Lecture Ludhiana — Page 56
56 of its paramount quality. But I reiterate that such is not the case. It is through Islam alone that this objective can be attained to its highest degree, and the only way to it is through converse and communion with God, for this creates complete faith in the Creator, and thus alone do we come to know that God detests sin and punishes it. Sin is poison: it is venial at first, then becomes deadly and ultimately leads to disbelief. I must say it in passing, that every people in their own right try seriously to figure out how to be cleansed of sin. The Aryas, for instance, believe that there is no way to be purified of sin except through punishment, and the pun- ishment for just one sin means millions of rebirths. Unless a person passes through these rebirths, he can never be absolved of sin. But this process poses many problems— the most formidable being that if all living beings are sinful, then when will salvation ever become possible? Even more bizarre is their commonly held belief that those who ultimately attain salvation shall, after some time, be thrown out of the salvation cell. What is the use of such salvation? When asked why expel someone after according him salvation, they reply: because one sin is kept in store for eventual expulsion. Just consider, can this possibly be the work of the Omnipotent God? What is more, if each self is its own creator and God is not the Creator (God forbid), there is no compelling need for the self to subordinate itself to Him. The Christians have yet another view. They have devised