Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 160
160 such nation. I am also a member of that very nation. ” For example, if a Pathan comes across another Pathan, he will say, “ Oh, you are a Pathan? I am a lso a Pathan. ” This happens in other nations a s well. This is how people gather together and begin to id entify themselves as a nation. Thus , it is not necessary for a nation to origi nate from an important person. Some t ribes among both Mus lims and Hindus have descended from very ordinary individuals. Some tribes have even descended from bandits. If you look at the names of some clans of the Sargodha and Jh ang districts, it becomes clear that their foref ather was a notorious bandit. Now, if a bandit had descendants who numbered in the hundreds or thousands, and they recognized each other, would they be called a nation? But such a nation does not have any traditions or rituals that future descendants would be proud of. Now, this situation where such an d such nation’s ancestor was a great bandit, he cut someone’s neck, he robbed someone ; t his is not the kind of foundation upon which one can build characteristics. On the other hand, religion always originates from good people. It also means that the people who are sent by God neve r rob, cheat , murder anyon e, be cruel , exploit other s’ wealth, or swindle someone. Th e y would always s pread truth and justice. Another Benefit of Religion One of the benefits of embracing religion is that when someone accepts a religion, the person adopts the traditions of that religion instead of the traditions of his forefathers , f or his forefather’s traditions are not such that would cause good moral characteristics to develop. In this context, I remember an amusing incident. Once Ha z rat Khalifat - ul - Masih I ra fell off while riding a horse and his body was jarred and he became unconscious. When people heard about it, everyone tried to visit him and ask after him. Since inquiring after his health in such a condition of unconsciousness is not appropriate , the doctors had forbidden anyone to enter his room. Thus, I closed the door of his room and appointed Naik Mohammad Khan Sahib Afghan to guard the door. Naik Mohammad Khan had recently converted to Ahmadiyyat and came from a noble family in Afghanista n. H is father was the governor of a province in Afghanistan. Upon accepting Ahmadiyyat, the circumstances greatly deterio ra ted for him, so he migrated to Qadian when he was seventeen or eighteen years old. Naik Mohammad Khan was a very intelligent and