Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 192
Islamic Jihad Misunderstood 187 Whoso disbelieves in Allah after he has believed— save him who is coerced beyond the limits of his tolerance while his heart remains firm in faith. But those whose hearts are content with rejection, upon them will fall the wrath of Allah; and for them shall be a great chastisement. (S u rah al-Na h l; Ch. 16: V. 107) Now let us consider the case of those believers who refuse to recant the truth despite being subjected to the most extreme forms of punishment and torture; they not only sacrifice their wealth and their worldly possessions in the cause of truth, they go further and sacrifice even their very lives. These are the ones who have progressed through the stage of justice and entered into the realm of benevolence. They are the ones who have beautified their faith. But there is another stage beyond the stage of benevolence and that is the one of I t a ’i Dhil-Qurb a. Is it possible that those who fight in defence of their faith can be more than benevolent? Can they, as far as their sacrifices are concerned, enter the stage of I t a ’i Dhil-Qurb a in their relationship with God? Most certainly they can and do. Unless they consider the cause of God as actually their own, they could not have sacrificed everything they held. The only