The Holy War — Page 204
204 in such a way as to mean that man is forced to be deprived of his God- given faculties. Here the example of a timepiece is very appropriate; for, whatever period the watchmaker decrees for it, it cannot function beyond that limit. The same example can be used for man, that he cannot accom- plish anything beyond the powers that he has been conferred, and he cannot live beyond the duration of life that he has been granted. And this question which was raised that in the Holy Quran God has by way of force destined some people to be Hell-bound and made Satan rule over them for no reason, is an utterly shameful mistake. Allah, the Lord of Glory, states in the Holy Quran: 1 َّنِا ْيِداَبِع َسْيَل َكَل ْمِهْيَلَع ٌنٰطْلُس Meaning that O Satan, thou shalt have no power over My servants. Now, look how Allah Almighty makes manifest the freedom given to humanity. For an equitable person who has regard for justice in his heart, this verse alone would be sufficient, but from the Gospel of Matthew, quite the opposite is seen to be established. Since it is proven beyond any doubt from the Gospel of Matthew that Satan took Jesus away to be tried, this shows that Satan had a sort of authority that he was capable of exercising so much coercion on a holy Prophet as to take him from place to place. Satan even went to the extent of showing him so much disrespect as to say to him to prostrate before him, and then he took him to the top of a great high mountain and showed him all the great kingdoms of the world and their majesty and glory. See Matthew 4:8. Now look at this with attention and see how Satan was able to manifest Divine glory that firstly, by his own will— and that too against the will of Jesus the Messiah—he was able to take him to the top of a mountain, and it was in his powers—like God—to show him the kingdoms of the world. 1. S u rah al- H ijr, 15:43 [Publisher]