The life of purity that is attained on being saved from sin is a sparkling jewel possessed by no one. God Almighty has granted this shining jewel to me and He has commissioned me so that I may guide the world to the path that leads to this shining gem. I can say with confidence that any individual who treads this path will surely and most definitely attain it too. The course and path which lead to this is one alone: it is called a true understanding of God. In actuality, this subject is an intricate and subtle concept because it hinges upon a multifaceted subject. As I have stated earlier, philosophers look at heaven and earth, and upon seeing the perfect order and system in the rest of creation, they say only that there ought to exist a Creator. However, I take people to a higher level and declare on the basis of my personal experiences that God exists.
Now, there is a clear difference between these two statements, but this difference can only be seen if one’s eye is pure. When a person is blessed with this pure eye, they are able to distinguish between the rights owed to humanity and the rights owed to God, and they are able to fulfil them respectively. This is the same eye that is known as the eye that beholds God. When one is granted this eye, their life of purity begins.
The suggestion that someone else is punished and our sins are forgiven is something which cannot be possible in any circumstance. Another person would never be hung to save someone else from punishment. This concept may be proven false by the sole argument that we see no parallel in the external affairs observed in the world around us. This concept does not save us from sin; in fact, it encourages people to become more brazen. For example, this is a dog, not a wolf. Now, in reality, even if this were a wolf but we thought it to be a dog, it would be impossible for us to be afraid, and we would never fear it in the way that we fear a deadly wolf. Why is this so? It is because our knowledge does not tell us that this is a wolf; our knowledge tells us that this is a dog. However, if we knew that this was a wolf, we would flee from it and go to great lengths to save ourselves from it. Now, if our knowledge suggested even further that this was a lion, this would be a matter of great danger, and in order to protect ourselves from it, we would go to even greater lengths. Hence, all of our faculties are particularly influenced by what we perceive in the way of fear and effect. How clear a truth this is, which any individual can understand, regarding the path that can save one from sin.
I can confidently proclaim – as this is the truth and I have been firmly established upon the truth – that until one develops a perfect understanding of God, the Most Supreme, and the unsheathed sword of His power and dominance cannot be seen, man cannot refrain from sin.[1]
Evil is a propensity that takes a man towards ruin; the heart becomes uncontrollable and escapes his grasp. Even if someone says that it is Satan who is waging an attack or expresses this in another manner, it must be accepted that today evil is prevalent. Satan wishes to establish his own rule and kingdom. The dam holding back the river of wrongdoing and promiscuity has broken, and this river surges forth in the form of a fierce tempest. How necessary is it then for Allah the Exalted, who takes the hand of a person in every misfortune and difficulty, to deliver His servants at this hour? As such, it is by His grace that He has established this dispensation. The world has employed various strategies to save themselves from the flood I have just mentioned, and as I have just explained, the concept put forth by the Christians is one which a person feels shame in even mentioning. The cure is what God has instilled within a person’s inherent nature.
A person is inclined towards things which are advantageous and beneficial; on the other hand, he flees from and detests things that are detrimental and harmful. Now, people consider gold and silver to be beneficial for themselves, so they are extremely inclined to it. They undertake exhaustive efforts and undergo difficulties to obtain it, and store it with great safety. However, if someone were to discard gold and silver and begin to safely store large blocks of clay in their trunks, would physicians not regard such a person to be mad? Of course they would. Similarly, when we realise that God exists and He detests sin, but loves piety and holds it dear, we will run madly towards good deeds and flee far from a life of sin. It is this principle alone which nurtures the strength to perform virtue, encourages faculties of piety, destroys evil propensities and vanquishes the spawn of Satan.
When we truly develop certainty in God, just as we do in the sun that shines above us, and we see God, as it were, most certainly, a death overtakes our baser life and a heavenly life is born – as were the lives of the prophets, peace be upon them, and other holy people.
I would like to reassure you that the mercy of God descends upon those who are obedient and righteous. Those who advance towards God Almighty and offer to Him the gift of virtue and purity, and who abstain from evil and wrongdoing because they know that these things distance and deprive a person from God, such people are cleansed by a holy spring. A person who is cleansed by this spring then never becomes dirty or impure ever again. They are given a sherbet to drink, and the one who drinks this never feels thirsty again. They are given a life which knows no death. They are given a paradise from which they are never made to leave. On the contrary, those who are not satiated by this spring, those who are not touched by the hand of God, become distanced from God and grow closer to Satan. Such people have stopped moving towards God, and this is the reason that they no longer experience comfort, nor do they possess any arguments in their favour, nor spiritual influence.
ENDNOTES
1. Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 46, dated 17 December 1901, pp. 1-4.
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Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Vol. IV (Islam International Publications Ltd., 2024), 85-87.
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