Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 11
~ 11 ~ giving the status of the truthful to the liars, making them the sages of millions, giving their religions long lives and showing heavenly signs in their favour? If God Himself were to deceive us then how could we differentiate right from wrong? ''This is an important tenet: a false prophet should not achieve the grandeur, acceptance and greatness as that of a truthful one. Prosperity should not result from the plans of liars as it does from the activities of a truthful one. That is why the first sign of the truthful is that perpetual support is with the truthful, and God plants his religion in the hearts of millions, and grants it long life. ''Therefore, keeping in view the day of our passing away and the day of recompense, we should not malign such a great sage; rather, we should garner true respect and true love for a Prophet who carries such signs. This is the first principle which God has taught us. Through this we have become inheritors of a great moral code. 1 The Promised Messiah as also proposed that such conferences ought to be held in which adherents of various religions should come together and elaborate on the excellences of their respective religions. 2 1 To h fa ‐ e ‐ Qai s ariyyah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol. 12, pp. 258 ‐ 262 2 ibid, p. 279