Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part IV — Page 229
Footnote Number Eleven 229 way of test and trial so that it may be proven how he uses it, and that there is nothing that is his property or his right, he would, as a result of this realization, seek his salvation through investing it in virtuous undertakings and would, at the same time, be extremely grateful. For, only he can be grateful with sincerity of heart and love who realizes that whatever he has is pure bounty without any merit on his part. In short, according to the A ryas, God Almighty is neither ن ی رب العٰلم [ Rabbul- ‘ a lam i n —Lord of all the worlds], nor رحمٰن [ Ra h m a n— Gracious], nor رحیم [ Ra hi m —Merciful], nor has He the power to grant eternal, ever- lasting, and complete recompense. Now I propose to examine the views of the Brahm u Sam a jists about the above-mentioned points of divine wisdom—namely, whether or not they fully subscribe to the above-mentioned four verities. So, let it be clear that the Brahm u Sam a jists do not base themselves firmly on them; indeed, they are not at all aware of the full significance of these four lofty points of wisdom. First, the concept of God’s being ن ی رب العٰلم [ Rabbul-‘ a lam i n ], which denotes perfect rub u biyyat [prov- idence] , is still obscure to the understanding and intelligence of the Brahm u Sam a jists. They believe that divine rub u biyyat does not extend beyond God’s creation of this entire universe with all of its forces and capacities at a particular time, but since then all of those forces and capacities have been independently performing their functions and God Almighty has no power to intervene or to bring about changes and alterations therein. In their false notion, the firm and permanent basis of the laws of nature has rendered the All-Powerful redundant and idle, with no way left for Him to intervene. He no longer remembers any way of restrain- ing, for example, the heating properties of a hot object or the coldness of a frigid object, or to stop the manifestation of the burning quality of fire; and even if He remembers any such strategy, His knowledge in this regard is confined to the limits of human knowledge and nothing more. In other words, that which man has discovered, in a limited and restricted manner, about the properties and nature of the universe and