The Need for the Renewal of Faith CONTENTS

The Need for the Renewal of Faith about Me, say that I am near. I respond to the call of one who calls, whenever he calls to Me: let them, then, respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided.” (2:186) The same adjuration was expressed by Jesus Christ: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) Prayer is not just a few words: it is the greatest of actions just as a good deed is never fruitless, so also is true prayer never fruitless. When a person prays sincerely, it means that he is placing himself in God’s hands and when this happens, there is no one who can prevent his prayer from being fulfilled. The Need for the Renewal of Faith A ccording to a hadith, the Prophet of Islam once observed: “Renew your faith.” When asked how to do so, the Prophet replied, “renew your faith by the kalimah ‘la ilaha illallah’ (there is no god but one God).” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 8710) From this tradition we learn that the kalimah is not something which should