Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 399
16 September 1907 399 God has kept hidden the mysteries of His decrees and determinations and there are thousands of prudent reasons for this. It is my experience that no man can attain that nearness [to God] through his ordinary spiritual exercises and strivings that he can attain upon the coming of trials from God. Who can strike his own body forcefully with a whip? God is Most Merciful and Beneficent. Indeed, it is my experience that after imposing some minor difficulty, He bestows great rewards and honours. The Hereafter is eternal. The people who leave us certainly cannot return, but we, however, will soon go to them. The wall of this world is made of mud bricks and it continues to fall. The matter worth pondering is what man can take from here. And then man does not know when he will be departing. When he does ultimately go, he will depart unexpectedly and empty handed. However, if someone possesses good deeds, they will go with him. When some people are about to die, they ask for their property to be shown to them and become concerned at such a time about their wealth and possessions. There are also many people in our Jam a ‘at who still wor- ship God conditionally. Some people write in letters that if they acquire so much wealth, or if a certain objective of theirs is achieved, they would take the Bai‘at [Pledge of Allegiance]. These fools do not even understand this much as to what need God has for their bai‘at. The faith of our Jam a ‘at should verily be that of the Companions who had laid down their lives in the way of God. If today our Jam a ‘at is asked to go to Europe and America for the propagation of Islam, most of them would certainly say that their wives and children would be discomforted, or that the condition of their homes is such and such, or this or that situation exists.