Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 434
! ! 434 denying the existence of Allah , the rejection of His angels, the refusal to believe in the Day of Judgment, the rejection of prophets, or the disavowal of God’s scriptures. These are all vices which on their own will lead you toward s h ell because t hese [vices] are huge mountains , and in comparison, y our good deeds are a useless measure. In addition to these, there are other vices which will be compared and measured against good deeds, such as offering Salāt in a lazy manner, back biting, gossip, etc. These are the vices , which they will be measured against. If there is an a bundance of one or an other good deed one can go to heaven, but if you deny a Prophet you cannot enter heaven. God Almighty is Merciful and i f He wishes , He may forgive all sinners. Otherwise, usually speaking, what is mentioned above is the general rule. Thus, some sins will weigh heavy upon the scale, while others will be measured against your good deeds. If the essence of your acts of righteousness weighs heavier upon the scale , then God Almighty w ill direct you to ward heaven, and if the essence of your vices weighs heavier , then God Almighty will direct you to hell. Congregational prayers are obligatory for men and if they fail to do so it will be recorded as a sin , and they will be marked down in numbers. If you [ women ] do not observe congregational prayers it will be no sin , but if you do pray in congregation , you will be rewarded. If you argue that you would like to say prayers in congregation , but you are unable to do so because there is no Jama'at, my response is that if you form the intention to do that which is ordinarily performed with the Jama'at , you will receive t he same reward. Since your heart intended to do so, it is through no fault of yours but due to a shortcoming in the system. God Almighty will pronounce her intention to be worthy , the fault lying in her inability to practically carry it out. God Almighty says that when a man treats another fellow man in a certain manner , it is as if that man has treated Me in the same manner. When he feeds M y servants, it is as though he has fed Me. When he builds a house for him, it is as though he has built it for Me , and in return, I will build a better house for him in Paradise.