Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 103
28 December 1907 103 Trials and Tribulations of the Prophets and Messengers According to one account, eleven sons of the Holy Prophet s as had died [in his lifetime]. The lofty ranks that the Prophets and Messengers achieve are not achieved by such ordinary things that can be accomplished easily and comfortably. They were afflicted with grave trials and tribulations but they endured them with patience and steadfastness. Then they were bestowed great ranks by God Almighty. Consider the magnitude of the trial faced by Abraham as. He took a knife in his hand so as to slaughter his son and did slice the throat of his son in his own estimation only to find that it was a ram, and not his son, under the knife. Abraham succeeded in his test and God saved his son too. God was pleased with Abraham that he had not held back in his own estimation. It was the grace of God that the son survived. Otherwise, Abraham would have slaughtered him. For this, he [Abraham] was given the title of ‘the Truthful’. And it is written in the Torah that God told Abraham: ‘O Abraham! Look at the stars. Can you count them? In the same way your progeny will be countless. ’ The adversity was short-lived and it passed, but how immense was its reward! Today all the Sadat [descendants of the Holy Prophet s as ], the Quraishites, and the Jews and other nations call themselves the children of Abraham as. 1 It was an event that only lasted a few moments but he received such a tremendous reward from God. The fact is that the taqwa [righteousness] stands proven when one is afflicted 1. A sect of Christians also believe that they are from among the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim as. (This is probably the note added by the editor of the newspaper, Badr —Editor).