Gems of the Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi (as) – Striving is a Prerequisite for Attaining Perfection

There have always been people of the type who wish to attain those excellences that are achieved through striving, but without any hard work, pain, effort, and striving. It is written in the accounts of the noble Sufis that some people came and asked for some such arrangement that would make them a Wali [Friend (of Allah); i.e. Saint] just by having a breath of air blown upon them. In reply to such people they said that even for blowing air it is necessary to be close since blowing air does not reach from afar. Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Qur’an:

[1] لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ

Meaning that, no person can attain perfection without effort. This is the law ordained by God Almighty.  Thus, if someone wants to gain something by going against this, he seeks to break the handiwork of God Almighty and seeks to test Him, so he will remain deprived. Even in the ordinary business of the world, there is no way that blowing a breath of air can achieve anything, nor can any success be achieved without hard work and striving. 

Look! You started to walk from the city and reached the station. If you had not started walking from the city, how would you have arrived here? Did you have to move your feet or not? In the same way, in all the workings of the world, first, man has to do something. Then, when he moves his hands and feet, Allah Almighty bestows His blessings as well. In the same way, only those who strive, attain perfection in the path of God Almighty. That is why He has said:

[2] وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

So, one should make an effort because striving is indeed the way to success.[3] 

ENDNOTES

1. The Holy Qur’an, 53:40

2. The Holy Qur’an, 29:70

3. Al-Hakam, vol. 8, no. 38, 39, p. 3, dated 10 & 17 November 1904.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Vol. VII (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2024), 17-18.