Conditions of Bai'at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi — Page 80
C ONDITIONS OF B AI ‘ AT AND R ESPONSIBILITIES OF AN A H MAD I 80 That is, the virtuous are those who suppress their anger when it is appropriate and forgive when it is appropriate to forgive sins. A bad deed should be requited with an equal amount and in situations where forgiveness of sin is corrective without causing any harm—that is, forgiveness is granted when the occasion warrants and not otherwise—then it merits reward. ( Islam i U su l k i Philosophy , R uha n i Khaz a’ in , vol. 10, p. 351) There is a famous tradition of the Holy Prophet sa that many have heard. Pointing towards his chest, the Holy Prophet sa said: ‘ Taqw a lies in here. ’ That is to say, that pure and matchless taqw a , if it were to be found anywhere, lived only in the heart of the Holy Prophet sa. Besides taqw a there is nothing else in his heart. So, O people, O community of believers, for you the ever- lasting instruction is that the example you have to emulate is the model of the Holy Prophet sa. So, search your hearts. Are you making efforts at imbuing yourselves with taqw a by emulating the example of the Holy Prophet sa ? Do you also have the fear of Allah, and is His love in yourselves? As a result, do you have sympathy for and do you do good towards His creation? Now I place before you the tradition in full: Hadrat Ab u Hurairah ra narrates that the Holy Prophet sa said: ‘Do not be jealous of one another. Do not quarrel among yourselves. Do not entertain malice against each other. Do not have enmities against one another. None of you should 58. ( al-Sh u r a , 42:41)