Blessings of Khilafat — Page 155
Objects of Human Life 155 moon? Not at all! The moon takes proper pride for reflecting the light of the sun. But again, is the sun shining because it is personally possessed of some light? No. Rather, the fact is that it gets its light from the Gracious God. Therefore, if the moon is shining and the sun is bright, and we consider them both to be useful and beautiful to look at, then their beauty and usefulness are drawing our attention to the beauty of God and the magnificent attributes possessed by Him, such as His graciousness and nobility. Everything of beauty found in the world that we call beautiful, has been bestowed its beauty by God. That is why He alone is the one who is possessed of every beauty. God has thus stated in S u rah al-F a ti h ah , or that, All praise belongs to Allah and to none else, for He alone is the Lord of all the worlds. He is the Creator of all that exists, and He alone is their Provider. Since He provides for everything, why should all the praise not belong to Him? Parents raise their children and provide for them, but do you know who has imbued their hearts with love for their child? It is God who has caused this to happen. When someone gives away a penny to a beggar, we say he has done a commendable act. But the fact is that his heart was inspired by God to do so. Similarly, every good act done by someone is attributed to God. That is why all praise really belongs to God and to no one else. For instance, if a master tells his servant to distribute some money among the beggars, the master will deserve the praise though the distribution will be done by the servant. Similarly, when a man does a good deed, he does it on behalf of his Lord like the distribution of the wealth of a master, for there is nothing which the man possesses as a personal right; rather, everything belongs to God.