The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 82
PREFACE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 81 their benefit purely for the sake of Allah in all their needs and to strive to provide benefit to them out of true and selfless sympathy, in all the relationships of mutual dependence that God has established from the very beginning. All those in need of help should be helped out of one's God-given capacity and all efforts should be exerted for their better- ment, both in this world and in the Hereafter. However, this devotion will be true to its name only when all of one's limbs become so subservient to the will of God as to become instruments of the Divine, through which the actions willed by Allah are implemented from time to time, or are a clear mirror in which the will of the Divine is reflected with the utmost clarity. When submis- sion and service reach this perfect stage, then-by the blessings of his being visibly coloured in the colour of Allah—it can truly be said regarding the limbs and powers of a man possessing such qualities, by way of waḥdat-e-shuhūdī,¹ that his eyes, for example, and his tongue, hands, ears, and feet, are the eyes, tongue, hands, ears, and feet of God Almighty because all those limbs and powers having become perfectly imbued with [the desire to carry out] the will of God Almighty and, having become the embodiments of His wishes, become deserving of being said to bear the appearance of God Himself. The reason for this is that just as a man's limbs are entirely under the control of his will and pleasure, so does a perfect man, upon reaching this stage, develop within himself a concordance with the desires and wishes of God Almighty, and he comes to love God's Greatness, Oneness, Lordship, His being worthy of worship, and His every wish and desire, as much as God loves these things Himself. Hence, it is this magnificent sub- mission and service for the sake of Allah, admixed with love and affec- tion, and filled with sincerity and utter devotion, which is Islam, the true nature of Islam, and the very essence of Islam-and it is attained 1. Lit. 'Unity of Perception. A Sufi concept holding that everything seen in na- ture is a reflection of God. [Publisher]