Perseverance — Page 86
86 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american If anything looking like a punishment precedes a man’s sinful action or misdeed, then it is not a punishment. It is a manifestation of a physical law. Supposing a man becomes blind or becomes blind before he reaches the age of puberty, this defect and any other physical or mental defect cannot be considered a punishment. It will only be the result of some physical law broken by the man himself or his ancestors. There is a choice. So we may say that God’s attributes take four shapes in their manifestation: They bestow gifts in their normal manner – the natural law. By withholding or taking back a gift on account of a past natural law having been broken or account of interference with the bestowing some gifts – neither the first is spiritual gift or the second a punishment. The first kind of gift is under the attribute of Ra h m ā n. People do nothing to earn the grace from God, or His attribute of Ra h m a niyyat. These gifts are the requirements of physical survival, like the sun, air, water, etc. The second kind is not a punishment. It is the result of a standing attribute that manifests as a natural law, that was violated in the past. The third kind is a manifestation of the attribute to give reward, or Ra hī miyyat. This happens when one uses God’s gift of physical survival to attain spiritual life. This occurs under the spiritual law, or Shar i ‘ah. The Shar i ‘ah is divided into two parts: the laws designed to give God His due, and the laws to give God’s creation its due. By applying one’s physical capacities under these laws, man