Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 60
60 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the hearts of those who seek God are illuminated with signs to such an extent that they are able to see God, and witness His grandeur and omnipotence. For such people, all other forms of worldly greatness and grandeur seem inferior in their eyes. If, in this world, a person does not develop the eyes to see God and the senses needed to find Him, they will not be able to witness God in the next world either. Therefore, to recognise God—as He is—without any errors, and to attain a true and correct understanding of His being and attributes in this very world, is the key to all forms of enlightenment and divine manifestations. It is this very fire which first inflicts a death upon the sinful state of an individual and burns it. Then, it gives them a light by which they are able to recognise sin, and after gaining knowledge of its poisonous effect, one fears it and flees far from it. So, this very fire possesses a two-fold effect, which on the one hand burns away sin and on the other hand grants the strength to perform good deeds. This is called the fire of Majesty and Beauty. For it is the effect of divine Majesty and fear that holds one back from committing sin. When one learns that Allah the Exalted is severe in punishing sins and that He is Master of the Day of Judgement, a person is overcome by a kind of fear which will save them from sin. Divine Beauty, on the other hand, attracts one towards virtues; for example, when one learns that God Almighty is Lord of all the worlds, the Gracious and the Merciful, one’s heart will be irresistibly drawn towards God, and one will begin to perform good deeds with pleasure and delight. To purify gold and silver, it is necessary to mix them with an acid solution and then put them into the furnace and ignite a strong fire. This immediately separates all of the dirt and impurities which were previously mixed with them. After this, in order to fashion that gold and silver into exquisite and elegant jewellery to adorn the beautiful, it is necessary once again to burn the material in order to shape it into a form that fulfils the desired objective. Until the gold and silver is subjected to these two fires, it cannot be formed into beautiful and attractive jewellery. Similarly, until one is thrown into the fire of Majesty and Beauty, one cannot become righteous by developing a nature that burns away sin. Hence, sin is first set on fire, after which the fire of divine Beauty grants a per - son the strength to perform good deeds. As a result, one’s disposition becomes radiant and illuminated, which then enables one to distinguish between good and evil, and pulls one towards virtue. At that time a person is born again. In Surah ad-Dahr, the state of this birth is likened to drinks of camphor and ginger. p. 333 ً ُر ُْوْ َف ََك َ ِه ُ ْج َ َّز ِ َم ٍَْسٍ َكََن ََك ْ ُن ِ َم َُْوَْن َب ََْشَْر ُي َ ُر َْرَ َب َ ْْل َ َن ِ