Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 141
3 March 1905 141 The farmer sows the seed and waits patiently for some time [to harvest them]; a child is born after nine months [of preg- nancy]. If one desires a child to be born immediately after con- summation, would people consider him a fool or not? Therefore, when you see the law of nature operating this way in worldly affairs, it would be error and ignorance to imagine that a person can succeed in religious matters without any effort or striving. All saints, divines, and Messengers who have passed, had never exhibited perturbation, cowardice, or impatience. If you desire to gain something then follow the very same path that they had trod upon. Nothing can be obtained without doing this. And I can say with certainty from my own experience that whenever the Prophets, peace be on them, were blessed with contentment, it was due to them acting upon this injunction: 1 ُْۤيِنْوُعْدا ْبِجَتْسَا ْمُكَل١ؕ ُْۤيِنْوُعْدا ْبِجَتْسَا ْمُكَل١ؕ Striving is a wonderful elixir. Syed ‘Abdul-Q a dir Jil a n i , Allah be pleased with him, undertook great strivings. Read the sto- ries of the great divines that have passed in India, the likes of Moin-ud-D i n Chishti and Far i d-ud-D i n, Allah have mercy on them both, and you will learn about the various struggles they had to undergo. The truth is not disclosed without effort. Those who say that they went to some ascetic, and his con- centration made their heart start chanting the name of God— it is a matter of no consequence. Such chanting of the name of God by the hearts is accomplished by Hindu ascetics as well. There is no such thing as ‘concentration’. This act is such that has no prerequisite of purification of soul, nor is there any dis- tinction between kufr [disbelief ] and Islam in it. The British have excelled in this art to a degree that no other can even 1. Pray unto Me; I will answer your prayer ( S u rah al-Mu’min, 40:61). [Publisher]