The Devotion of Life — Page 523
523 The story of his release is described here in his own words: “After living a comfortable life for a few months in a civilian hospital, when I was brought back to the prison I knew then that the decision had been made to release me. The last time I appeared before the Board, approximately two dozen Russian officers were seated in chairs. Upon my arrival, I said Assalamu Alaikum, and at the same time translated these words into Russian. One of the officers directed me to sit down on a chair. Meanwhile, the most senior officer, who was sitting in the centre, looked towards me and asked, ‘Do you believe in the existence of God?’ I stood up and declared in a rather loud and passionate voice, ‘I not only believe in God, but also have had personal experience of His Power and Authority. ’ A large picture of Lenin was hanging in the hall. Pointing towards the picture, I said, ‘He has committed a grave error by refuting the existence of God. ’ Everyone was astonished to hear what I had said. One of them asked, ‘Do you know this man?’ I told them that I did not know him personally but I had read about him in several books. There is no doubt that from a worldly point of view Lenin was a great man. He was not only the father of the Russian Revolution, but was also the creator of an ideology, which he claimed would remove the gap between the rich and the poor. His ideas regarding freedom, brotherhood and equality were generally sound, although in my opinion, his proposed cure for the ills of the world was not right. Refuting the existence of God has neither eradicated evil in the world before nor will it ever do so in the future. Our God is from