The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 218
PREFACE FOOTNOTE 217 means of salvation. For example, we believe that the Sun and the Moon actually exist, and the Earth contains hundreds of kinds of animal and plants, and there are hundreds of kinds of mines, rivers, and hills, but can this belief of ours entitle us to any reward, or can we advance in the nearness to Almighty God by accepting the fact that these things exist? Definitely not. If there is such a man who believes in the angels of Almighty God, has faith in the existence of Heaven and Hell, in the weighing of actions on the Day of Judgment, who places his con- viction in the bridge leading to Heaven, who accepts the truth of the existence of the Books of Almighty God which have been sent down, and the existence of His Messengers who have been appearing in the world, who believes in the Resurrection which must take place one day, and who believes in the One God with whom none is associated—then how is it that such a man is taken to deserve salvation? Dear ones! Know it for certain that the reason is that such a man puts his faith in Almighty God while God is hidden from view, and he believes in the truth of the news of the unseen in His Book. In the eyes of Almighty God, he becomes righteous and pious-thinking and pious- minded and obedient and a good man and gets his salvation because of this sincerity of his. Otherwise, what connection is there between mere knowledge of physical objects and salvation? Can anyone on the Day of Judgment, when all mysteries shall be unravelled, say that he now believes in this Heaven and this Hell lying before him, in these angels standing in rows, in the balance in which actions are being weighed, and in the Lord of all the worlds who is sitting on the Seat of Judgment? Will such faith allow him to go free? No, definitely not. What is the reason that he will not go free? Is it not that at that time he will have seen all the things which were hidden from his eyes earlier? He loses the opportunity to earn reward, which can be earned by he alone who is unaware of such obvious proofs, and realizes the truth by infer- ence only from delicate hints. Alas! The people who display an undue enthusiasm for philosophy, their intellect is blocked by a veil. They do not consider that if knowledge of the existence of God and angels, of the