Three Questions by a Christian and their Answers — Page 71
71 Let it be known that the status of being loved, accepted and befriended by God—some signs of which I have briefly mentioned—can never be achieved without following the Holy Prophet sa. If a Christian or an A rya or a Jew wants to display the signs and blessings of acceptance, as against a true * follower of the Holy Prophet sa , let him know that he can and Divine address. And this indeed is the very outstanding sign of their friendship. (This exactly is the law of God’s sovereignty) that those who turn away from sundry gods and take Him as their Lord, and declare that He alone is their Master, (and look to no other being for suste- nance), and remain steadfast at the time of every trial, (no matter how strong the earthquakes, or how severe the storms, or how impenetrable the darkness, they are not the least shaken or unnerved, and remain per- fectly steadfast); it is they upon whom angels come down with the message—they receive glad-tidings through revelations and true vi- sions—that God is their Friend, their Protector and their Guardian, both in this world and in the hereafter, and that in the hereafter they will get whatever their hearts desire. In other words, even if they have unpleas- ant things to endure in this world, it should not worry them, for in the hereafter all their worries will come to an end, and all their desires will be satisfied. One may ask, how can all one’s desires be fulfilled in the hereafter? I say, this is essential for salvation, and this is what salvation stands for. Salvation would have no meaning if one were to continue to be haunted by unfulfilled desires. There can be no salvation which is accompanied by some sort of chastisement. It is, therefore, important that Jannah , or Paradise, or Mukt i Kh a na , or Surg , whatever you may call it, is a place where one receives the greatest fortune, and it must be a place which provides man with unadulterated happiness, he must be free from any visible or hidden sorrow, nor should the torment of failure come back to haunt him there. Yes, it is true that in heaven there will be nothing unworthy and nothing unseemly, but pious hearts will have no desire for such things either. On the contrary, these pure and holy hearts, which have been freed from evil thoughts, will entertain only Contd…