Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 522
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 10 522 down his life in the path of God. One should pay attention to this issue. It is an issue that is of benefit to the Muslims. One should not be content with just being a Muslim in name or that we abide with the apparent offering of formal Salat [obligatory Prayers] and keeping of the Fasts. To remain steadfast and to keep pushing forward in the face of danger- ous challenges and to succeed in the trials set by God is proof of the truth and sincerity of one’s faith. It is necessary that a believer should face difficulties and suffer calamities so that it may become clear who is a true believer and who is only making a verbal claim of faith. Allah the Exalted says: 1 َبِسَحَا ُساَّنلا ْنَا اْۤوُكَرْتُّي ْنَا اْۤوُلْوُقَّي اَّنَمٰا َو ْمُه اَل َنْوُنَتْفُي َبِسَحَا ُساَّنلا ْنَا اْۤوُكَرْتُّي ْنَا اْۤوُلْوُقَّي اَّنَمٰا َو ْمُه اَل َنْوُنَتْفُي The founding Muslims had proven through their actions that they had, in reality, dedicated their lives to the service of the Religion of Allah. No religion can advance until the command- ments of God are given preference over all worldly concerns. Routine deeds like Salat, Fasting, Zakat [almsgiving], etc. ulti- mately become a habit after continued practice. This subject has been illustrated very well in a verse of Mathnavi by Rumi [the poet]. He says in it that, ‘I keep attempting to fill the store with grain but it does not fill up. It appears empty whenever I look. There must be a rat in the store that keeps eating the grain and is busy trying to empty it. I fill it and he empties it. When I finally opened the door and checked, there was, indeed, a rat who used to eat the grain. ’ Therefore, one should not be satisfied just with his deeds. 1. Do men think that they will be left alone because they say, ‘We believe,’ and that they will not be put to trial? ( S u rah al-‘Ankab u t, 29:3) [Publisher]