Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 16
16 in offering congregational Sal ā t , and spends a great deal of time in prayer (Du’a). H e has grown a beard and other than the color of his skin, no one can tell that he is an Englishman from his appearance. In fact, p eople tend to assume that he is a born Muslim. If a European man can transform his life, become regular in his p rayers, observe tahajjud , and follow Islam ic teachings with great pleasure, then why cannot someone from India or any other country do the same? Europe is the kind of place where m aterialism prevails on all fronts. If European s living within such a materialistic background can bring about a drastic change , then why cannot Ahmadi women from India bring about a change with in themselves? Why cannot Indian men transform themselves? I think this negligence is due solely to lack of intention and that is because they have forgotten their death. Honor Y our Words It is a fact that most people think that there is no life after death o r they are under the misapprehension that as they hav e verbally accepted Islam and have declared their acceptance of the Prophet of God, Muhammad sa , they have Na ‘ūdhu bill ā h [ God forbid ] done a great favor to Muhammad sa the Prophet of God and thus they are deserving of Paradise. These are some o f the excuses they hide behind to avoid practicing the Islamic command ment s , b ut I warn you that these excuses are useless. A truthful person is one who honors his wo rds. When a man and a woman say that they are Muslim s , it is tantamount to the ir declar ing that they will obey every command of the Holy Qur’an and will refr ain from whatever it forbids. This is what each and every Muslim pledges, b ut how many among you fulfill this ? Has such a thing ever occurred in the world, that a servant breaks his contract, and his master is pleased with him? If the master finds even the smallest mistake, he severely admonishes him. Then how can Muslims expect to continue to disregar d the commands of God Almighty, while remaining safe from His wrath? I remember a well - known historical inciden t. Ha z rat Junaid Baghdadi r h had a disciple [ Shibli ] , who himself was fam ous within Islamic history. He came from a g ood family and was appointed governor of a province by the government of the time. H owever, he was an extremely cruel and unjust person and there was a public outcry against his tyranny.