Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 30
30 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad vests within him a strength. When a person makes peace with his inner self, he enters a sort of paradise; but the same degree of spiritual reward is no longer warranted. Such a person has already engaged in a transaction of which he con- tinues to reap benefit. However, this does not possess the same state as before. An action performed repeatedly by forced effort eventually takes on the form of a natural disposition in man. A person who inherently attains pleasure in some- thing cannot be deterred from it. He finds himself naturally inclined. And so, when a person is at the level known as 'righteousness' (ittiqa) where they must force themselves to perform good with strenuous effort, they are still impaired, as it were, and the nature of their virtue is still incomplete. Spending from the Provision of Allah After this, in praise of a muttaqi, Allah the Exalted states: وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ And they spend out of what We have provided for them. Here, the words 'mimma' (i. e. from out of what) have been used when referring to a righteous person because he is still in a state of blindness. And so, he dedicates for the sake of God only a portion from among that which God has given him. But the truth is that if he possessed a discerning eye, he would see that nothing belongs to him at all and that everything belongs to God Almighty. This lack of understanding is like a veil, which is a necessary element in the state of righteous- ness' or ittiga. The demands of this state push one to give a portion from that which is endowed to him by God. In his last days, the Noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, inquired of Hazrat Ayeshah, may Allah be pleased with her, if there was anything in the house. It came to light that there was one dinar at home. At this, the Holy Prophets said that an individual cannot attain true nearness to God if they do not sacrifice everything in His cause. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had surpassed the level of righteousness or ittiqa and had attained unto salahiyyat (i. e. a level of higher virtue). Therefore, the words 'mimma' were never used for the Holy Prophetsa, for blind is the one who keeps some for himself and gives some to God. Nonetheless, as mentioned, this is part and parcel of a righteous person, because for such a 1 al-Baqarah, 2:4 [Publisher]