Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 231
231 The direction enjoining moderation is another in- stance of the Islamic injunctions which are designed to prevent sin or evil. It is obvious that an attempt to suppress natural instincts altogether, is likely to lead to a revolt of these instincts. They are like a river which sometimes rises in flood. At such seasons the surplus water may be used for purposes of irrigation by means of channels and canals but if we attempt to confine it within the old banks it may overflow and carry devasta- tion into the surrounding country. Islam, therefore, enjoins moderation in all things, and disapproves of the total suppression of natural instincts, which might lead to a moral flood and consequent devastation. For in- stance, a celibate, as a penalty of attempting to suppress a natural instinct, always runs the risk of being over- whelmed by a sudden burst of passion which may lead him into sin. Again, a man who gives away the whole of his wealth and keeps nothing for his wife and children, may be reduced to the undesirable condition of a beggar to supply his own wants or the wants of those dependent upon him; or worse still, may become a pick-pocket or a thief, and may thus, instead of becoming good fall into serious evil. When, therefore, Islam says, 'We have made you a people moderate in all things,' 129 it closes the door on all the undesirable consequences of excess. Habit and custom are another source of evil and sin. A person sometimes feels impelled to commit a wrong in order to find the means of satisfying a habit, or of conforming to a custom. For instance, the manners or 129 Al-Baqarah, 2:144.