Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 291
APPE N DI X to B AR Ā H Ī N-E-A H M ADIY YA — PART F IV E 291 which is to say that he should firmly adhere to their subtlest and minut- est aspects. This is the fifth stage of the spiritual being, which corresponds to the fifth stage of the physical being which is described in this Quranic verse: 1 اَنْوَسَكَف َمٰظِعْلا اًمْحَل Meaning: ‘Then We clothed the bones with flesh and somewhat embel- lished the physical structure. ’ This is a wonderful likeness, because just as God Almighty has at one place described taqw a to be the spiritual rai- ment, so does the word كَسَوْنَا [ kasaun a —‘we clothed’] which is derived from كِسْوَه [ kiswah —‘clothing’] show that the flesh which is wrapped upon the bones is also a kind of raiment to cover them. The two words thus signify that the embellished garb provided by taqw a is similar to the one that covers up the bones, lending them an element of beauty. In the first instance the word is لِبَاس [ lib a s —‘raiment’] while in the second it is كِسْوَه [ kiswah —‘clothing’], but they both mean the same thing. The text of the Holy Quran is announcing it loud and clear that the purpose of both is to embellish. Thus, just as the removal of the rai- ment of taqw a would reveal spiritual ugliness, similarly if the flesh that the All-Wise Creator has draped on the bones is removed, the human form will appear repugnant. But even at the fifth stage—whether it is in the physical realm or the spiritual realm—perfect beauty is still miss- ing, for the spirit has not yet been bestowed upon it. It is commonly observed and felt that no matter how beautiful a person may be, when he dies and the soul leaves his body, his beauty that had been bestowed on him by the power of the Almighty, is all at once affected. Even though all the organs and the features are pres- ent, just with the departure of the soul the human body seems like a deserted and abandoned house, without any of its previous glory. The 1. S u rah al-Mu’min u n, 23:15 [Publisher]