Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 45
45 the channels of evil and to open wide those of good ones, for evil cannot be destroyed till evil inclinations are suppressed, and unless religion deals with this aspect of the problem its moral teachings would remain imperfect. Mere abstract principles cannot be of much help, unless their practical working is ex- plained. Not only did the Promised Messiah point out these principles relating to moral teachings, but demonstrated in detail that the Holy Quran deals with and illustrates all these aspects of the moral development of man, and thus established that Islam alone can be the true moral guide of mankind. Another function of a perfect religion is to lay down principles which should govern the sociological aspect of man’s life and, by following which polity and civilisation may be perfected and peace and order may be established in the world. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has also explained this aspect of the teachings of Islam and discovered to the world the wonderful truths embedded therein and removed the misconceptions which had become current concerning those teachings. A little con- sideration would show that it is only in a reformed and well-organised society that an individual has the best chance to show his moral qualities, because an ordinary person can make sacrifices to a certain extent beyond which he cannot go. To expect more of him would be putting a too heavy Strain on his patience. The result would be that at first he would be bewil- dered and in the end he would lose self-control altogether. Therefore, a reformed polity is essential for the development of the moral qualities of an individual, otherwise the higher moral qualities would be confined to a few individuals. Islam deals at length with this aspect of a man’s life and the Promised Messiah has explained the teachings of Islam in this connection in great detail, but it is obvious that only a passing reference to principles is possible within the scope of this paper. Islam deals in great detail with the rights and duties of the so- vereign and the subject, the freedom of the administration of