Our God — Page 184
184 how advanced, will be adversely affected if it does not have the ability to counter the power of harmful and damaging forces. All this, and countless others, are part of the law of nature whereby everything produces its natural effect and the wheels of this great machine are perpetually set in motion. These laws do not discrim- inate between friend or foe. Under normal circumstances, in pur- suance of the duties assigned to them, they are obliged to raise up or drop down, push forward or pull backwards anyone who is at the receiving end. (There are exceptions, which pertain to spe- cial Divine decrees under a special independent law and are man- ifested in the form of miracles and acceptance of prayers through the Prophets and Auliy a ’. ) As opposed to the above: What is the law of Shariah? It is the law and the code of conduct revealed by God for the followers of a religion so that they reform their morals, get closer to God, and partake of the favours and the blessings reserved for the righteous. Under this law, everyone is granted the free will to abide by it or not, and the reward or retribution of one’s deeds is determined in the life after death (except for some veiled effects that appear in this world). For instance, Shariah urges people to worship God in a prescribed way in order to attain His nearness and pleasure, but does not force them to do so. If one wants to defy it, he is free to do so and is not forced to follow this law. The effects of this defiance may appear in this world in a subtle way, but the real and definite punishment is deferred to the hereafter. There is a saying among the sages: this world is the place for deeds and the next is the place for reward and punishment. As for the law of nature, however, this world is both for deeds and for recompense. The two laws do not interfere with each other