The Light of Truth — Page 457
AN ADMONITION So do good to those who do good to you, and Allah loves those who do good. Be grateful to Allah that He granted you rulers who do not cause you harm with regard to your religion and who do not hinder you from propagating your arguments. Thus, reflect and do not wander around causing disorder in society. If you weep because of your poverty and tattered shoes, it may be that Allah will enrich you out of His grace and grant you [something] of His favours. Therefore, repent to Him and reform yourselves, as He befriends the righteous. Rise to dis- seminate the Quran and journey through the lands. Do not long for your homelands. In English-speaking countries there are hearts awaiting your help. Allah has made your hardship [in preaching Islam] the means of their comfort. So do not remain silent like the silence of someone who sees but feigns blindness or is called but stays away. Do you not see the crying of the brothers in those countries or [hear] the voices of the friends in those civilisations? Have you become like the ill and your indolence like an internal malaise? Have you forgotten the morals of Islam and the kindness of the Best of Creation? Your manner appears to have changed, as has your aroma. The path that misleads has beset you all, men and women alike. Arise to release the imprisoned and to guide those who have gone astray! Do not occupy yourselves with your swords or spears. Recognise the weapons of your time. For every age there is a different weapon and a different war. Do not argue over that which is the most apparent and clear. There can be no doubt that this age of ours requires the weapons of evidence, proof, and argument, not the bow, arrow, and spear. Thus, pre- pare for the enemy that which you perceive as useful according to the wise. It will not be possible for you to achieve victory 457