That same evening, I met Fakhar at the mosque, who wanted to introduce me to someone he had just met: the person who was performing I’tikaf next to him (I’tikaf is an optional 10-day period of seclusion in the mosque at the end of Ramadan).
He introduced himself and said that Fakhar had told him I was applying to medical school in Europe. He asked me, “What’s the name of the company organizing your exam in London?” I felt it was a random and strange question, but when I told him the name, he quite casually replied, “Oh, that’s my company.”
I was dumbfounded. My feelings of uncertainty and disorientation were soothed, with the clear message from God that He was there, and things would be okay. The company owner explained all the various steps to me, and I was completely at peace. Yes, it’s a small world and coincidences happen. But for it to happen in response to a perturbed heart’s prayer, on the same day, in such a gentle fashion, is unconvincing to dismiss as chance.
I’m now in my final year of medical school and still find comfort in that memory, as I have only grown more certain over the years that God truly cares about our every anguish. We are immensely fortunate to have a Loving Friend in Allah.’
Next, we take a quick trip to the United Kingdom:
Rohaam Khan is a young man who shared with The Existence Project that he needed very particular marks in Maths and Computer Science, but was weak in these two subjects. At the current level, he would not receive admission into his preferred college. After struggling to study and fervently praying all throughout the month of Ramadan, he put his trust in the Merciful God and went to do his exams.
To his utter shock and surprise, the exams were exactly identical to online practice exams that he had studied some days before! He ended up receiving far better marks than the ones required for college admission and was accepted into the college he preferred!
Finally, we end our journey in Nigeria:
Dr. Latif Busari writes about his wondrous story of receiving a job offer. He was to interview for a very lofty position and wrote to the His Holiness the Fourth Caliph (rh) for prayers. The interview fell within the month of Ramadan, so he emotionally prayed to Allah the Almighty. It was well known that to secure a job in Abuja (Nigeria), a person had to be well-connected, otherwise it was very difficult.
Dr. Latif entered the room for the interview. They asked him some questions. They dismissed him. And that was it. He chalked it up to the position already being decided beforehand, but in October of the same year, he received a job offer! The problem: the letter with his job offer was three months old. He decided it was impossible that they held the job for three months but decided to visit them a month later, while on an official assignment in Abuja. When Dr. Latif came to the office, the secretary was extremely happy, and confirmed the offer was still valid!
The blessings of Ramadan and the prayers of His Holiness the Fourth Caliph (rh) worked so miraculously, that Dr. Latif witnessed the beautiful acceptance of prayer!
In this blessed month of Ramadan, Muslims from all across the world are praying to Allah the Almighty to accept their prayers. Now more than ever, God is demonstrating His existence in every corner of the world.
If you struggle to ask God if He exists, now is your chance: pray to God to give you a sign of His existence, and confirm once and for all whether God is the greatest truth of all, or the grandest lie ever concocted. Ramadan is a rare opportunity for humankind to witness the Creator of the universe and change their lives for the better. Every human whether theist or atheist, young or old, must ask themselves today: will they give prayer a chance?
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