Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 189
189 'God has endeared faith to you and has made it attractive to you, and He has put repugnance in your hearts towards disbelief, disobedience and transgression. ' 96 These verses show that whereas on the one hand, Islam enjoins kind treatment and benevolence towards evil-doers, it incites, on the other, repugnance towards evil. Thus alone can morals be perfected. I next turn to the natural instinct of ambition. Man desires to outstrip his contemporaries in the race for progress. This instinct is not confined to man, but is also to be found among other animals. A horse going at a leisurely pace begins to gallop as soon as it hears the sound of hoofs behind it; and seeing this the one behind also begins to gallop in an effort to outrun the one in front. The proper use of this natural instinct produces many moral benefits, and a deficiency or excess of it results in many moral defects. A man can derive great moral advantage from it by using it as an aid in moral and spiritual development. For instance, the Holy Quran says, 'O believers, outstrip one another in virtue and good deeds. ' 97 It is by virtue of this instinct that a stu- dent makes rapid progress in his studies. When used under proper restrictions and limitations, it develops into an excellent moral quality. 96 Al- H ujur a t, 49:8. 97 Al-Baqarah, 2:149.