Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 175
POSTSCRIPT—RESPONSE TO SOME CRITICS' OBJECTIONS 175 It is thus clear that perfect Tauhid is not attainable except through self-abnegation and obedient submission to the Messengersa. How can a person be called a muwaḥḥid-[a believer in the One God] if he considers any of his own faculties to be at par with God the Maker? This is why the Holy Quran, at several places, ties perfect Tauḥid to following in the footsteps of the Messenger, because perfect Tauḥīd means a new life. It is not possible to attain salvation unless and until one brings death upon one's baser life by becoming the follower of the Messenger of God. What is more, on account of what these igno- rant people say, the Holy Quran is exposed to the charge of self-contra- diction; for, on the one hand, it repeatedly says that except through the medium of the Messenger, it is not possible to attain Tauḥīd, nor can salvation be attained, while on the other hand, it appears to proclaim it to be attainable; whereas the fact is that the Messenger alone is the Sun of Tauhid and salvation as well as its exponent. It is his light that reveals Tauḥid; hence, such a contradiction cannot possibly be ascribed to the Word of God. The egregious error of this ignorant man is that he has not under- stood the essence of Tauḥīd at all. Tauḥīd is a light which arises within the heart after negating outer and inner [false] deities, and it permeates every particle of the person. How can it be acquired by anyone on his own, without the medium of God and His Messenger? Man's obliga- tion is only that he should impose a death upon his ego and should dis- card the satanic vanity that he is well-versed in knowledge. He should deem himself ignorant and should remain occupied in supplication. Then the light of Tauhid would descend upon him from God, bestow- ing a new life upon him. In the end, I deem it necessary to point out that even if, for the sake of argument, I accept that the term 'Allah' carries a general import which translates as 'God', and ignore the connotation which we learn by reflecting on the Holy Quran—that included in the meaning of ‘Allah' is that He is the One who sent the Holy Quran and appointed the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—even then