Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 160
160 AHMADIYY AT Prophet. They pay no attention to inner purification, nor can their artificial disciplines purify their hearts, nor can they acquire the light of true understanding through them. This age has become empty of true righteousness and purity. The way of the Holy Prophet, which is the means of purification, has been discarded. Now God Almighty desires that the time of prophethood should be revived in this age and the same righteousnes~ and purity may be re-established. Thus the purpose of God Almighty in setting up this Community is that the lost understanding might be re-estab- lished in the world through this Community [Speeches, pp. 21-2]. 0 ye dear ones, 0 ye the flourishing branches of the tree of my being, who are, by the mercy of God Almighty, which you enjoy because of having entered into the covenant of Ba'iat with me, devoting your lives, your comfort and your properties to this cause, I am aware that you will deem it your good fortune to carry out whatever I might impose upon you to the full extent of your capacity, but I do not desire to lay down myself anything as an obligation upon you, so that your service should not be the result of my directive, but should proceed out of your own free will. Who is my friend and who is dear to me? Only he who recognizes me, only he who believes that I have been sent and who accepts me as those are accepted who are sent. The world cannot accept me because I am not of the world, but those whose nature has been invested with a portion of the other, world accept me and will accept me. He who turns aside from me turns aside from Him Who has sent me, and he who establishes a relationship with me, establishes a relationship with Him from Whom I have come. I hold a lamp in my hand. He who comes to me will surely partake of its light, but he who, out of ill-thinking, runs away will be cast into the darkness. I am the citadel of security for this age. He who enters therein will 'be secure against thieves, robbers and wild beasts. He who seeks to remain away from my walls will be confronted with death from every direction and even his dead body will not be saved. Who is it who enters my citadel? Only he who discards vice, and adopts goodness, and gives up crookedness, and treads along the path of truth, and frees himself from the bondage of Satan and becomes an obedient servant of God Almighty. Everyone who doe,s that is in me and I am in him. But only he has the power to attain to this upon whom God Almighty bestows a pure ego. Then He puts His foot in the hell of such a