Blessings of Khilafat — Page 110
110 theirs. People of high descent would not even visit their shops in person. Moreover, they would not invest very large sums of money in their businesses, and so their shops would be rather small. Gradually, it was for this reason that people started ranking them among the castes which were considered to be lowly in society. Of course it was a natural outcome of their being always in touch with people who were also considered to be in low classes. On the other hand, the shoemakers of England do this business with large sums of money and have relations with people of high social standing. That is why their condition has changed and people consider them to be among the respectable, for the moral deprivation that was feared because of their particular circumstances is no longer a threat. Similarly, there are professions which naturally cast an ill-effect on anyone involved with them. Take for example music, which— without anyone’s being involved in any other kind of unacceptable relationship—casts an adverse influences on the heart of the person involved. That is why those related to this profession are considered to be of low status. As you will witness, families that have emerged as noble have achieved that status due to righteousness, piety and good morals. Some tribes became respectable because they were related to some pious person, some because of being related to someone who was indeed very brave and some because of their relationship with some great conqueror. Should we take a look at the roots of some nations, their nobility would be found to have resulted from their being possessed of good morals at some time in the past, and since the relationships that man takes do affect his morals, it becomes necessary to some extent to take into consideration the element of