The Descent of the Messiah — Page 27
HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS the torment suffered by the other dwellers of the village. The lat- ter part of the revelation constitutes a warning for those whose hearts are full of arrogance. Therefore, I advise my Community to shun arrogance, for arrogance is most repulsive in the sight of our Glorious God. Perhaps you do not understand what arro- gance is; come to me then and learn from me, for I speak by the spirit of God. Anyone who looks down upon his brother because he consid- ers himself more knowledgeable, wiser, or more skilled reveals his arrogance for he fails to recognise God as the Fountain-head of all intelligence and knowledge, and instead sees his own self as significant. Does God not possess the power to afflict him with lunacy, and to bestow upon the very brother he scorns greater in- tellect, deeper knowledge, and higher proficiency than himself? Likewise, he who under a mistaken notion of his wealth, sta- tus, or dignity, looks down upon his brother is arrogant-for he forgets that his wealth, his status, and his honour were granted by God. He is blind to the truth that God can, in a moment, bring affliction upon him, reducing him to the lowest of the low, and bless his brother—whom he deems worthless—with greater wealth and honour than himself. Similarly, one who takes pride in his physical health, or is vain about his beauty, appearance, strength, or power, and mockingly derides his brother for his physical shortcomings, is arrogant. He is heedless of the God Who can afflict him with such defects as to render him worse off than his brother, and Who can preserve the faculties of the latter so that they remain sound and unim- paired for a long time—for God has power over all things, and does what He wills. Similarly, he who is neglectful of Salat on account of his dependence upon his faculties is arrogant, for he has not recognised the fountain-head of all power and strength and relies upon himself. 27