Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 68
! ! 68 What is the Purpose o f Creation? The purpose of human creation is to carry out God’s command ment s and manifest His attributes. Do not harbor weakness within yourself. Do not lie , for th e act of lying is a mark of weakness. God has enjoined that one should take care of the poor. This means to become an exemplar of God , for He also cares for His creation. When you embody this behavior, people will look to you and s ee G od within you. Long ago, kings would use mirrors to show their reflection to their subjects, however , the s e were purely acts of ignorance. God , however, reflects His Being through people. For example, Ha z rat Muhammad sa was a reflection of God, and he manifested the image of God. T herefore, I advise you to accept God’s teachings and act upon His command ments. My second instruction is that God has accorded us a responsibility by sending us a prophet. W hile he did not bring a new Shariah , he did come to unveil the face of God to the world. The prophet’s objective was to propagate the teachings of Islam to the world. Our pledge of allegiance to this prophet means that we vow to undertake his responsibilities. His job was to save people from cruelties and darkness. You will only be able to do the same if you inculcate good qualities within yourselves. I shall give you a few instructions regarding this. Save Yourselves f r om Shirk The duty of those who know God is to shun the association of partners with Him. I would like to explain the concept of S hirk , so that you may avoid it and save yourself from the wrath of God. E ven some educated men lack proper understanding of what constitutes Shirk. God Almighty says , “I forgive all sins, but I will under no circumstance, forgive the sin of associat ing partners with Me. ” Therefore, it is necessary to abstain from S hirk. The behaviors associated with S hirk, which should be avoided are [as follows]: Firstly, do not adopt forms of homage and worship for anyone other than God. The se postures of homage include bowing down