The Holy War — Page 180
180 that God is Omnipotent and can give it life again, then this hap- pening is somewhat far from the realm of possibility. Love and strong emotional attachment are part of the responsibilities of life; their mention is included in the doing of good deeds. No further mention is necessary. Third— You are clearly mistaken when you say that mercy without recompense is a Divine Law of God Almighty that has constantly been in force since the very beginning. It is engraved in our nature as an ultimate truth that whoever causes loss to another being, he must then compensate for his loss. Humanity, in every era, must observe the obedience of God, and if one transgresses and commits a sin then he shall have to pay compensation for that, and the only suitable recompense is that he remains incarcerated in punishment. Fourth— I also explained yesterday that sufferings are of three types. Firstly, that which is called punishment, which means to rec- ompense for damages and its limit is that till the damages are not paid the offender should not be released. The second is the type that serves to perfect one’s appreciation of ease, by which I mean that one desirous of knowing about something outside his ken can- not attain to it fully without knowing its opposite. For example, a congenitally blind person does not know what whiteness is, but he also does not know what darkness is despite being in front of it all the time. Similarly, if a man was sent to Paradise and he never had any painful experience, he will not recognise or appreciate the significance of Paradise. The third type of pain is that of a test or a trial; that is to say, making a person capable of taking action to choose from among potential actions. Having been placed between two things similar but uniquely opposite in their outcome, accept- ing one cannot happen without pain and suffering. If these three types are right, then what right do you have to say that the pain that animals go through is by way of punishment?