Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 186
186 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad with him, within a period of twenty years, the Muslim empire had become world- wide. Now someone tell us, is this within the power of man? This is why Allah the Exalted has repeatedly stated: إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَّالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ مُّحْسِنُونَ Verily, Allah is with those who are righteous and those who do good. Allah the Exalted is with those who are righteous, but righteousness is not the only element which attracts the love of God; such people must be among those who do good. A Righteous Person and One Who Does Good The word muttaqi means 'one who fears. ' One aspect relates to the renouncing of evil and the other aspect is to perform good. The word muttaqi implies the aban- donment of evil, while the word muhsin alludes to the doing of good. I have read an anecdote in this regard. A noble man invited someone to join him for food, and he made all the arrangements for his hospitality and truly did justice in this respect. When they had finished eating, the noble man said with great humility: 'I have not been able to serve you as you deserve. ' The guest responded: 'Indeed, you have done no favour upon me; in fact, it is I who have done a favour upon you, because when you were engaged in your arrangements, I did not burn your house down. For what if I had set fire to your property, then what?' Therefore, the task of a 'righteous person' or muttaqi is to refrain from evil deeds. The stage which comes after this is to perform good, which has been conveyed in the verse just mentioned through the word muhsinun (i. e. for a person to do good). Man becomes truly pious when he refrains from evil deeds and then reflects over the acts of virtue that he has done. It is narrated that Imam Husayn, may Allah be pleased with him, had a serv- ant who brought him a cup of tea. When the servant came close to him, due to his lack of attention, the cup fell on the head of Imam Husayna. Due to the inconvenience that he had felt, Hazrat Imam Husayna shot the servant a sharp glance. In a submissive voice, the servant said: 2 (And those who suppress their anger). Upon hearing this, Imam Husayn, may Allah be pleased with him, said (I have suppressed my anger). Then the servant said: 1 an-Nahl, 16:129 Aal-e-Imran, 3:135