The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 540
AN ADDENDUM MY LIFE, ANCESTORS, AND BRETHREN IN FAITH 539 of the view that all traditions are—according to the research—con- cocted; rather, only some of them are. On top of that, they contain a lot of contradictions and great inconsistencies. That is why the Muslim nation was divided into sects and its unity could not be maintained. Therefore, although there is no doubt that originally there was one common teaching, due to sectarian differences, dif- ferent schools of thought like Hanbalī, Shāfi‘ī, Mālikī, Ḥanafi and Shỉah came into existence. You can observe that every school of thought is happy with what it has, and every sect has made a castle for its doctrines, yet they do not want to come out of that even if they are presented with something better. They have enclosed themselves in their strongholds so that they may wage a fierce war on their brothers. Therefore, Allah appointed me at this crucial time so that I might empty these forts, that those who have distanced themselves might be brought closer, that the sin- ful might be warned, that conflicts might be ended, and that the Holy Quran be established as the supreme authority and the lighthouse of the Faith. Nevertheless, when I came to them, they issued fatwas of takfir [alleging disbelief] upon me and denied me. Further, I was made victim of slanderous statements and open lies by them. I perceive their knowledge to be of no use. I perceive that they have put chains of slav- ery around their necks, and that their habit of making lame excuses serves them not. I perceive their faces as having been burnt. And surely Allah has sent me to them as the Arbiter but they did not recognize me; rather, they deemed me one of the heretics. They hurt me with their bitter language and I saw grave injustice and fierce opposition on their part. They presented a distorted version of my arguments and made their minds to expel me from this land, but Allah protected me from all their evil designs as He is the Best of protectors. I have observed that every one of them is walking blindly and has aban- doned the path and the teachings of the Holy Prophet sas, so I said: ‘O ye jealous and ignorant ones! Truly evil is what you do, and what you devised is an act of transgression. Moreover, you seem to be in haste to