Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 225
225 The seventh means devised by Islam for the moral improvement of man is to close the avenues through which sin enters the human mind. I have al- ready stated, that according to Islam, evil is extraneous to man and enters from outside. The nature of man is pure; it loves virtue and abhors vice. Every man, with- out distinction of class or creed, is born with this pure nature, but it is not by itself enough to safeguard him against vice. His nature only prompts him to do good and to avoid evil. It is the function of reason to point out what is good and what is evil, and the judgment of reason is based on information received through the senses. Therefore, once an error is committed in receiv- ing external influences, man’s judgment is bound to be affected in deciding whether a particular act or course of conduct is good or bad, and the error will result in nature or conscience being deceived into regarding that as good which is in fact evil and vice versa. It will consequently reprove him for doing that which is good and will encourage him to do that which is evil. It is necessary, therefore, that all evil influences to which a man is likely to be subjected should be removed or stopped. All sudden temptations that lead man into wrongdoing are also external, and it is necessary to put an end to them also, so as to enable man to exercise complete control over his conduct. A man who is ad- dicted to drink, for instance, succumbs to the temptation when he sees other people drink, or when he sees such articles as are used for the drinking or storing of liquor, or by being reminded of the times or occasions on which he is accustomed to drink. If such a man is kept