The Devotion of Life — Page 318
318 the way that people before them did and because of which one-ninth of the task effort was wasted and only one part was accomplished. The Community cannot progress in this manner, because the Missionaries who do not look after their hours and do not spend them in the correct manner cannot be a source of progress for the Community. The future Missionaries should resolve to guard over their hours vigilantly. Their task is not verbal Tabligh, rather it is also to make others aware of religious matters, to morally train them, to give them religious education and to teach them the sense of sacrifice by example and to prepare them for Tabligh. In short, wherever our Missionary goes, it should be as if a school of religious and moral education has opened there. After delivering lectures and speeches for a while, other tasks can be taken care of. However, it is not possible to continually speak publicly because of its effect on the throat; all other faculties can be used instead. After making a speech, I continue with reading and writing all day long. I wish to advise the Missionaries that the task they have currently assumed as theirs is not theirs. It is a very limited and narrow remit. It is not the task of an officer to fight in the battle ground in place of the soldiers; rather his task is to prepare the soldiers to fight the battle. Similarly, the task of a Missionary is to prepare the Community for the task of Tabligh and to make them actively do Tabligh. The Missionaries should, with the Grace of Allah the Exalted, give attention to the training of the Community. They should come up with suggestions for the idle of the Community, should make