Life of Ahmad — Page 725
as A SERMON REVEALED 725 morning); for in it are put secrets for the intelligent;… And, certainly, in our religion, this action is counted as one of those that draw one near to Allah, to Whom be praise. And this is understood to be the riding beast which resembles the lightning in its speed and brightness. And it is for this reason that the animals to be sacrificed are called Qurb a n i (from Qurb meaning nearness); as it has been said that all those who perform it sincerely and devotedly and faithfully see more of Allah and become nearer to Him. And, surely, this is one of the greatest virtues ( Nusuk ) of the Shariah; and that is why it has been called Nasikat (sacrifice). And Nusuk in the Arabic language means obedience and worship and this word is also used in the sense of slaughtering these animals. So this community of meaning proves conclusively that the true worshipper is he who kills his self and its faculties and all his beloved ones simply to please his Lord, the Creator and Sustainer. And the strong winds of nothingness blow over him and his very atoms are carried away by the violent gusts of this storm. And he who ponders over these two common meanings of the word Nusuk and studies this point with a thoughtful mind and with his eyes open, will not have the least doubt and hesitation to admit that it points to the fact that the worship which