Noah's Ark: An Invitation to Faith — Page 49
NOAH'S ARK the circumstances and with wisdom, not arbitrarily. This is the true import of the Quran. And unlike the Gospel, the Quran does not encourage you to love your enemies. Rather, it teaches you to dissolve your personal enmities and show compassion to everyone. But, those who oppose God, your Messenger and the Book of Allah are certainly your enemies. However, even then, you ought not to exclude them from your prayers and supplications. Oppose their actions, not their persons, and seek to rectify their deeds. For God says: 10 إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَايْتَايَّ ذِي الْقُرْبَى That is, God desires of you no more than that you deal equitably with all people and show kindness even to those who have not done you any good. More importantly, you ought to love God's creation as if it were your kith and kin, in the same manner that mothers treat their children. In acts of goodness there resides a concealed element of vanity. And every so often people tend to boast of their favours to others. But such a person who performs goodness out of spontaneous desire, in the likeness of a mother, can never be concerned for vanity. Thus, the highest level of virtue originates from one's natural yearning, like that of a mother. Moreover, this verse not only relates to God's creation but also to God Himself. Justice [Adl] towards God means to 10 Surah An-Nahl, 16:91 [Publisher] 49