Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 426
! ! 426 whether your devotion to faith is beautiful. You verbally claim that you are an Ahmadi , but do es your outward appearance reflect that of an Ahmadi? If a mango looked like a jujube [Indian date] , would people like it? Similarly, if your Salāt is not like that of an Ahmadi, if your f asting is not like that of an Ahmadi, if your z akat is not like that of an Ahmadi, and your Hajj is not like that of an Ahmadi, how can you say that you have understood Kalima Tayyiba ? No matter how superior in quality the mango is , if it is scarred and shriveled, nobo dy will buy it. Likewise, if you believe that by simply stating the Kalima T ayyiba , your Salāt , your f ast, your z akat , your Hajj, and your charity will automatically improve , you are mistaken. Just as no one purchases a blemished mango, your S alāt and fasts will not be accepted. These acts of worship can only be accepted when they are performed according to the conditions laid down by Islam. The second quality of Kalima is one’s fragrance. When someone goes to purchase something, he checks its fragrance. If he goes to buy melons, he smells them and hopes that they will smell sweet. T he same goes for other fruits. The lovelier the mango , t he more fragrant it is. In this way , people not only check the appearance of apples, pomegranates, grapes , and bananas, etc. , but they also check its fragrance. Thus, Allah instructs us that since you have embraced your faith, your faith should exude a fragrance. In essence, your neighbors should be able to inhal e the fragrance of your good deeds simply by gazing upon you. Then , will they acknowledge that this is a great religion. At first, people will look at your outward appearance to assess whether you pray like a Muslim or not. Suppose a woman calls herself an Ahmadi but does not perform Salāt. H er neighbor will believe that her m aul v i was correct when he claimed Ah madi women do not perform Salāt or that Ahmadis do not uphold Salāt. For non - Ahmadi m aul v i s have told them that Ahmadis perform a different Salāt and f asting. Thus, a non - Ahmadi woman who does not perform Salāt , opens the gates of hell only for herself; whereas an Ahmadi woman who does not perform Salāt , opens the gates of hel l not only for herself, but fo r the fifty other women who are observing her. This is why Allah says become a S hajr - e - Tayyiba. You should be that tree, which is not only beautiful , but is also fragrant. Wherever you go , you should perform Salāt , give alms , keep peace , and perform good deeds so much so, that people will