Blessings of Khilafat — Page 69
69 knowledge are shaped. The branches of knowledge that existed a hundred years ago do not exist any more; instead, some new fields have emerged with the passage of time. Initially, it was believed that the universe consisted of just one sun, and that all other stars and planets revolved around the same sun; but now we have come to know that there are stars which are so huge and so far away from us that their light is just reaching us now. Moreover, they are much bigger in size than the sun. At one time, people used to believe, and it is a well-known premise, that the pointer of a compass always faced north; but now experiments have revealed that at certain intervening periods it starts moving towards the west as well, and having travelled in that direction for some time it again changes its course and turns towards the north. In short, knowledge is undergoing such rapid changes that what we know today may prove to be wrong tomorrow. There is no doubt that God has blessed man with knowledge and wisdom, but He has certainly not endowed an intellect which is infallible and which cannot accept changes to the conclusions it has drawn already. This is why God has taught Muslims how to pray, because humans being are prone to making mistakes. Instead of praying to God that something must be given to them or some work must be done for them; God has taught that they should pray that God may cause to happen that which is good in His estimation, and that may He provide them with that which is truly beneficial. Since God never makes mistakes, His decision is always right and correct. To turn towards God is the simplest and best method available to everyone in this world to make the best decisions in regard to every matter. To us, also, this is the simplest method available. Anyone who had failed to understand the philosophy of Khilafat should have prayed to God,