The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 156
156. Essence of Islam-III the hereafter are very fine and imperceptible. One has to believe in the unseen and the supernatural. No one has ever seen God Almighty or observed heaven and hell, or met the angels. What is more, Divine commandments are opposed to the desires of the ego and restrain from that in which the ego delights. Therefore it is necessary that either the Prophets of God, who bring the law and the. Book and possess spiritual power, should live long and continue to bless their followers in each century with their company, and should train them under their own graceful supervision and convey to them the blessing, light and spiritual comprehension which they had done in the early part of their ministry. Or, if that should not be possible, then their spiritual heirs, who are equipped with their high qualities and can set forth the verities and insights comprised in the Divine Book under the guidance of revelation, and can illustrate in practice that which is related to the past and can lead a seeker after truth to certainty, must continue to appear in times of trouble and trials so that man who is afflicted with doubt and forgetfulness should not be deprived of the true grace of the. Prophets. . It is obvious that when the time of a Prophet comes to an end, and those who have witnessed his blessings pass away, their experiences become tales in the eyes of the people of the next generation. The moral qualities of the. Prophet, his worship, his steadfastness, his devotion, Divine support, extraordinary events, and miracles which testified to his Prophethood and the truth of his claim becomes fictional in the estimation of subsequent generations. Therefore, the freshness of the faith and the eagerness of obedience that are the characteristics of those who are favoured with the company of the Prophet