The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 447
446 ΑΙΝΑ-Ε-ΚΑMĀLĀT-E-ISLAM-DAFI UL-WASĀWIS idle at shrines, circumambulating tombs, and prostrating before the dead of the graves. Moreover, they take pride in their actions. Their worship is nothing but the reverie of imagining their religious leaders at the time of prayers, as well as afterwards, and in this way they associ- ate partners with Allah. They prefer their ways and transgressions over the Sunnah [Practices] of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. They say, ‘We have not seen the Holy Prophetsas nor do we understand the Quran. Our Prophet is none other than our Leader, and his sayings are the Quran to us, and surely we are rightly guided. They would deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive none but themselves, only they perceive it not. In their hearts was a disease, and Allah has increased their disease to them, and for them is a grievous punishment because they lied. You see them completely stripped of the raiment of righteousness, of truthful course of action, and in absolute abandonment of the emblem of Islam. In their life and on their faces, they carry a mark they try to conceal. Their aura is intensely cold, their gloominess is densely dark, their intel- lect is like that of animals, their piety is like the sparkling of a mirage, and they consider themselves to be men of knowledge. Destruction be upon their life! They are foxes in their dealings and wolves in disputes. They rejoice with the offerings of people and frown when service to them is denied and discontinued. They seek refuge in the opulent and flee from the poor, ever quick to complain. They consider themselves to be wise, while they, in fact, are nothing more than a vessel void of water. They rejoice upon the foolish babbling of an arrogant braggart, and are devoid of understanding. And the way to assess them—meas- uring the depth of their knowledge, experience, and the light within their hearts—is simple and easy: present the Noble Quran to them and question them. Verily, the Discriminator—the Holy Quran-is replete with wonderful mysteries, insights and subtleties, but no one comes even close to understanding it except those who are purified. He alone who is endowed with divine character can apprehend