Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 168
! ! 168 Iblis said, “ I do not wish to hinder myself in attempting to learn. ” The word, ‘ Ist i kbar ’ also means to regard something as too great [a task]. He felt this was all too much. I t was im possible to learn these things, for it was all pretense. Therefore, I do not find it necessary to become Adam’s disciple. Rejecting this pursuit of knowledge left him deprived and consequently disgraced and Adam ’s as progeny, wh ich did acquire knowledge , prevail ed. W e see that the following system is continuing to this day : ا َۡﻻ ۡﺳ َﻤ ﺂ َء ٰا َد َم َﻋ َّﻠ َﻢ [ He taught Adam the names ] (Holy Qur’ān Ch. 2: V. 32) One nation str ives to gain knowledge and make new discoveries , whereas another nation claims it impossible to discover any new science. As a result, the nations which advance in knowledge prevail, while the others fall into disgrace. While the Europeans were inventing the cannon and the rifle, the Asians were denying the possibility of an instrument which could be created to kill the enemy from afar. The outcome was that the Europeans progressed. Thus , believing that something is unattainable turns a man into Iblis and in turn, the world deals with them as Iblis was dealt with when he clashed with Adam as. Just as Iblis was turned out, so are these individuals turned out, meaning that these nations are either wiped out or they are disgraced or destroyed. Now, because the Europeans are taking up Adam ’s as work , n ew discoveries are being made, and they are advan cing in all fields of knowledge, and they are progressing. Th ose who are not focused on acquiring knowledge and are not discovering new sciences, are being wiped out. One must only look at the cond ition of the natives of America and the Aborigines in Australia, which previously numbered in the millions. N ow , only a few thousand remain. The intellectual state of Indians is similar to this. They have not been expelled from India, but they are being ruled by people who invested in the pursuit of knowledge. What drove these nations to this