Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 108
108 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad As I have elaborated earlier, when a person is in a state that the soul incites towards evil, they are a slave to Satan. In the state of the reproving self, however, an individual remains in a constant struggle and war against Satan. At times, such a one prevails, but at other instances Satan succeeds. However, in the state where the soul is at rest, a condition of calm and harmony prevails and the person sits peacefully. Therefore, in the verse: (O Soul at rest), the extent to which a person feels pleasure is clearly evident. The translation of this verse is: O soul at rest, return to your Lord. The apparent sense is that when a person is in their dying moments, a call comes from Allah the Exalted saying: O soul at rest, return to your Lord; He pleased with you and you pleased with Him. Since the Quran encompasses both the apparent and the hidden, the deeper meaning of this verse is: O soul that has reached the stage of comfort, return to your Lord; that is to say, the natural state to which you have arrived at, is a station of peace and tranquillity and there is no distance between you and Allah Almighty. In the state of the reproving self there is pain, but the state of the soul at rest may be likened to water that cascades down from above, where the love of God Almighty penetrates and flows into every vein and fibre of man, and he lives for the love of God. The love of all that is besides Allah, which is a burning hell for such people, is put out and replaced with a radiance and divine light. The pleasure of such a person becomes the pleasure of Allah Almighty, and whatever pleases Allah Almighty becomes his will. In this state, the love of God Almighty becomes the life of such individuals and just as the necessities of life are needed to remain alive, all that is needed by such people to remain alive is God and God alone. In other words, it is God Almighty alone who is the cause of their true happiness and absolute comfort. The Purpose of Human Existence A hallmark of the soul at rest is that its condition is independent of any external stimulus and it simply cannot survive without God. This is the very purpose of human existence, and so should it be. An idle person looks to activities such as hunting, chess and cards, etc. However, when the soul at rest separates itself from unlawful preoccupations, temporary enjoyments, and activities which often result in grief and pain, why then would it long for the world it has left behind? For this very reason, God alone becomes the centre of love. al-Fajr, 89:28