Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 154
154 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad A Believer in God’s Oneness Effaces their Ego and Person The third state is when one effaces their own ego and person, and negates them - selves. Often a human being is cognisant of their own qualities and strengths and feels that they have performed a certain good deed with their own ability. A per - son has such confidence in their own strength that often they begin to attribute everything to their own strength. So, one becomes a believer in God’s Oneness when one negates even their own abilities. However, the question that arises here, as experience demonstrates, is that one is often guilty of some kind of sin. Certain people indulge in cardinal sins, while others are ensnared in sins of middling seriousness, and others still are besieged by the most subtle of sins; for example, some people are prey to parsimony, ostenta - tion, and other such sins. Until one is freed from the shackles of these sins, one cannot attain their lost light. The fact of the matter is that Allah Almighty has given us many commandments. Some of them are such that all people do not have the opportunity to act upon them. For example, there is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is obligatory only for those who have the financial ability, safety of passage, and if there is a reasonable arrangement to support one’s dependents as they remain behind. Only when these conditions are met can one undertake the pilgrimage. Similarly, there is zakat, which is only paid by the one who meets the minimum requirements. In the same way, in certain cases there are variations in the Prayer as well. The Underlying Philosophy in the Muslim Creed There is one thing, however, in which there is never any change and that is: ِ َاُہلل َُُسُْوُْل � َر ٌ ِد َ � َم َُحَ ِم ُہللُ َا َ � َاْل ِ َا َ ٗہ ٰ َل ِ َا َ There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad sas is the Messenger of Allah. In truth, this is the foundation and everything else completes it. Belief in the Unity of God cannot be complete until one observes acts of worship. What this means is that a person who proclaims: ِ َاُہلل َُُسُْوُْل � َر ٌ ِد َ � َم َُحَ ِم ُہللُ َا َ � َاْل ِ َا َ ٗہ ٰ َل ِ َا َ ( There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad sas is the Messenger of Allah) will only be truthful in their declaration when they actually prove in the practical sense as well that in reality they have no beloved, no desire and no objective besides p. 422 ُہللُ َا َ َاْل ِ َا َ ٗہ ٰ َل ِ َا َ ِ َاُہلل َُُسُْوُْل َر ٌ ِد َ َم َُحَ ِم