Barakatud Du‘a, or The Blessings of Prayer, written by the Promised Messiah^(as) in 1893, is a refutation of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s view that there is no such thing as the acceptance of prayer, and that prayer is no more than a form of worship. The Promised Messiah^(as) rejects this view and proclaims that Allah hears and accepts the supplication of believers which are offered in humility and sincerity, and that the acceptance of prayer sets in motion its own chain of causes which culminates in the fulfilment of the objective prayed for.

In the second part of the book, which deals with Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s other book Usulut Tafsir (On the Principles of Commentary of the Holy Quran), the Promised Messiah^(as) presents his criteria or guiding principles for the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran.

The initial translation of this book was done by the late Dr. Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry. It has now been thoroughly revised at Wakalat Tasnif. I am grateful to Sahibzada Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib, Wakilul Isha‘at, Tahrik-e-Jadid, Rabwah and Maulana Muniruddin Shams Sahib, Additional Wakilut Tasnif, London, for their valuable suggestions and their help in bringing out this book. I am also indebted to the following who assisted me in the various stages of this project: Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad Ayaz, Dr. Muhammad Shafiq Sehgal, Raja Ata-ul-Mannan, Syed Tanwir Mujtaba, Tahir Mahmood Mubashar.

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Wakilut Tasnif,
Tahrik-e-Jadid Rabwah
December 24th 2006