Fountain of Christianity — Page 41
41 tion, attains it as a reward and through God’s grace, and not as a recompense for his endeavour. 24 This is the cul- mination of man’s love for God, through which he attains the eternal life and is delivered from death. Immortality is not the privilege of anyone but God. He alone is Eternal. Therefore, out of all mankind, this eternal life is attained only by the one who cuts himself off from all other loves, and, having 'annihilated' himself in his love for God, re- ceives from Him a share of eternal life by way of reflection ( zill ). It would not be proper to call such a man 'dead', for he has come to life through God. Truly dead are those who die while they are estranged from God. Hence, those who believe that all souls possess an eternal life, without having developed personal love for God and without having 'united' with Him, are completely faithless. The truth is that nothing has any existence without God. He alone is called 'Living'; and it is only when the souls of the righteous come under His 'shadow' and immerse them- selves in His love that they are given true life, and this life can never be attained without 'uniting' with Him. In the Holy Quran, Allah has described the disbelievers as 'dead', and regarding the inmates of Hell He says: 24 Since man, on account of his human weakness, cannot perform actions which will entitle him to unlimited favours, and without these he cannot reach true salvation, God takes pity on his weakness after he has tried to the best of his ability, and helps him through with His grace, and gives him, as a gift, the reward of His union which was given to righteous people before him. [Author]