Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 16
16 raise us, lowered himself. His days were spent worrying about our betterment and his nights standing in prayer until his feet would swell. Being sinless himself, he prayed to protect us from sin and to save us from torment. He supplicated with such anguish that his prayer-mat would become wet with tears, and such was the agony in his heart that his chest heaved like a boiling pot. He drew unto us the Mercy of God, absorbed His pleasure for our sake, enclosed us in the mantle of His Grace, and covered our shoulders with the cloak of His Compassion. He sought for us the paths that lead to God and the means of becoming one with Him. He facilitated the path for us as no other Prophet had ever done for his people. These edicts of heresy and infidelity are preferable to us than to believe that the Messiah of Nazareth is equal to God (Who is our Creator, Nourisher, Sustainer, Guardian, Provider, and Bestower of knowledge and guidance) and to believe that, just as God is alive in heaven without the need for food or drink, so is the Messiah of Nazareth residing in heaven without any human need. We honour the Messiah but only because he is a Prophet of God. We love him but only because he loved God and God loved him. Our relationship with him is derived from our rela - tionship with God. How then can we dishonour God for his sake and forget His favours upon us? How can we allow the Christian missionaries, who are the enemies of Islam and the Quran, to ask, ‘Look, isn’t the one who sits alive in heaven, God? Had he been a human, he would surely have died like other humans. ’ How can we, with our own tongues, attack God’s Oneness, and how can we, with our own hands, harm His religion? The maulaw i s and religious scholars of this age can tell us whatever they want and