The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 332
332. Essence of Islam II to all moral values is the key to paradise. Can it be a good action to shoot down an utter stranger who is walking through the street on some errand and who has done us no harm? If this kind of thing is virtuous, wild animals possess more virtue than such men. Glory be to. God, how righteous were those and how truly were they inspired by the spirit of the Prophets who, when they were commanded in Mecca not to resist evil though they might be cut to pieces, behaved like humble and weak suckling babies as if their hands and their arms possessed no power at all. . . . . How grievous and shameful it is that an utter stranger who has done us no harm and who is occupied with some lawful errand should be shot down without any cause and his wife made a widow and his children made orphans and his dwelling turned into a house of mourning? Which. Hadith and which verse of the Holy Qur'an authorises such an outrage? Can any Maulavi furnish an answer to this question? Ignorant people who have only heard the word Jihad make it an excuse for the fulfilment of their selfish desires. [Government Angrezi Aur Jihād, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, vol. 17, pp. 7-13]. I have brought you a commandment which is that Jihad with the sword has been ended but the Jihad of the purification of your spirits must continue to be waged. I say this not on my own but in order to proclaim the design of God. . Reflect on the Ḥadīth of Bukhārī wherein it is stated that the Promised Messiah: يضع الحرب would put an end to fighting for the faith. Accordingly I command those who have joined my ranks that they should discard all such notions. They should purify their