Life of Ahmad — Page 138
MARRIAGE as 138 declare, in answer to Tyndale, that the marriage of priests being essentially null and void 'defileth the priest more than double or treble whoredom. ' For eight years it was felony in England to defend sacerdotal marriage as permissible by the law of God (Statute of the Six Articles; 31 Hen. VIII. C. 14). No wonder Christians find fault with the marriages of the Holy Founder sa of Islam! It is true that the ideal life is not what Aristotle describes as 'the living as one likes'; but it is equally wrong to suppose that the supreme ideal can only be reached through a life of complete and continued asceticism. The true saint is not one who entirely shuts himself off from all practical responsibilities and denies himself every opportunity of contact and service. Islam means complete resignation to the will of God. It is a natural and practical religion. It consists in service to God and service to man. There is no conflict between the two conceptions; as a matter of fact, one is incomplete without the other. Islam, therefore, teaches us to live in this world, and at the same time it urges us not to be of this world. It regards the various faculties and instincts with which man is equipped as gifts of God. A proper and righteous enjoyment of these gifts is the best form of man’s gratefulness to God. Hence the married state is not in any way incompatible with perfection. Marriage is a sacred and noble institution in Islam. It is no more harmful than eating and drinking. It does not interfere with spiritual development; and in its true form it is