Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 252
252 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the Master, the Creator, the Benevolent. This is why he places his head at the threshold of God. Even if a true Muslim is told that they would receive no reward for their good actions—neither paradise, nor hell, neither comfort, nor pleas - ure—they would never, ever be able to abandon their good deeds and forsake their love of God. For the worship of such a person and their relationship with God Almighty, their being annihilated in submission and obedience, does not stem from their desire for recompense or reward. On the contrary, such a person truly believes that their own being was created for the sole purpose of recognising God Almighty, to love Him and to obey Him, and for no other reason or objec - tive whatsoever. Therefore, when this person utilises their God-given faculties for these aims and ambitions, all that they can see is the countenance of their True Beloved, and fundamentally, they do not see paradise or hell. I proclaim that if I come to learn with certainty that the gravest and most severest of punishments would be given to me for loving God Almighty and being obedient to Him, I can swear on oath and say that my disposition is prepared to bear all of these agonies and trials with pleasure and with a passion and yearning of love. Even if I was told with absolute certainty that there would be only punishment and grief, my disposition would feel more pain in taking even one step beyond the pale of obe - dience and submission to God than I would feel in a thousand, nay, in an infinite number of deaths, agonies and afflictions. For example, if a king made a public announcement saying that any mother who does not give her child milk would have the king’s pleasure and reward, no mother could ever let her child perish out of desire and greed for such a reward. Similarly, for a true Muslim, disobeying God is a death, no matter how much they are promised that this disobedience would bring them comfort and ease. Hence, to become a true Muslim it is necessary to develop this sort of nature, where one’s love and obedience for God Almighty does not hinge upon fear of punishment or desire for reward, but rather springs forth from the inherent nature of one’s disposition. When this becomes the case, that very love in itself becomes a paradise and in actuality, this is true paradise. No man can enter para - dise until they follow this path. Therefore, the teaching that I impart to you, who hold a relationship with me, is to enter through this path. For this is the true path that leads to paradise. p. 518