Perseverance — Page 32
32 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american Hazrat Amirul Momineen Khalifatul Masih is very pleased to receive your letter dated 30 th March in which you have expressed your desire to dedicate your life for the noble task of the propagation of Islam. He has desired me to write an answer that our missionary in Chicago, Mr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir, has also written about your intentions of coming over to Pakistan for religious education which would enable you to carry the torch of light to your fellow countrymen still living in spiritual darkness. This task is very sacred and noble indeed but entails very heavy responsibilities and therefore requires an honest and careful consideration. It is a step which once taken there is no going back upon. At the same time it is an uphill task and not the least easy. Therefore, all the pros and cons require to be carefully weighed and kept in mind. By offering life one blocks the way to all material ambitions and worldly pleasures and pledges to serve God to the maximum of one’s capacity in the face of all obstacles and difficulties. The pledge of a dedicator is with God and with no human being, therefore, if there are any hardships and the community is unable to support him he has no right to complain of such treatment because his pledge is to seek God’s pleasure and as such should expect any reward only from Him. It is also very true that if the dedicator sticks to his pledge to his last breath, he commands great respect and honor, much greater than Napolean or Hitler and the likes because he is a soldier of God and these people were soldiers of material desires. They sought the pleasures of man but he seeks the pleasure of God. Such is this unconditional surrender and resignation to the Will of God so no hasty steps should be taken. You have an inspiring example in the person of Mr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir who prefers service of faith to material career at an age when his compatriots were laboring for and clinging to government jobs. But the love and affection that