Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 196
196 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad servants into the soil and people walk over them, crushing them under their feet, but it is not long before they emerge from the ground with a wondrous colour and splendour in the likeness of vegetation, which sprouts from a seed buried under dry leaves and straw, and every onlooker is left in amazement. Since time imme- morial the way of God has been to put His chosen servants into a grand vortex, not to drown them, but so that they may attain the pearls that lie in the depths of the ocean of divine unity. They are cast into fire, not so they may burn, but so that a spectacle of the power of God Almighty may be manifested. In short, they are mocked and ridiculed, and cursing them seems to the people a good deed, and this continues until God Almighty shows a manifestation of His being and exhibits the shining brilliance of His succour. At that time, the truth is proven to the world; the jealousy of God surges forth for the sake of this seemingly helpless individual, and his enemies are crushed to pieces with one manifestation alone. So firstly, it is the enemies that remain dominant, but in the end, it is the chosen one of God who reigns supreme. It is to this that the following alludes: 1 َ ْن ی ِ ُ لِلْمُتَّق ۃ َ وَالْعَاقِب And the end is for the God-fearing. Then, another secret purpose in the trials and tribulations which are faced by those appointed by God Almighty is so that their exemplary model of good mor- als may be shown to the world, and so that the magnificent quality that they pos- sess, which is no less than a miracle, is manifested. Steadfastness What is that quality? It is steadfastness—a quality about which it is stated: ِ ِسْتِقَامَۃ ُ فَوْق َ الْکَرَامَۃ ْ ا َ ل Steadfastness is greater than showing a miracle. It was this very steadfastness in Abraham, peace be upon him, that when he was instructed in a dream to slaughter his son, even though that dream could have been interpreted or understood metaphorically, he was prepared to fulfill this command as soon as he received it; and he would have slaughtered his young son, since he possessed such faith in God Almighty, and his heart was full of 1 al-A’raf, 7:129 p. 178