Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 160
160 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad people offer the obligatory Prayer, they fast, they recite the Holy Quran and will repent and seek forgiveness from God; they strictly adhere to the basic, tradi- tional aspect of religion, and are firm in this respect. Secondly, there are those who seek to advance beyond this level to attain divine insight. They make an effort in every possible way; they show loyalty, they demonstrate steadfastness, and finally, upon reaching their pinnacle in divine insight, they attain success and triumph. Thirdly, there are those who are not content with mere adherence to an elementary level of faith (din-ul-aja’iz) and so they progress to an extent and begin to tread the path of divine insight, but they are unable to complete their quest; they stumble and fall down on the way. This class of people is neither here, nor there. The example of such people is like a thirsty man in the possession of some water, albeit, dirty water. In any case, drinking the water would have saved the man from death, but someone told him that there was a fountain of fresh water some ten or fifteen miles away. As a result, the man threw away the little water he had and began walking towards the fountain in search of clean water. However, due to his own impatience, ill-fortune and deviation from the right path, the man was unable to reach the fountain. Ultimately, what was his fate? The man perished and he was met with a dreadful end. Or the state of affairs of such people can be understood in light of another example. Let us presume that a well is being dug. In the initial stages it is nothing more than a pit, which serves no benefit, and in fact, it is a danger to those who pass by as someone could fall into it and injure themselves. Then, when further digging is undertaken, we reach the stage where mud and dirty water becomes visible, but even this is of no ben- efit yet. Finally, when the digging is complete and the well begins to provide clean water, it becomes a source of life for thousands upon thousands. These people who sit around as faqirs and custodians of shrines all suffer from a defective state. Prophets appear as possessors of pure water, as it were. Until one brings with them a bestowal from God, there can be no benefit. If Ilahi Bakhsh Sahib poses himself to be Moses, one ought to ask him what is the fundamental objective in his being Moses? Those who appear as appointees of God are like labourers, and they move forward to benefit mankind; they disseminate knowledge, they are never miserly, nor do they show indolence and sit on their hands, as it were. ” 1 1 Al-Hakam , vol. 5, no. 16, dated 30 April 1901, pp. 13-14 p. 144