Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 429
! ! 429 Kalima , it is now up to you to make it pure. People presume for themselves great designations , but mere titles are of no use. Likewise , one does not gain respect by simply reciting the Kalima ; one gains it by making it pure. When both aspects of the Kalima are present, only then does a believer transform into a tree of Paradise. Thus, u nless you become a Kalima Tayyiba , you can not become a tree of Paradise. The Holy Qur’ān has given you the simple example of the tree. God Almighty did not direct your attention towards the moon or the sun. He did not present example s of Alexander or Aristotle. He did not pose before you the question of algebra. He did not attempt to rais e you up towards the dome of some building. R ather God Almighty presented to you that which each one of you , rather each c hild has seen. God Almighty declared that He did not take you towards the mountains or rivers, for He asks , “Have you ever seen a tree ? ” Just a s a tree is watered, likewise you should water yo ur faith with charitable deeds. D evelop good traits within yourself. When you do this, you will become a tree of Paradise. Just as a nurtured tree bears beautiful, fragrant, delicious , and sweet fruit, nurture your faith to be beautiful, fragrant, delightful , and sweet. W hen you become such a tree, God Almighty’s angels will lift you from wherever y ou are and will take you to His Paradise , for God pro nounces that His garden cannot be complete without such trees. People transport trees from far off places to plant in their gardens , so that their garden looks beautiful. In this very way , God’s angels will retrieve the righteous from e ach corner of the Earth , so that people can not say that this or that type of tree is not present in the garden of Allah. What a grand trade the righteous make with God , but how unfortunate that fe w people pay heed to this agreement. I now pray that God enable s you to grow into a tree of Paradise and that you transform your Kalima into Kalima Tayyiba , so that by the Grace of Allah you turn into a S hajr - e - Tayyiba. َو آ ِﺧ ُﺮ َد ْﻋ َﻮ ا cُ ْﻢ أ C ِن ا ﻟ e َﺤ ْﻤ ُﺪ (ِ fِ َر ب ﱢ ا ﻟ e َﻌ ﺎ ﻟ C ِﻤ kl mَ And in the end , we proclaim that all praise belongs to Allah , Lord of all the worlds. ( Misbah , February 1942)