Perseverance — Page 97
Part II – My Life as a Muslim 97 The following incident happened later at the time of the Maghrib prayer: I asked, “Huzoor, does Islam condemn the Western way of embalming their dead?” Huzoor ra said, “It is a foolish thing if the body is from the dust and returned to the dust, what is the need of that embalming? For example, Pharaoh’s body was embalmed. That is a disgrace to the Pharaoh. The Western way of embalming is only an inferior method to the Egyptian way because the Western embalming lasts for only 5, 10, 20 years or so, but the Egyptian embalming keeps the body for thousands of years. ” I said, “Huzoor, Pharaoh’s body was a mummy, but I speak of the Western method of embalming. For example, they cut on the body and draw out the blood. ” Huzoor ra said, “No, embalming only means that you put something in the body to preserve it. ” MAY 10, 1952 At the Zuhr prayer I asked, “Huzoor, sometimes mothers are amused when their babies make small mistakes. Is that ever the case with God? For example, once the Promised Messiah as , when a boy, was requested by some of his playmates for sugar, he went into the house and filled his pockets with white stuff. On the way out he also had a desire for the taste of sugar. He put some of the white stuff in his mouth, but it was not sugar, it was salt. Instead of placing sugar in his pocket, he placed salt. Is God amused when His servants make these small errors?”