Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 118
118 Explanatory Notes In this Hadith, a charming philosophy aimed at reforming one’s self has been enunciated. It says that the heart is the fountainhead of all the actions of man. If the heart of a man entertains good and pure thoughts, all his deeds will necessarily be directed towards the path of virtue. But if the heart has dirty and offensive ideas, then the deeds must necessarily follow the path of vice, for the feelings entertained by the heart are like seeds and action is the tree that grows out of the seed. Therefore, for the purpose of reformation, one must first worry about the heart. If leaders of a community and the press infuse in the minds of the masses the feelings of virtue, and the college and school teachers similarly touch the hearts of the students, as also the parents touch those of their children and instil in them the love of God, of the Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and of the faith, and feelings of welfare for the community, and the spirit of service and sacrifice and truthfulness, and sow in them the seeds of honesty, then there is little occasion to worry about good deeds on their part. Purity of mind will itself stimulate the growth of the tree of virtue. However, if the heart is sick, then the plant of good deeds will not grow and if it grew at all, it would wither away soon. The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (May peace of Allah be on him), has very aptly said in this connection: “Righteousness is the root of all virtue. If this root is firm all is safe. ” 27 27 al- H akam, August 31, 1901; Malfūzāt, Vol. 1, P. 536, Ed. 1988