Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 300
300 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Righteousness As the Intention of Every Action Therefore, this was my intention. As such, when I began to compose my verses, and I had written the following line: ی یک ڑج �یہ ااقت ےہ �یک ن � رہ اک The root of every good is righteousness. The second line of this verse was sent down to me by way of revelation, as such: ارگ �یہ ڑج ریہ بس ھچک راہ ےہ If this root is preserved, everything will survive. This makes it evident that even Allah the Exalted was pleased with my action. The Holy Quran, in reality, imparts a teaching of righteousness; this is its ulti- mate cause. If one does not adopt righteousness, then even one’s Prayers are of no value and can become a key to hell. Therefore, Sa’di alludes to this very point and states: کل� ی � د در دوزخ اتس ٓاں امنز ہک در مشچ رمدم زگاری دراز The key to the gates of hell is such a Prayer; which you lengthen only to show the people. Anything that is done as an act of display before the people is completely worth- less, irrespective of how virtuous the deed may be in itself, and on the contrary, becomes a cause for punishment. It is written in Ihya-ul-Ulum that the religious mendicants of our age show the people that they worship for the sake of God Almighty, but in reality, they do not worship for the sake of God, they worship for the sake of mankind. The author has written strange and peculiar accounts of these people. In relation to their clothing, he states that these mendicants believe that if they wear clean white clothes this will damage their reputation, but they are also aware that if they wear dirty clothes this will dishonour them. Therefore, the practice adopted by these people in order to mingle with the affluent is to wear high quality, elegant clothing, but colour it with dye. Similarly, they employ strange and unusual methods to show people that they are devoted worshippers. For example, in order to show people that they fast, they will visit someone when p. 273