Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 239
239 their end at the point where an individual becomes truly subservient to God. A spiritual garden begins to flourish in the heart of such a one and God can be seen reflected in it, just as a mirror reflects an image. It is at this very stage that an in- dividual begins to experience a taste of paradise in this very world and it is at this very stage that they feel the pleasure and enjoyment in proclaiming: 1 بِهٖ مُتَشَابِهًا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ اُتُـوْا الَّذِيْ رُزِقْنَا هٰذَا They will say: ‘This is what was given us before,’ and gifts mutually resembling shall be brought to them. Therefore, when a person becomes truly subservient to God, this is true worship. Then, Allah the Exalted states: 2 ٌ اِنَّنِيْ لَكُمْ مِّنْهُ نَذِيْـرٌ وَّ بَشِيْـر I am to you a Warner, and a bearer of glad tidings from Him The fact is that man cannot accomplish the momentous task of becoming fully subservient to God without an excellent model, a perfect example and the full influence of a spiritual force. It is for this reason that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, says that he has come as a warner and as a bearer of glad tidings from God. The Holy Prophet sa states that if one obeys him and accepts him, then there are great and magnificent glad tidings for such people, because he is a bearer of glad tidings; but if someone rejects him, then remember that he has also appeared as a warner, and one will have to face terrible forms of punishment and grief. Paradise and Hell The fact of the matter is that the life of paradise begins in this very world and a benighted life that is spent bearing no relationship with God Almighty and His Messenger is a life of hell. The paradise that one will receive after death is the true and complete manifestation of this very paradise. This is precisely the reason that the people of paradise, on experiencing the pleasure of the bounties of paradise, will declare: 1 al-Baqarah, 2:26 2 Hud , 11:3