Lecture Lahore — Page 9
9 come into being or sustains itself without Him. He en- compasses everything, but we do not know in what way. He is the Light of everything in heaven and earth. Every light shines through Him and every light is a reflection of His Being. He is the Lord of the universe, there is not a soul that is not sustained by Him, and not a soul that ex- ists by itself. No soul possesses any power that has not granted by Him. His favours are of two kinds. (1) Favours that are granted without any effort on the part of anyone. These have al- ways been in existence, e. g. , the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets, water, fire, air, and all the par- ticles of the universe that have been created for our sustenance. He provided for our sustenance even before we had come into existence, or had done anything to de- serve them. Can one say that the sun or the earth was created on account of one’s deeds? These favours came into existence before man was created and have not re- sulted from any of his actions. (2) Favours that are bestowed as a result of people’s actions. These are too evident to require illustration. The Holy Quran says that God is free from all defects and is not subject to failure or shortcoming, and it is His de- sire that man, too, should free himself of his weaknesses by following His commandments. He says: 3 3 Ban i Isr a ’ i l, 17:73 [Publishers]