Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 45
45 faith. The life part, in the battle for God, lies in devotion of time, as much and as often as one can spare, in the service of faith (in its propagation and in inculcating discipline among others), and when the call comes, in offering life itself without hesitation. One who takes part in these two types of battles of God with his whole heart becomes worthy of the higher Divine favours meant for the soldiers of Allah. But one who stays at home and offers Prayers and observes the fast should not expect to receive a prize greater than that reserved for a Muslim of the stay-at-home kind. How intensely solicitous for our welfare is our chief, the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ever and evermore). Like an over-indulgent father, he tells us that while without a doubt we may save ourselves from punishment and attain to salvation through Prayer and fasting, yet he counsels us to have a higher aim and strive to attain to the glories reserved solely for soldiers of Allah. For, without it, the pace of national collective life cannot ascend to the lofty pinnacles. On the contrary, the life of such a sit-at- home people will always be exposed to grave risks. In this connection, it is primarily the duty of parents, and then of the school teachers and college professors, to instil in the minds of children at an early age, the active fervour of faith and a zeal for sacrifice and not to let them rest content with a static stay-at-home life, as well as to make them active servants in the cause of the faith and the nation to which they belong.