Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 62
62 inter-relation of different attributes and the limits of their action and reaction. Hence a complete and perfect conception of God is presented before the eyes of man’s judgment, and his heart overflows with love. Other religions may share with Islam only the names of the attributes of God, but none of them shares with it the reality of those attributes. It is obvious that in judging different religions we must consider the reality and not merely the name. Relation of Man to God I now turn to the second question relating to the first object of religion, which concerns the relation of man to God. We must remember that it is one thing merely to believe in a thing and quite another to stand in a special relationship towards it. For instance, all educated per- sons believe in the existence of the North and South Poles, but with the exception of a few who are engaged in polar research, nobody is specially interested in them, and a mention of the Poles does not excite any particular feeling in the minds of the general public. On the con- trary the smallest thing connected with a person or thing one is interested in is apt to excite one’s feelings. It is, therefore, a relevant question to ask what sort of rela- tionship between God and man does a religion insist on? The answer to this question and the nature of such relationship would constitute a test of the truth or false- hood, and the success or failure of a religion. If a relig- ion insists upon something which is repugnant to the majesty of God, one would have to conclude that it has no real appreciation of the attributes of God; or if it demands something which, though not objectionable,