Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 162
162 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI-THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION 1 believe in the Holy Quran and the earlier Scriptures too, then what does it mean when He says guidance for the righteous'] meaning that, this Book will give guidance to them; for, such people, by implementing all these commandments, are already rightly guided? To help attain what has already been attained appears to be a useless exercise. The answer to this is that such people, despite their faith and vir- tuous deeds, stand in need of perfect steadfastness and perfect pro- gress to which God alone can guide; human effort has nothing to do with it. Steadfastness means that the heart is suffused with such faith as makes it impossible to stumble in the face of any trial, and virtuous deeds are performed in such a manner and in such a fashion that pleasure arises in them and labour and hardship is not felt. It becomes impossible to survive without them, as if those deeds become the nourishment for their souls-the bread for it and sweet water for it-such that they could not stay alive without them. That is to say, such circumstances come into existence with regard to steadfastness that cannot be created by a person merely through his own effort; rather, just as the soul is a gift of God, so is such extraordinary stead- fastness created by God. Progress means that, in addition to the maximum extent to which human effort regarding worship and faith can reach, other circum- stances are created which can come into existence only by the hand of God. It is obvious that, in the matter of belief in God Almighty, human effort and reason can help no further than to believe in the Unseen God, whose face has not been seen. This is why the Shariah [Islamic Law] which does not require of man beyond what lies in his power-does not compel man to believe, through his own effort, beyond the belief in the Unseen. Of course in this very verse 2 ['guidance for the righteous'] the righteous are promised that, after 1. Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher] 2. Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher]