The Holy War — Page 283
Proceedings—Debate 5 June 1893 283 Please remember that this action is also included in the wider meaning of mercy. A person will treat kindly someone when in the first instance some force would cause feelings of kindness to develop in his heart and move him to carry out that kindness, then it is the force of mercy that surges forth with every kind of sympathy for humanity. And until a per- son is not found meriting kindness and is not seen from any point of view as being deserving of mercy—but is, in fact, seen to be deserving of wrath—then who is it that can do kindness to such a one? Then, you ask if we should presume God to be cruel by looking at animals being killed. I ask, ‘When did I call this act cruelty?’ What I say is that this act happened because of Mastery. When you have already agreed that the difference in the gradation of the rank of different crea- tures—that is to say, human and animals—is because of Mastery and not transmigration; then what obstacle prevents you from accepting that whatever else essentially happens to the animals, also happens because of Mastery? Finally, I make clear to you regarding the Holy Quran, the proofs that the Holy Quran has given regarding its being the Word of Allah. Although at this time I cannot write down all these proofs in the form of a list, I wish to say this much that included in these proofs are external proofs like giving the news, ahead of time, of the coming of Prophets, which you also find to be written down in the Gospel. Secondly, the revelation of the Holy Quran at the true time of need; in other words, its revelation at the time when the practical condition of the people throughout the world had deteriorated, and, further- more, there had arisen many differences in the matter of beliefs, and the moral condition of the people had also developed many defects. Thirdly, the proof of its truthfulness is in its perfect teachings; thus by its coming, it has proven that the teaching of Moses was also defective in that it emphasised only one side of things—that of punishment. And it also proved that the teaching of the Messiah as was also defective because it was only laying emphasis on the side of forgiveness and pardon. It was as if these Books did not even intend to address the