Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 167
Malfuzat - Volume I 167 In propagating religion, those who are commissioned by Allah seek the help of others. Why is this the case? They do so to absolve themselves of their duty of inculcating the grandeur of God Almighty into the hearts of the people. If not, this is something which can reach a level that is near disbelief. Such holy person- ages can never deem anyone other than Allah to be a guardian of their affairs. This is absolutely impossible. I have just stated that the oneness of God is only completely realised when an individual considers the one and only Being of God to be the Bestower of all desires and the cure and remedy for every illness. This is precisely the meaning of Y, (i. e. there is none worthy of worship except Allah). In this instance, the Sufis have taken the word ilah to mean the Beloved, the object of one's longing, the Being Who is worthy of worship and the desire of one's heart. Undoubtedly, the reality and truth is that until a person does not fully adhere to the Oneness of God, they do not develop feelings of love and reverence for Islam; and I return to my initial discussion and state that such people cannot experience pleasure and satisfaction in prayer. The entire foundation rests on the fact that until evil thoughts, and impure and unholy schemes are not incinerated, and until ego and pride are not replaced with a state of self-effacement and humility, a person cannot become a true servant of God. Further, the best teacher and most supreme means by which perfect servitude can be taught is through prayer. I tell you once again that if you desire to develop a sincere relationship and living connection with God Almighty, then adhere to the regular observance of your Prayers. Hold fast to this practice not merely with your body and tongue, but with all the desires and passions of your soul, thus becoming an embodiment of prayer. ¹ The secret in the sinlessness of prophets also lies in this fact. Why is a Prophet sinless? The response to this is that they are safeguarded from sin on account of their being wholly engrossed in the love of Allah. I am astonished when I ob- serve various nations indulged in associating partners with God. The Hindus, for example, worship a plethora of idols; in fact, they even justify the worship of male and female genitalia. Then, there are those who worship a human corpse, i. e. Jesus Christ. Such people believe in the attainment of salvation or deliverance in varying forms. The former group, that is to say the Hindus, seek to be cleansed of sin through bathing in the Ganges, pilgrimage and other similar expiations. 1 Al-Hakam, vol. 3, no. 13, dated 12 April 1899, pp. 3-7