Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 495
17 May 1908 495 stroke, tremors, etc. and succumb to death even before dying, and eventually pass on before their time. Therefore, keeping in mind the blessings and bounties con- ferred by Allah the Exalted for human development and per- fection, man should render thanks to Him. He should ponder as to who has bestowed all these faculties upon him. It is man’s choice to be grateful or not, but if he possesses a rightly-in- clined nature and ponders over it, he will find that all the fac- ulties—overt and covert—have been granted to him by Allah the Exalted alone, and they are fully under His control. He can amplify them out of gratitude or diminish them in an instant out of ingratitude. It is worth considering that if all these faculties were within man’s own control and command, who would want to die? The heart of man grows cold and neglectful about the Hereafter due to the warmth of the love of this world. Heedless man is so ignorant that even if he received a written decree from God that he would be granted Paradise and every comfort, and all manner of gardens and streams, and that he was being given the permission to either come to Him should he so please or to con- tinue to remain in this world, rest assured that there would be plenty who would opt to continue dwelling in this world, and would love this world despite all its hardships and difficulties. The World has Exceeded the Limits of Moderation You see, there is no guarantee how long one will live. These times are extremely perilous. You must have noticed that many friends and foes, relatives, brothers, and sisters pass away from this world every year. Even the nearest and dearest of relatives cannot help one in trying times, yet the toil and trouble that