Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 266
B AR Ā H Ī N-E-A H M ADIY YA — PART F IV E 266 that are plainly revealed at the fifth stage, and are fully and manifestly perfected at the sixth stage. 1 ٭ Nonetheless, the stage of the sperm is the most precarious of all the stages, for it is like a seed that has not yet attached itself in any way to the earth. It has still not felt the pull of the رحم [ ri h m —womb] and it is possible that it may be wasted on entering the body of the woman just as a seed is wasted on rocky soil. And it is also possible that the sperm itself may be defective; that is, it may have some imperfection in itself that makes it unfit for growth. It may not have the ability to be attracted by the رحم [ ri h m —womb] and may only be like a corpse in which there is no movement, just like a rotten seed that is sown in the soil; and even though the soil may be excellent, yet by virtue of its own defect it is incapable of growth and develop- ment. And it is also possible that due to some other disorders, which we need not elaborate here, the sperm is not able to connect to the رحم [ ri h m —womb] and the رحم [ ri h m —womb] deprives it of its attractive influence; just as a seed is sometimes crushed underfoot, carried away by birds, or destroyed by some other accident. The same are the characteristics that attend the first stage of a believ- er’s spiritual development—the state of humility, meekness, tenderness, and pathos—that he experiences in worship and in the remembrance of God, which, in other words, means to cultivate in oneself anguish, tenderness, humility, modesty, meekness of spirit, and a yearning and longing, and to turn to God having been overcome by His fear, as has been described in the verse: 1. ٭ The stages referred to here are the ones that have just been mentioned. The fifth stage is when, by the power of the Almighty Creator, the human body becomes complete in the رحم [ ri h m —womb] and the bones are covered by an embellished skin. The sixth stage is when the body is endowed with life. And, as I have said above, the first stage of man’s spiritual development is that of humility, tenderness, and pathos, and that, too—in fact—embodies, in a compact form, all that is later manifested in man’s spiritual being. (Author)