Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 44
44 No doubt a Muslim who observes the injunctions about fasting and Prayer and other obligatory duties, with sincerity of heart (Hajj and Zakat have not been mentioned in this Hadith since these are obligatory only on the well-to-do and people of substance and are not obligatory on every Muslim) but sits pretty at home, can attain to his salvation and save himself from Divine reckoning. But he cannot be worthy of the excellent gifts that entitle a man to the special favour of God’s nearness. Those faithful ones, who are desirous of higher progress, owe it to themselves to give up their sit-at-home life and take to the role of soldiers of God and engage themselves in the service of the Prophet, day and night. The truth is that a sit-at-home Muslim, the benefit of whose faith and its effect remains confined to his own person, is not only depriving himself of the very best gifts but is courting for himself an hourly danger, for he stands by the brink and a slight swerving on his part can hurl him from the place of salvation and make him the target of punishment. But a Muslim who is a soldier in the way of God is secure against this possible danger. The question is, what is the way to become a soldier of God? The answer is that there are scores of ways of participating in the great struggle as a soldier of God, but the Holy Quran particularly emphasises two. It says: Allah has granted eminence to those who fight in His way with their property and their persons over those who sit at home. ” 11 It appears that property and life are the two great sinews of the battle in the way of Allah. The property part lies in its generous investment in the propagation and progress of Islam and the consolidation of 11 The Holy Quran, Ch: 4 (an-Nisā’), V: 96