Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 20
20 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad bias and is willing to hear the truth. For example, when a person accepts Islam, they follow a course of righteousness. Whenever favourable days dawn upon a person belonging to another faith, righteousness takes root in them; they are cleansed of pride, arrogance and conceit, for these are hindrances in their path, and when they are removed, the windows of their dark house are opened, as it were, and rays of light shine through. Here, Allah Almighty states: هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ It is a guidance for the righteous. Meaning, this Book is a guidance for the righteous (muttaqin). The word ittiqa is in the measure of the form known as iftial in Arabic and this grammatical form signifies a meaning of forced effort. In other words, Allah the Exalted indicates here that the degree of righteousness He requires of a person at this stage is not empty of strain. However, this Book contains various forms of guidance to pre- serve an individual's righteousness. This demonstrates that in order to perform good deeds, a muttaqi suffers travail. A Virtuous Servant When this state passes, a seeker of God becomes a virtuous servant. The element of difficulty vanishes, and a salih (i. e. a virtuous person) begins to naturally and inherently perform virtue. They enter an abode of security, which is safe from all danger and all their battles against their selfish desires come to an end. Such a per- son finds refuge from all forms of peril. Our Perfect Guide, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, alludes to this very fact when he states: 'Satan dwells within all, but my Satan has become a Muslim. ' Thus, a muttaqi remains forever at war with Satan but when he becomes a salih, all battles come to an end. Take the example of ostentation—a person remains in combat with this ill throughout the entire day. A muttaqi stands in the field of battle, as it were, where a war ensues without end. Victory cannot be attained without the supporting hand of God. Ostentation creeps up on man as subtly as an ant. At times, a person allows ostentation to enter the heart, completely unaware. For example, let us presume someone loses a knife that belongs to them 1 al-Baqarah, 2:3