Guidance for Perceiving Minds — Page 14
h a d rat Mirza ghulam AHmAD as 14 gain and favour, resorting to deceit and impertinence. We do not deny their cunning ways and their tendency to distort the truth in pursuit of material gain, whether through flattery or disdain, all to escape financial constraints. Their language undoubtedly derives from satanic influence, not from divine dignity, and is motivated by the pursuit of wealth and possession, not by mirac- ulous wonder. My eloquence serves to remove the rust from minds and illu- minate the path of truth through the light of evidence. I only speak under the guidance of the Most Gracious. How can some- one whose gaze is fixated solely on the material world, is wholly inclined towards its pleasures, and is content with its adornments like women, dare to challenge me? Do they claim mastery over the [Arabic] language? They shall soon be defeated and retreat in disgrace from the battlefield. Their likeness is like that of a lame person who wishes to attain the level of the strong. He takes one step forward and then falls on his shoulder. Or they are like a lone pedestrian who walks during a long night, whose blemishes are full, its darkness intensifies, and its insects multiply as he wanders from one valley to another, having no lamp with him, nor does he hear the voice of a guide. No companion accompanied him, nor did he have any provisions. He did not find a guard, nor did he see a herald, nor a shining lamp. And then there is another man who wishes to travel with the pedestrians and horse riders, so he mounted a horse like a gazelle, and left the town when the rays of the sun shone, with a company like a halo, saving him from losing his way. Are they alike in the eyes of those endowed with reason? This is a lesson for those who fear.