Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 61
61 My commandments. ’ A person who does not accept the Book of Allah Almighty, and who does not act upon the guidance and injunctions stipulated therein, becomes a disbeliever by denying them. However, the means by which a person loses their faith when they deny the saints of Allah is different. It is mentioned in a Hadith that Allah the Exalted states: ِ مَن ْ عَاد َ لِی ْ وَلِیًّافَاٰذَنْتُہ ٗ لِلْحَرْب Meaning, an individual who harbours enmity towards a friend of Mine, as if be- comes prepared to war with Me. It is a matter of principle that when a certain individual loves another, in the manner that one loves their own child, if someone were to say again and again: ‘May this child die’, and repeats other such hurtful things, and inflicts grief upon the child, how can a parent like such a person? How can a father love the individual who prays against his child and repeats such painful words? In the same manner, the saints of Allah the Exalted are like His children, because they discard the mantle of their adult independence, as it were, and hand themselves over to God in complete submission so that they may be nurtured in the mercy of God’s lap. Allah the Exalted is their Guardian and Pro- tector, and is Jealous for them. When an individual—irrespective of how regular they may be in Prayer and fasting—opposes them and becomes adamant in caus- ing them grief, the jealousy of God is incensed and His wrath surges forth against those who oppose them. For such people have sought to inflict grief upon the be- loved of God and at that time, neither do the Prayers of such an opponent serve any benefit, nor their fasting. For through the observance of Prayer and fasting, they sought to please God, but now they have displeased Him through another action. How then can such a person receive the pleasure of God when the cause for His displeasure still exists? Foolish people of this nature are uneducated as to the means that arouse God’s wrath; in fact, they are conceited and pride them- selves over the observance of their Prayers and fasting. As a result, the wrath of God Almighty continues to swell day after day, and instead of attaining His near- ness, Allah the Exalted only moves further and further away from them each day, until finally, such a one becomes truly accursed in heaven. How can one who opposes a person, whose inner self is annihilated in God, and who lays prostrate upon the divine threshold, and who is being nurtured in the lap of God’s providence, and who is covered by the mercy of God Almighty, to the extent that his words are as though God speaks, and his friend is the friend