Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 468
! ! 468 animals as well. If a human possesses eyesight, other animals possess eyesight as well. If a human has ears, other animals have ears as well. If a human eats and drinks, they [the animals] also eat and drink. If a human possesses the ability to walk and run, so do animals walk and run. Mankind is divided into males and females , as are animals and they procreate and bring up their young just as human beings do. Yet, the one thing which lifts human beings above other animals , and which is not cultivated in other animals, is the love which a human being feels for God. Only within mankind, will you find beings who are immersed in the worsh ip of God Almighty. They are so engrossed in the ir love for God Almighty that they cannot separate themselv es from His threshold for even one minute. However, this characteristic is not cultivated within animals. That is why animals com plete their life in this world and they have no second life after death. M ankind however, is raised again to a new life after death. To reach his eternal life , he treads a new path which at times passes through heaven , and at other t imes passes through hell. Thus , the word insaan means that entity, who possesses two loves. One love is for God Almighty and the other love is for all mankind. Therefore, b ased solely upon this name [i. e. , insaan ] , Islam reveals that the veritable purpose of religion is that it was introduced to the world so that human beings may develop a relationship with God Almighty and it could teach people to feel sympathy and love for mankind. The entire nature of religion is either concerned with developing love for God Almighty or concerned with maintaining a sincere bond with mankind. What is Salāt ? It is a n expression of th e bond and love between man and God. It is similar to the way in which a mother remembers her child, the way a child remembers their mother, or the way a brother remembers his brother, the way a friend remembers their friend, the way a husband remembers his wife , or the way a wife remembers her husband. Similarly, a righteous person does not forget his God. H e thinks of Him many times a day. This is what is known as worship , and this is Salāt. We have witnessed that where there is sincere love, no person can prevent another from remembering the [object of his affection]. No matter how much one counsels a mother to cease thinking of her child, a child to stop remembering their