Bounties of the Gracious God — Page 73
Our Beliefs in Brief 73 removed. And then there is another group that is not granted insight from Allah, so they move about aimlessly like a blind camel and are unable to discern the truth. Their hard-hearted- ness invites a plethora of calamities and tribulations, and they do not believe until their peace and repose is taken away from them, and they are visited by hardships and suffering. Hence, this is the cause of chastisement that descends from the heavens, and this is what caused the plague to be sent down. The wise and sagacious ought to ponder over this. There is undoubtedly no compulsion and force in religion, but their natures require compulsion in some form. There is no compulsion in faith, but their natures require a kind of compulsion in order to be cautioned. And there is no harm in this, for it is a matter that does not involve mortal means, rather it is a great sign from the Gracious God, and signs of warning do not fall under the cat- egory of compulsion and force. Force is only wielded through sharp swords and other powerful weapons. Therefore, in order to warn the oblivious ones of this age, Allah chose a kind of chastisement, and such chastisement appears from heaven and not through unsheathing swords. Thus, at times He instilled fear in the hearts through the deadly plague and at times through devastating earthquakes before whose power buildings turned to rubble, and at times through such fiery storms that turned mountains to rubble and caused the oceans to surge, and noth- ing could minimize their intensity. It spared none from the old or young. The government adopted the best available devices to stop the plague but it did not succeed in any way. The truth is that the plague was Allah Almighty’s answer to those who cursed me and those who accompanied such people, and He favoured