Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 130
130 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Shaheed. The common people have generally understood this word to merely refer to a person who dies in battle, or drowns in a river, or dies in an epidem- ic, etc. However, I declare that to suffice on this alone and to limit the word to this alone, is far from the greatness of a believer. A Shaheed is one who gains the strength from God Almighty to remain steadfast and composed, and who cannot be weakened in the face of tribulations and calamities. He is one who remains firm with courage when confronted by misfortunes and difficulties, to such an extent that even if he is required to lay down his life purely for the sake of God Al- mighty, then he is granted an extraordinary resolve. He is one who will lay down his head without any feelings of sorrow and grief, and desires that he be granted life again and again so that he may sacrifice it in the way of Allah again and again. He is one whose soul is so permeated by pleasure and comfort that every sword that strikes his body and every crushing blow grants him a new life, a new joy and a new freshness. This is what it means to be a Martyr or a Shaheed. Further, this word is also derived from the word shahd (which means honey). Those who engage in strenuous worship, and endure bitterness and enmity, and are prepared to bear such things, are granted a sweet and pleasant taste, just as one gains from honey. Moreover, just as honey is described as: 1 ِ ٌ لِّلنَّاس ء ٓ فِيْهِ شِفَا (therein is cure for men), these individuals, too, are a cure. Those who spend time in their company are cured from many an ailment. Moreover, a Shaheed, which in Arabic means ‘a witness’, also refers to the rank at which a human being, as it were, beholds God before them whenever they perform any action, or in the least, firmly believes that God sees them. This concept is also referred to as ihsan. The Righteous The fourth station is of one who has attained to the rank of the Righteous, i. e. a Salih. These people are ones who have been cleansed of their foul elements, and their hearts have become clean. It is an obvious fact that until the foul elements in the body are dispelled and so long as one’s disposition is unwell, even the taste in one’s tongue is spoiled and seems bitter. However, when a state of salahiyyat prevails in the body, i. e. when it is healthy and well, it is then that the proper taste of everything is experienced, and the disposition is in a state of pleasure, comfort, energy and alertness. Likewise, when a person is drowned in the impurity of sin, 1 an-Nahl, 16:70