Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 833
CHAPTER TWO 833 He did not say, '. . . but that they may eat. ' Holy is Allah! What a path you have adopted and what a way you have taken! Do you think you will live to the end of the world, never die, and continue to reap the fruits of this world forever? The world is approaching its end. Why do you not wake up and ponder-even after the plague and many other calamities have encamped in this land of yours? Summer or winter, these calam- ities are your constant companions that never leave you alone. Why do you not reflect? Are you weak of eyesight or you are stark blind? You have witnessed a number of calamities unfolding before your eyes. They have not spared even your own selves, your children, your women, and your near ones. Many of your relatives depart this world with each passing day. Indeed, you do little more than wail and cry. Allah never chastises a people unless He first sends a Messenger to them, so that He might clinch His argument against them and decide the matter once for all. Thus has Allah declared in His Book, and thus has it been His practice with regard to the earlier ummahs. What, then, is the matter with you that you do not recognize the Imam that has been sent to you, and fail to follow the summoner raised among you? Are you una- ware of the end of those who denied and rejected? Are you content to die in ignorance and to be held accountable in the Hereafter? You are being guided to the pure word, so why do you prefer the impure and leave what is purer? You reject him who has appeared before you yet call upon the one who is dead [i. e. Jesus] from the high heavens. You are guilty of abusing and maligning and say whatever you [want to] say without fear of the day when every soul will be brought before God for the Reckoning. A Prophet is never disgraced but in his own land. Hence, you may continue to abuse and malign, but Allah is All- Hearing and All-Seeing. O my people! Why do you pretend to be blind when you can see? Why do you feign ignorance despite being knowledgeable? Are you not aware of the end of those who were guilty of ridicule? You sting like a wasp and cause pain to the one who emits light like a lamp. You see the full moon but bark at it. The righteous, on the other hand, are