Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 88
BarĀhĪn-e-a H madiyya — Part three 88 deserving people. Whenever a person turns to God with remorse and repentance at the time of stumbling and sinning, he becomes deserv- ing, in the sight of God, that He should turn to him with mercy and forgiveness. God’s turning towards a remorseful and repentant person is not limited to one or two instances, but it is an eternal attribute of God Almighty. Whenever a remorseful and repentant servant turns towards God, this attribute is definitely manifested towards him. It is not a part of the divine laws of nature that those who are prone to stum- ble should not stumble, or that the nature of those who are in thrall to their beastly or aggressive traits should change. Rather, His law— which, since eternity, has been in operation — is that imperfect peo- ple who commit sin due to their personal deficiencies, should find forgiveness through repentance and istighf a r. Nevertheless, someone who is naturally weak in certain facul- ties cannot become strong because this entails a change in his inborn nature which is evidently impossible. Moreover, it is a matter of com- mon observation that a short-tempered person can never become cool- headed; whenever provoked, he inadvertently shows signs of anger, loses self-control or utters some inappropriate words. Even if out of some consideration he shows some restraint, he seethes in his heart. It is foolish to think that some incantation, or the adoption of a particu- lar faith, will change his nature. It was in this context that the Innocent Prophet [Muhammad saw ], from whose lips flowed wisdom, said: إ سالم. ال خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في ا That is: ‘Those people who were good-natured in the J a hiliyyah [the pre-Islamic period known as ‘Ignorance’] are good-natured in Islam. ’ In short, human natures are like minerals of diverse types: some are bright and clear like silver, some are foul-smelling and highly inflam- mable like sulphur, some are unstable and restless like mercury, and some are hard and sturdy like iron. Just as this diversity of natures is