Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 12
12 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ Meaning, the saints of Allah the Exalted, that is, the friends of God, are those who are righteous. How great a blessing that one should be granted nearness to God by suffering even a little pain in His cause. The people of this age are so low- minded that if a ruler or official refers to them as a friend, confers upon them an office or honours them, they begin to boast and swell with pride. But, how superior in rank is the person who is deemed a saint or friend by Allah the Exalted Himself. Allah the Exalted has conveyed this promise through the tongue of the Noble Messengers, as recorded in a Hadith related in Bukhari: لَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أَحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ، وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطِشُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا، وَإِنْ سَأَلَنِي لَأُعْطِيَنَّهُ، وَلَئِنِ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لَأُعِيْذَنَّهُ Meaning, Allah the Exalted states that through voluntary worship a friend of Mine attains such nearness to Me that I become the ears with which he hears, I become the eyes with which he sees, I become the hands with which he grasps, I become the feet with which he walks. When he asks of Me, I grant him his wish and when he seeks My refuge, I grant him refuge. ² Obligations and Voluntary Deeds All the virtuous deeds performed by a person may be divided into two categories: obligatory and voluntary. Obligatory deeds refer to that which is compulsory on man, such as the repayment of a debt or goodness in kind. In addition to these obligations, every good deed is accompanied by an aspect of voluntary service, that is to say, virtue which is above and beyond the call of duty. An example of this would be for one to reciprocate greater benevolence than that shown to him by another. This serves to complete and perfect compulsory actions. This Hadith expounds that the saints of Allah perfect their religious obligations through the observance of voluntary acts of worship. For example, in addition to zakat, they also give charity. Allah the Exalted becomes the friend of such people and states that this relation grows to such intimacy that He becomes the hands, feet, etc. of such a person; in fact, He even becomes the tongue with which such a person speaks. al-Anfal, 8:35 Bukhari, Kitab-ur-Riqaq, Bab-ut-Tawadu