Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 10
10 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad with certainty whether the soul exists or not, let alone give us knowledge about its deeper essence or the nature of its relationships. Philosophers consider the soul to be like a lush, green branch and do not consider the soul to have any ex- ternal, independent existence of its own. The details that we have come to know about in respect of the soul’s existence and its relations etc. , are received from the fountain of prophethood. Those who depend on reason alone cannot even make an evidenced claim in this context. If someone were to say that there are certain philosophers who have written specific details relating to the soul, then remember that they have done nothing more than to glean from the fountain of prophethood and then state certain details. Hence, when it is established that knowledge about the soul is received from the fountain of prophethood, the fact that the soul has a relationship with the grave ought to be viewed from the per- spective of Prophets. It is the spiritual eye which shows us that the soul has a rela- tionship with the pile of dust in which a person is buried and that one receives a response when one says the following words: ِ م ُ عَلَیْکُم ْ یَااَھْل َ الْقُبُوْر َ اَلسَّل Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these graves. Hence, an individual who employs the faculties that make it possible to meet the dwellers of graves can see the affinity that souls hold with graves. Let me give you an example in this regard. If there was a block of salt and a block of sugar placed side by side, what conclusion could one draw by mere reason alone? Indeed, when a person tastes each of them, it can then be concluded by two distinct tastes that one is salt and the other is sugar. If, however, a person had no sense of taste, how could they distinguish between sweet and salty? My task is only to explain through argumentation. Just as the rising sun would remain unaffected by a blind person who denies it, in the same manner, a sense- less man unable to benefit from rational argumentation would not disprove a matter. Likewise, how can a person deprived of the spiritual eye, observe the rela- tionship that souls possess with graves? Hence, just because someone is unable to observe this phenomenon, this does not justify their denial of it. Such knowledge cannot be ascertained by mere rationality and induction alone; this is why Allah the Exalted has given humans a range of faculties. If one faculty alone sufficed for everything, what need would there have been for God to bestow man with such a diverse array of faculties? Certain faculties relate to the eye, others to the