The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 22
22. Essence of Islam II sovereign subdues people by his might and the strictness of his laws, while the followers of a Sayyed obey him voluntarily out of their sincere love and eagerness and inclination and call him 'Sayyeduna' (our chief) out of sincere affection. A sovereign can be obeyed in that spirit when he becomes a Sayyed in the estimation of his people. This word can also not be used for anyone beside. God Almighty, inasmuch as true and eager obedience which has no personal purpose in view cannot possibly be accorded to any beside God Almighty. He is the only. One before Whom the souls prostrate themselves, for He is the true source of their creation. That is why every soul naturally bows down to Him. The worshippers of idols and of men have also the same eagerness to obey Him as has a righteous person who believes in His Unity, but they fail, on account of their error and faulty desire, to recognize the true spring of life, and on account of their blindness they direct their inner eagerness towards a wrong object. That is why some of them deify stones, or. Ramchandra, or Krishna, or the Son of Mary, under the mistaken belief that the object of their worship is the. True God. They ruin themselves by investing creatures with Godhead. In the same way, those who pursue their own desires have been misled in their spiritual search for the true beloved and Sayyed. Their hearts also sought a beloved and a true Sayyed, but having failed to recognize the true desire of their hearts, they imagined that the true beloved and Sayyed, whom the souls seek and whom they are eager to obey, are the worldly wealth, properties and delights. This was an error on their part. The true Cause of spiritual desires, and the source of pious sentiments, is the Being Who has said: