The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 152
PREFACE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 151 Rather, it is an indication of the highest degree of ardent love, as, for example, there is a similar verse about Ḥaḍrat Ya'qūb [Jacob]: إِنَّكَ لَفِي ضَلِكَ الْقَدِيمِ Although the words [zulm] and [ḍalālat] also refer to some- one who abandons the path of moderation and justice and yields to the base or animalistic desires, the Noble Quran also employs them in reference to those ardent lovers of God Almighty who, intoxicated with divine love, crush their own selves and its passions under their feet. This couplet of Hafiz of Shiraz addresses the same subject: قرعہ فال بنام من دیوانه زدند آسمان بار امانت نتوانست کشید The heavens could not bear the burden of the trust; It fell to the lot of a mad one like me. Hafiz interprets 'madness' as a state of passionate love and intense eagerness for obedience. In short, the real meaning of these verses is indeed that which God Almighty has disclosed to me, and I shall never ascribe a meaning which would dictate that, firstly, it was not a sacred trust from God Almighty, but was something to do with mischief, which was taken on by an unjust mischief-maker and not by the virtuous; and, secondly, that all the holy Messengers and Prophets, who are the first bearers of the trust, should be considered to be unjust. I have already explained that the trust and the reality of Islam are in fact, one and the same thing, and both of these are praiseworthy and indicate that whatever is granted by God Almighty should be returned to Him alone, just as a trust is returned. Therefore, why should one who accepts a praiseworthy and desirable thing, does not turn away 1. You are assuredly in your old ḍalālat (Sūrah Yusuf, 12:96). [Publisher]