The Holy War — Page 255
Proceedings—Debate 3 June 1893 255 with promises and warnings; in other words, the one doing good deeds will definitely be rewarded, and the one who does bad deeds will taste the evil fruits thereof. And together with this, it is also promised that salvation can be attained through faith and repentance; so, this being the case, what link remains with atonement? Can someone being cru- cified relieve Allah the Exalted from the fulfilment of His promises? Sir! These are punishments required by law which humans will receive—these punishments have nothing to do with rights, and this is also your own belief. So if this is the situation, these rewards and pun- ishments are all due to the promises and warnings. There is no other way which is opposed to this. And it is true that Allah the Exalted is not pleased with evil nor dis- belief—who can deny this? However, crimes can only be called crimes once the law deems them to be crimes. Otherwise, hundreds of imper- missible acts have transpired and they continue to transpire, but if they are not included in the Holy Book, then how can they be crimes? For example, just as man kills and sheds blood, similarly a beast like a lion always causes bloodshed to fill its stomach; and just as man follows the injunctions of marriage by refraining from his mother, sister, and other relations, this law is not even found in animals. And for humans, some of the laws of shariah have been changed; for example, the Prophet Moses as was permitted to choose any woman for himself from among the female prisoners of war, to kill children, to deceitfully take posses- sion of foreign wealth and use it as sustenance for long-distance travels, and to burn villages to the ground, but where is this permission granted in other religious laws? (The rest, later. )