Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 198
198 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad a woman who was madly in love with someone. They would bring her forcefully and torment her in countless ways; she would suffer physical abuse, but continue to say: ‘This gives me pleasure. ’ 1 When superficial forms of love, when passions that stem from sin and transgression, can move a person to feel pleasure in bear- ing difficulties and misfortunes, then just imagine the degree of pleasure that an ardent lover of God Almighty, who yearns to offer themselves at the threshold of the Divine, can feel in bearing pain and hardship. Observe the state of the noble companions, may Allah be pleased with all of them. Countless pains were inflicted upon them in Mecca; some of them were captured, others were gripped by a multitude of tortures and torments. Men aside, even Muslim women were subjected to such brutalities that even the thought of them makes one tremble. If these people had joined the Meccans, they would have apparently honoured them greatly, because after all, they were their brethren. But what was it that kept them firm on the truth even in a storm of misfortune and hardship? It was the very same fountain of pleasure and delight which would gush forth from their breasts due to their love for the truth. It is written in relation to a companion that when his hands were cut, he said: ‘This is my ablution. ’ Finally, it is written that he said: ‘Sever my head and it shall prostrate before the Lord,’ and with these words, he breathed his last. At that time, he prayed: ‘O Allah! Inform the Holy Prophet sa of my state. ’ At the time, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was in Medina. Gabriel as came to the Holy Prophet sa and said: ‘ Assalamu Alaykum’ (peace be upon you), to which the Holy Prophet sa responded: ‘ Alaykum Salam’ (peace be on you). Then he was informed of the incident which had occurred. Hence, after one experiences the pleasure that is attained in God Almighty, one is ready to be crushed and killed like an insect. For a believer, even the most excruciating and severest of pains become easy. Truth be told, this is the very sign of a believer that they are ready to be killed. In this way, if someone were forced to choose whether to become a Christian or die, at such a time one ought to see what voice comes from their soul: does such an individual lay down their head to face death or prefer to become a Christian? If the person prefers to die, then they are a true believer, otherwise they are a disbeliever. In short, the hardships that strike the believers arouse a feeling of inner pleasure. After all, do reflect, if these difficulties were not a source of pleasure, how would the Prophets, peace be upon them, be able to go through such a long string of adversities? 1 Al-Hakam , vol. 5, no. 24, dated 30 June 1901, pp. 1-2 p. 180