The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page 232
232. Essence of Islam-1 sinless, he is not capable of intercession. He who marries a woman lays the foundation for himself of sympathy with mankind, for a wife becomes the means of establishing a wide circle of relationships and, when children are born, this circle is widened even more. The children in turn find wives and thus their children too come to have grandmothers and uncles of their own. In this way, such a person becomes habituated towards love and sympathy and the circle of this habit being extended, his sympathy is extended towards everyone. But those who are reared in celibacy, find no opportunity of extending this habit and their hearts are left dry and hard. . Sinlessness has nothing to do with intercession, because 'Ismat sinlessness-only means negation or avoidance of sin. The definition of sin is that a person should earn punishment by deliberately breaking the commandments of God. It is thus clear that sinlessness and intercession are not interrelated for minor children and congenital idiots are also sinless for they are not capable of wilful disobedience. Nor do they earn punishment in the estimation of God on account of any action of theirs. They are entitled to be considered sinless, but are they entitled to be intercessors for mankind and to be called saviours?. . . . As I have just explained, it is necessary for an intercessor that he should have a deep relationship with God, as if. God has descended into his heart and his humanness having died he has become the subject of heavenly manifestations, and his soul has melted and flowed like water towards God and has arrived at the extreme point of nearness to Him. It is also necessary for an intercessor that his heart should be overpowered with sympathy for the one for whom he desires to intercede, and the inten-