The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 7
Natural, Moral and Spiritual States of Man 7 he may even give up eating honey because it is obtained by destroying many lives and by driving away the poor bees from their hives. I can also conceive that a person may avoid using musk, as it is the blood of a poor deer and is obtained by killing the animal and separating it from its young. I would also not deny that a person might stop using pearls or wearing silk because they are both obtained by killing innocent worms. I can even concede that a person suffering from pain may choose to avoid using leeches; he may be prepared to suffer rather than kill the leech. Whether others accept it or not, I can also accept that a person might carry pity so far as to spare even the water worms and risk dying of thirst. I can accept all this, but I can never accept that these natural states could be called moral, or that these alone can wash out a person's inner impurities, the presence of which is an obstacle in the path of meeting God Almighty. . I can never believe that to be meek and harmless in this manner, in which even some animals and birds excel, could become the means of acquiring a high degree of humanity. In my view, this is opposed to the cardinal virtue of seeking God's pleasure and it amounts to fighting the law of nature and rejecting the bounties that nature has bestowed upon us. Spirituality can be attained only through the exercise of each moral quality at its proper time and place, treading faithfully in the way of God, and being wholly devoted to Him. He who truly becomes. God's cannot exist without Him. A person who truly understands God is like a fish offered unto the hand of God. . Its water is the love of God. [Islāmi Uşūl ki Philosophy, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, vol. 10, pp. 325-327]