Originally published in The Daily Bulletin
Dear readers: here are 10 ways you can become closer to God. These were written 125 years ago by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the messiah and mahdi …
1. Do not associate partners with God. This means believing that God is singularly one, the only supreme being and sole creator of the universe.
2. Abstain from lying, fornication, adultery, trespasses of the eye, debauchery, cruelty, dishonesty, mischief and rebellion. Don’t be carried away by your passions.
3. Offer the five daily prayers according to the command of God and the holy prophet; and try to regularly offer the Tahajjud (pre-dawn optional) prayer, and invoke God’s blessings upon the holy prophet. Ask forgiveness for your sins, remember God’s bounties and praise him.
4. Under the impulse of any passions, cause no harm to the creatures of God and human beings in general; neither by your tongue, your hands, nor by any other means. You should embody “Love for All — Hatred for None.”
5. Remain faithful to God in all circumstances of life — in sorrow and happiness, adversity and prosperity, in good times and bad — and remain submitted to God, ready to face all indignities and sufferings in his way, never turning away at the onslaught of any misfortune. Be ever steadfast.
6. Refrain from following immoral, un-Islamic customs and lustful inclinations, and completely submit yourself to the authority of the Holy Quran; and make the word of God and the sayings of the holy prophet the guiding principle in every walk of life.
7. Give up all pride and vanity and live your life in complete humbleness, cheerfulness and forbearance.
8. Hold faith, the honor of faith, and the cause of Islam dearer to you than your life, wealth, honor, children and all other dear ones.
9. Keep yourself occupied in the service of God’s creatures for his sake only; and strive to benefit mankind to the best of your God-given abilities.
10. Enter into a bond of brotherhood with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad — the promised messiah — pledging obedience to this humble servant of God in everything good, for the sake of God alone, and remain faithful to it until your last breath.
