Life of Ahmad — Page 353
as THE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 353 forgetfulness of self and after the extinction of all selfish desires, he is granted a second life which may be called Baq a. And the clauses that follow, viz, "He has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for such, nor shall they grieve" which give a promise of reward, allude to the stage of Liq a or union with God. It is the highest stage of knowledge, certainty, trust and love. The reward of one’s sincerity, devotion and faithfulness is not an obscure, dubious and doubtful thing. It is sure, certain, visible, concrete and tangible, as if it has already been experienced. In this stage man is so sure of the existence of God that he may be said to be actually seeing Him. No fear of the future darkens his faith. The dead past is buried and the living present has no sorrow for him. Every spiritual bliss is present. His heart is pure and guiltless. There is neither doubt nor misgiving, nor painful expectation. Such a state is termed Liq a. The word Mu h sin in the above verse most clearly points to this stage, because I h s a n , according to the explanation of our Holy Prophet sa , signifies a perfect state in which a man has such a connection with the Almighty that he, as it were, sees Him at the time of his worship. This state of Liq a is fully realised by the spiritual wayfarer when his humanity is over-