Way of The Seekers — Page 43
43 THE From these examples it is obvious that even at the animal level waves of some kind shoot out which are more mental than physical. Their impact on intercommunication and mutual relations is undeniable. They do affect our modes of behavior. It is said that whenever the Holy Prophet (on him be peace) mixed with groups of people, he would invoke God's forgiveness and protection seventy times. Not that he was afraid of physical contagion, though it is true Prophets love to be clean and that was one reason why he sought God's protection. But the other and the more important reason was that he cared for people who were clean in their own right but were likely to be affected by unclean thoughts and their evil influence. Sin-Infected Conditions To combat sin it is necessary to be able to identify sin infected conditions. I would, therefore, give an account of such conditions so that their identification should become easy. Among them are the following: 1. A person looks upon sin with horror but now and then finds himself inclined towards it. 2. He still hates sin but is unable always to resist the temptation and falls for sin. 3. He does not hate sin but no more does he relish a life of sin. The result is that he commits a sinful action occasionally, without really liking or disliking sin. 4. He relishes sin but not without shame. If he sins, he sins in secret. If he refrains from sin, he does so because of past habit or because of social custom. 5. At this stage, he sinks much lower. Past habit and social custom cease to be adequate restraints. He is now ready to indulge in and enjoy a sinful life. 6. At this stage, he is not only sinful and evil, but also encourages others to be evil and sinful like him.