On November 17, 2025, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (may Allah be his Helper) granted an audience to a delegation of 16 members of Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya USA.
During the audience, an attendee asked Huzoor-e-Anwar (may Allah be his Helper) how young people can develop true spiritual patience required to strive in the way of Allah, especially in an era dominated by instant gratification. He responded:
“When one climbs a ladder, one must take the first step; you do not jump straight onto the final step. You must climb each step one by one; otherwise, if you try to leap forward, you will fall. The same is the case with spiritual rank. When you try to ascend and say all at once, ‘I will offer two prayers and become a saint of God,’ this is not how it happens.
“Allah the Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an that you must strive in His path. Strive, make an effort, strive hard, and then He will grant you success.
“Therefore, just as we exert ourselves in worldly matters, we must exert ourselves in religious matters. One does not find Allah in a single day. Allah says, ‘Strive in My path.’ That you worship Allah, and offer your five daily prayers properly.
“Then [ensure that you] offer voluntary prayers; engage in the remembrance of Allah; practise the commandments contained in the Holy Qur’an. Are you fulfilling the rights of people, or not? Are you fulfilling the rights of Allah, or not? When all these things are fulfilled, then if one desires spiritual progress, a connection with Allah is established.
“Just as you exercise patience from primary school all the way to a Bachelor’s degree – fourteen or fifteen years – likewise you must show patience here and learn. Offering four prayers here and there, and then praying five times a day for thirty days in Ramadan, and saying, “We have prayed a lot, but we have not seen Allah” – Allah does not become visible in one month. In those very verses of fasting and Ramadan, Allah says that you must become firm in faith and obey His commandments; then He will listen to your prayers.”
[Press Release, November 19, 2025, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Press & Media Office]