The Holy War — Page 273
Proceedings—Debate 5 June 1893 273 insects and worms are born without mother or father. Thus, to deduce Divinity for the Messiah from this is a mistake pure and simple. A— How can sins be forgiven by only repenting without payment of reparations? G— No one’s sin causes any damage to God. And sin does not exist before the advent of the Law. Allah the Exalted says, 1 15/2— َو اَم اَّنُك َنْيِبِّذَعُم ىّٰتَح َثَعْبَن اًلْوُسَر ۰۰ Meaning that, We never punish upon sins until We have sent a Messenger. And when the Messenger comes and shows the ways of good and evil, only then—according to the promises and warnings in those Laws—will action be taken. Going in search of atonement is a joke. Can atonement break Divine promises? A promise can be changed only by another promise and not by some other contrivance, as Allah the Exalted states, ٌمٰلَس ْمُكْيَلَع َبَتَك ْمُكُّبَر ىٰلَع ِهِسْفَن َةَمْحَّرلاٗهَّنَا ْنَم َلِمَع ْمُكْنِم اًۢءْٓوُس ٍةَلاَهَجِب َّمُث َباَت ْۢنِم ٖهِدْعَب َو 2 7/12— َحَلْصَا ٗهَّنَاَف ٌرْوُفَغ ٌمْيِحَّر۰۰ And to say that good deeds are by way of repayment of a loan is a mis- understanding. It would have been correct to talk of a loan if there had been a claim for rights. Now, since sin is born of breaking the Divine law and not by way of abdication of any right, and worship is simply the name given to obeying the commandments contained in holy 1. S u rah Ban i Isr a’i l, 17:16 [Publisher] 2. Peace be unto you! Your Lord has taken it upon Himself to show mercy, so that whoso among you does evil ignorantly, and repents thereafter and amends, then He is Most Forgiving, Merciful ( S u rah al-An‘ a m, 6:55). [Publisher]