Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 174
174 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI-THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION who sent the Holy Quran and sent the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then we should accept the Quranic interpretation of the word, and should not follow our whims. Furthermore, I have stated earlier that, in order to attain salvation, it is essential that one should cultivate perfect conviction in the exist- ence of God Almighty—and not only cultivate conviction but also resolve to obey Him and recognize the paths that lead to His pleasure. Ever since the beginning of this world, both these objectives have been attained only through the Prophets of God. Therefore, how absurd is the notion that even such a one will attain salvation who, while believ- ing in Tauḥīd, does not believe in the Messenger of God? O ye igno- rant one, bereft of understanding! How is it possible to achieve Tauḥīd except through the Messenger? It is like a person who detests daylight and flees from it, yet proclaims, 'For me the sun alone is enough, what is the need for the day?' The foolish one does not even know that the sun is inseparable from the day. Alas! These ignorant people fail to under- stand that the Being of God Almighty is Hidden beyond the hidden, Unseen beyond the unseen, and Transcendent beyond the transcend- ent. No intelligence can discover Him as He Himself says: 1 لا تدركه الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ. That is, no eyesight and no insight can find Him. He knows the ulti- mate extent of their reach and is Dominant over them. Hence, the understanding of His Tauḥīd is impossible through reason alone; for, the essence of Tauḥīd is that just as one shuns the false extrinsic deities—i. e. gives up worshipping idols, humans, the sun, the moon etc. —so should one avoid the false intrinsic deities; i. e. he should safeguard himself from relying on his physical and spiritual abil- ities and being captivated by the curse of conceit that arises from them. 1. Surah al-An'ām, 6:104 [Publisher]