The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page 18
verities to the world. No Prophet shares with him the pride that he found the whole world in darkness and by his advent that darkness gave place to light. [Lecture Sialkot, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, Vol. 20, pp. 203-206]. Perfect Reality of Islām. First of all, it is necessary to set out what is the reality of. Islām, what are the means of arriving at that reality and what are the fruits of following that reality; for this knowledge is essential for the purpose of understanding many mysteries. It would be of great benefit for our opponents from among the Muslims that they should study these matters with attention, for many of the doubts which assail their minds are the result of their failure to reflect upon the complete and perfect reality of Islām, its sources and its fruits. . . . . The opponents of religion also would benefit greatly by this study. They would understand what religion is and what are the signs of its truth. . In the idiom of Arabic, Islām means money paid as earnest to conclude a bargain, or to commit some affair to someone, or to seek peace, or to surrender a claim or point. . The technical meaning of Islām is set out in the verse: بل مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلّهِ وَ هُوَ مُحْسِنَ فَلَةٌ أَجْرُهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ". This means that a Muslim is one who commits himself wholly to the cause of God Almighty; that is to say, one who devotes himself to God Almighty, to following His designs and to winning His pleasure, and then becomes steadfast in doing good for the sake of God Almighty and 11 al-Baqarah, 2:113 [Publisher]