Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 172
172 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad At times, when people reflect over their age and realise that they have become old and their days are numbered, they become inclined towards God Almighty. There are certain families in which lifespans generally reach a certain limit, such as fifty or sixty for example. The family of Mian Sahib in Batala also generally has similar lifespans. In this manner, consideration for the estimated lifespan in a person's own family can move a person to become conscious of death. Therefore, man ought to keep well in mind that ultimately a day will come when he shall be forced to leave behind the world and its pleasures. Why then should man not forsake the unlawful manner in which these pleasures are sought before this time confronts us? Death has not spared even the greatest among the righteous and the beloved of God, nor does it care for those who are young, or wealthy or great. Why then, would death spare you? Consider the world and its comforts to be nothing more than the means with which to sustain life and an avenue that leads to the worship of God Almighty. Sa'di has described this subject in the following words: خوردن برائے زیستن وذکر کردن است تو معتقد که زیستن از بهر خوردن است Food is so that one may live and worship, but you think that life's purpose is food. Do not think that God will be pleased with us for nothing and we will abide in a state of enjoyment. If such blinded people were even given a letter from God Himself, they would still never let go of the pleasures which they experience in the pursuit of their worldly desires and ambitions; rather, they give precedence to this pleasure over the pleasure that a believer feels in God. However, a letter of God Almighty is present already and it is called the Holy Quran; it promises paradise and everlasting comfort, yet no regard whatsoever is given in respect of the promises it makes to confer bounty. In the pursuit of temporary and self- conceived joys and comforts, how many pains and hardships does an ignorant person bear? But on the path of God Almighty, even the slightest difficulty hurls such a one into apprehension and they begin to think ill of God. If only they could measure the worth of these eternal and everlasting joys in comparison to the ephemeral pleasures of the world. In order to prevail over these difficulties and hardships, there is a perfect and unfailing cure, which is tried and tested by