Arba'in — Page 131
Number Four 131 And then at one place God Almighty says: ْنِا ُكَّي اًبِذاَك ِهْيَلَعَف ٗهُبِذَك َو ْنِا ُكَّي اًقِداَص ْمُكْبِصُّي ُضْعَب ْيِذَّلا ْمُكُدِعَي َّنِا َهّٰللا اَل ْيِدْهَي 1 ْنَم َوُه ٌفِرْسُم ٌباَّذَك۰۰ This means that if this Prophet is a liar, he will face destruction as a consequence of his lies, but if he is truthful, you will inevi- tably taste some punishment, since those who commit transgres- sions—whether they fabricate lies or reject [the truth]—will not be helped by God. Now look, what greater elaboration could be asked for than this, that God Almighty repeatedly says in the Holy Quran that the fabricator of lies against God will perish in this very world! On the contrary, the foremost evidence for God’s truthful Prophets and Appointees is that they pass away after completing their mis- sion. They are given time to spread the faith. And in the brief lifespan of man, the most extended reprieve that can be given to a man is twenty-three years because, prophethood generally com- mences at the age of forty. If an additional twenty-three years are granted, those will be the best part of his life. This is why I say again and again that for the truthful ones, the extent of time given to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a correct standard of measurement. It is not possible that a person, being a liar and a fabricator of lies against God, should be granted a reprieve equal to the period of the Holy Prophet’s prophethood which was twenty-three years. He would undoubt- edly perish [before that]. In this regard, a friend of mine, with good intentions, had 1. S u rah al-Mu’min, 40:29 [Publisher]