Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 20
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 20 Thieves, miscreants, adulterers, etc. —sinful people do not always remain so, and at times, they certainly come to feel regret. This is the case with every evildoer. This proves that the concept of virtue certainly exists in man. Assuredly, for the sake of this regard, a great deal of Divine help is necessary. That is why [God] commanded to read S u rah al-F a ti h ah in the five daily Prayers. In this He taught َكاَّيِا ُدُبْعَن َكاَّيِا ُدُبْعَن [ iyy a ka na‘budu ] and then َكاَّيِا ُنْيِعَتْسَن َكاَّيِا ُنْيِعَتْسَن [ iyy a ka nasta‘ i n ]; meaning that, Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. God has drawn our attention to two things in this; that is, in every virtuous deed, make use of strengths, strategies, and struggles which is an indication towards na‘budu, insofar as the person who only prays and does not strive, does not succeed. How can a farmer hope for the harvest if he makes no effort after sowing the seeds? This is the practice of Allah; you will surely remain deprived if you only pray after sowing the seeds. For example, if there are two farmers, and one works hard and ploughs, he will certainly be more successful. Another farmer who does not work hard or makes less effort, his harvest will always be deficient, from which he may not even be able to pay the government taxes, and so will always remain poor. Religious works are the same way. Among them arise those who are hypocrites, those who are worthless, those who are righteous, and those who are Abd a l, Qu t b, and Ghauth, 1 achieving a rank of nearness to God. And then there are those who have been observing Prayers for 40 years, but it is like their first day and no change occurs. They do not feel any benefit from fasting for 30 days. Many say we are very righteous and have prayed regularly for a long time, but we receive no Divine help. This is because they perform ritual and imitative worship, 1. Ghauth (Saint), Qu t b (pl. Iq ta b —Guiding Star), and Abd a l (Substitutes, i. e. vicegerents appointed for carrying out the will of God Almighty) are various designations used for Auliya’ull a h (the Friends of God). [Publisher]