Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 151
151 Malfuzat – Volume IV from its proper place, how much pain and anguish this causes. This physical phe - nomenon is a powerful argument for the life of the hereafter and is a testimony that proves the existence of hell. Sin is when a human being distances themselves from the purpose of their creation. When a thing is removed from its appropriate place, this necessarily results in pain. Refrain from Associating Partners with God So, associating partners with God is something which pushes an individual away from their fundamental purpose and makes them an inheritor of hell. There are many forms of polytheism. There is the obvious and manifest form of polythe - ism in which the Hindus, Christians, Jews and other idolaters indulge, where a human being or stone, or some other lifeless objects, or powers and imaginary gods and deities, are worshipped as God. Although this form of polytheism is present in the world even today, the present era is a time of enlightenment and education, and so rational minds have begun to detest such forms of polytheism. Insofar that they apparently endorse these absurdities as their collective religious belief, in reality, people are naturally becoming averse to these views. However, there is another form of hidden polytheism which is affecting the people in the likeness of poison, and in this era it continues to grow; that is to say, trust and faith in God has vanished completely. Making Recourse to Apparent Means and Trust in God I do not suggest in the least, nor is it my belief, that absolutely no recourse should be made to apparent means. For God Almighty has encouraged us to use the practical means at our disposal. Moreover, to the extent that recourse to appar - ent means is necessary, if one does not benefit from these means, this would be a disgrace to the human faculties and would be an insult to a magnificent action of God Almighty. The reason being that when a person makes absolutely no recourse to apparent means, this necessarily implies that all the faculties Allah Almighty has given to a person would be left idle and they would not be put to use. Leaving the faculties idle and unused would be tantamount to declaring the action of God Almighty Himself as vain and absurd—this is a grave sin. Therefore, I absolutely do not hold the principle and belief that recourse to apparent means be disre - garded completely; on the contrary, making use of the resources available to us is p. 420