The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 300
ARGUMENT FOR SAYYED AHMAD KHAN 299 You ought to have, therefore, waited for the guidance of this Captain from the unseen and should have remained firmly of the belief that as surely the storm is raging, the help of the Captain called God was also near, who is not only the Owner of the ship, but is also its Captain. Therefore, you should not have been so bold and merciless, being self-appointed, to throw overboard the boxes of invaluable jew- els, bags of pure gold, and the bundles of fine and valuable dresses. Well, what is past is past. Now I convey the news to you, sending glad tidings that the Captain who is the God of heaven and earth has already heard the wail- ing of the dwellers of this earth, and just as He had promised in His Holy Word that at the time of the storm, He would rescue His ship, He has, by appointing a servant of His—that is, this humble one who speaks-and has instructed him in the methods which would weather the storm and which would dispense with the need of throwing the boxes of valuables into the sea. The time is near when the heavens will send forth the call: قِيلَ يَارْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيُسَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ ! But the storm is still raging. God Almighty appointed me at the time of this very storm and commanded me: وَاصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا. Meaning that: 'Make the ark under Our command and before Our eyes. This ark shall be in no danger of the storm and shall have the hand of Almighty God over it. Hence, that ark of pristine Islam is the very one [i. e. Jama'at] which I invite people to board. If you are awake, then 1. It was said, 'O earth, swallow thy water, and O sky, cease raining. ' And the wa- ter was made to subside and the matter was ended. And the Ark came to rest on al-Jūdī (Sūrah Hūd, 11:45). [Publisher]