Way of The Seekers — Page 10
10 THE Simultaneously I found myself repeating the words: No one knows about the hosts of Thy Lord, except He Himself. I thought there was a book bearing that title by Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, and I should find it. So I enquired from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, who told me that there was no book with just that title but that there was one with a somewhat similar title, namely Ghaniyyat al-Talibeen. I continued my search and found that there was no such book by Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani or anyone else. It then occurred to me that it might be that I myself would have the opportunity to write a book with that title. The name Abdul Qadir indicated that the book would be the result not of my own thinking so much as the result of special understanding bestowed upon me by God. Therefore, I decided to call this speech Minhaj al-Talibeen. I have mentioned two of my earlier speeches, Irfan Ilahi and Najat (usually translated Salvation but the Islamic sig- nificance of which is best conveyed by Fulfillment). The three themes are related to each other. I will not discuss the rela- tionship in detail, but shall touch cursorily on some aspects that would be helpful in understanding the main theme. The truth is that while the earlier speeches contain the theoretical framework of the whole subject-matter, the present speech shall dwell upon the practical application of the theoretical part. The first question that occurs when we begin to investigate the subject systematically is: What is the object, the end of the creation of man? This question, as was but proper, has been answered by God Himself: And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they worship Me. (51:57) Man must become an image of God, if he is to achieve the