Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 134
Malf uza t - English translation of Urdu Volume 8 134 Here two fine points need to be noted. Remembering Allah has been compared to remembering one’s forefathers. The secret laid bare here is that the love for one’s forefathers is personal and natural. Look! When a mother punishes a child, he still cries for his mother. In other words, Allah the Exalted instructs human beings in this verse to cultivate a relationship of natu- ral love with Him. Once this love is attained, obedience to the commands of Allah develops on its own. This is the stage of cognisance that man should try to achieve; that is, a natural and personal love for Allah the Exalted should develop in him. This is stated [in the Holy Quran] elsewhere in the following way: 1 َّنِا َهّٰللا ُرُمْاَي ِلْدَعْلاِب َو ِناَسْحِاْلا َو ِئٓاَتْيِا يِذ ىٰبْرُقْلا َّنِا َهّٰللا ُرُمْاَي ِلْدَعْلاِب َو ِناَسْحِاْلا َو ِئٓاَتْيِا يِذ ىٰبْرُقْلا This verse mentions three stages that man should strive to attain. The first is justice, which means doing good to others for recompense. Obviously, this kind of virtue is not of a very high rank; in fact, being just is the lowest rank of virtue. The next higher virtue is i h s a n , or doing good without hoping for a reward. Of course, it would be wrong to be kind to one who is given to doing evil; offering the right cheek to one who smites you on the left is neither right nor commonly practicable. Sa‘d i says: اتس انچن ركدن دباں اب وكنیئ �یک رمداں خ دن رباےئ � رك ہک دب Doing good to the wicked is like harbouring enmity toward the noble. Hence, the teachings of Islam on the limits imposed on taking 1. Verily, Allah requires you to abide by justice, and to treat with grace, and give like the giving of kin to kin; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and transgression ( S u rah an-Na h l, 16:91). [Publisher]