Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 436
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 10 436 circumstances. Should rectitude be required in any situation, then execute it in a manner as if carrying out the orders com- manded to a deputy or an appointee. Prophets had to be harsh at times, but it was not out of selfish zeal; rather, it was only due to the command of God Almighty and the sake of reformation. I read an account in a book. It was written that Hazrat Ali ra was in combat with a disbeliever. Having been overpowered during the battle, the disbeliever ran off. Hazrat Ali, may Allah honour and exalt him, pursued him and ultimately seized him; wrestling him, he pinned him. When Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, sat upon his chest, taking his dagger out to kill him, the disbeliever spat upon his face. Upon this, Hazrat Ali, may Allah honour and exalt him, getting off his chest, stood up and released him. The disbe- liever was surprised at this incident and, out of astonishment, inquired about it. Hazrat Ali, may Allah honour and exalt him, said, the essential point is that we fight you only for the sake of God’s command, and not out of any personal motives. On the contrary, we love you all. I seized you for Allah’s sake, but when you spat on my face, I became angry as a result of human nature. At this I feared that if my personal emotions interfered in my killing of you right now, all of my deeds would go to ruin, and as a result of the interference of my personal emotions, my works which are purely for the sake of Allah might go to waste. After witnessing this incident of how these [Muslim] people have such refined righteousness [ taqwa ], the disbeliever said that I cannot believe that the religion of such people could be false. For this reason he became a Muslim. In the very same way our Jama’at has conflicts. We should not allow personal emotions to interfere with them. Look, if we are not disbelievers or deceivers in the estimation of Allah, then anyone’s calling us disbelievers, deceivers, etc. , does us no harm. However, if we are actually found to be unacceptable and