Way of The Seekers — Page 29
29 THE But the question is why should thawab or merit be the essential condition for an action being moral? Obviously because the divine scheme is that the commands should be obeyed and prohibitions should be eschewed. The next question is why does the divine scheme contain commands and prohibitions? If there is no wisdom in commands and prohibitions of the divine scheme; if they are arbitrary, so to say, then the divine scheme is meaningless. But if the divine scheme is not meaningless, but full of wisdom, then to act in accord with this wisdom cannot but be moral. And why not? If a person while acting out of respect for God's command, also keeps in view the wisdom contained in the command, why should the merit or value of the action be any the less? If on the other hand, a prohibition has no meaning, it would mean God as law-giver is just arbitrary. The objection which reduces morality to a simple give and take affair is easily answered when we remember that a business transaction and a moral action are very different matters. In the divine scheme the value of good and evil actions is declared beforehand. Good actions will be rewarded and evil actions penalized. In business, the seller himself fixes the price of his wares. The merits and penalties of the divine scheme were defined and determined long ago, long before the birth of man. They are determined by nature and reflect the value of the act. We may or may not be thinking of God while we perform an action, but merit or thawab is being dealt out to us. This is not give and take. This is not business. In give and take, a person has a quantity of butter and another person has an amount of money. The latter can buy the butter with his money. But the man with butter may or may not agree to sell. In morals it is different. The value of actions and their reward has already been laid down; what action will have what reward. There has been no business transaction, no claim to a price and so on. Another difference is that our Arbiter is one Whom we are going to need in any