Pandit Dyanand has recorded at page 501 of his Urdu book Satyarath Prakash that Permeshwar cannot forgive anyone's sin, for if He were to do so He would be guilty of injustice. Thereby he confesses that Permeshwar is merely a judge and is not Master. On the same page he has recorded that Permeshwar cannot bestow unlimited reward for limited actions. But if He is Master, there is no harm in His rewarding limited service with unlimited reward. The Master's actions are not to be measured by justice. If we own something and out of it we bestow a portion upon someone who asks for it, no one else has the right to complain that more was given to another than to him. In the same way, a creature has no right against God Almighty to demand justice. A servant cannot ask for justice nor can God admit the right of any of His creation to demand justice. Whatever God bestows upon a creature as a reward for his actions is purely His bounty.
Actions are nothing in themselves, for no action can be performed without the support and grace of God. When we reflect upon God's law, it becomes clear that whatever God Almighty has provided for His creatures is a bounty of two types.
One is the bounty which existed before the coming into being of man and man's action has nothing to do with it. He has created for the benefit of man the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, water, air, fire, etc. and there is no doubt that all these things were prior to the actions of man, and man himself came into being after them. This is the Divine mercy which, in the idiom of the Qur’an, is called Rahmaniyyat. That is to say, such bounty is not bestowed as a reward of a person's actions, but is by way of pure grace.
The second type of mercy is called Rahimiyyat in the idiom of the Qur’an; that is to say, the bounty that is bestowed upon man as a reward of his righteous actions. Can we imagine that the God Who has demonstrated as an instance of His generous Malikiyyat that He made the earth and heavens and the moon and sun, etc. when there was no trace of His creatures and their actions, is indebted to His creatures and rewards them according to their right, but no more? Had His creatures any right that He should have made the earth and heavens for them and should have created thousands of illuminated bodies in the heavens and thousands of things upon the earth which are a source of comfort and ease? To describe that Absolute Donor as a mere dispenser of justice like a judge and to deny His status and dignity as Master is the height of ingratitude.
[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp, 26-28]
It should be borne in mind that Master is the word which does not admit of any rights, and this expression can be applied in its fullness only to God for He alone is the Perfect Master. A person who accepts another as the Master of his life etc. confesses that he has no right to his life and property and that he owns nothing and everything belongs to the Master. In such a case, it is not permissible for him to demand from his Master that justice should be done to him in such and such a matter because justice depends upon right and he has given up all his rights. In the same way, man who in juxtaposition to his True Master accepted his own status as that of servant and confessed:
Our belonging, life, body and progeny are all the property of God.
al-Baqarah, 2:157
After this confession there remains no right which he can demand from God. That is why those who are gifted with true understanding, despite every type of endeavour, worship and almsgiving, leave themselves to the mercy of God Almighty and attach no value to their actions and make no claim that they have any right. In truth, Virtuous is only He through Whose bestowed strength a person can accomplish anything good, and He is God. No person can demand justice from God Almighty on account of his personal ability or merit. According to the Holy Qur’an, all God's doings are as Master. As He punishes sin so He also forgives sin. He has power to do both as befits His Malikiyyat. If He were always to punish sin there would be no escape for man, but God forgives most sins and punishes some so that a heedless person being warned should attend to Him. As is said in the Holy Qur’an:
Whatever misfortune befalls you is in consequence of that which you practise. He pardons many of your sins, and punishes some.
al-Shura, 42:31
And in the same Surah is the verse:
He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and forgives sins.
al-Shura, 42:26
Whoso will have done the smallest particle of ill will also see it.
al-Zilzal, 99:9
Here there is no contradiction for the ill that is mentioned here is the ill in which a person persists and from which he does not repent. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly affirms that remorse and repentance, and non-insistence upon evil, and asking for forgiveness procure forgiveness of sins. Indeed, it is said that God loves those who repent, as in the verse:
God Almighty loves those who repent and loves those who strive to purify themselves from sin.
al-Baqarah, 2:223
In short, to punish every sin is contrary to the forgiveness and mercy of God Almighty, for He is Master and is not like a magistrate. He has named Himself Master in the very first Surah of the Holy Qur’an where it is said: He is Malik-i-Yaum-id-Din, that is to say, He is the Master of punishment and reward and it is obvious that no one can be called Master unless He has authority to do both, that is to say, to punish when He wills and to forgive when He wills.
[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 23-24]
According to the principle of the Aryas, their Permeshwar cannot be called Malik for he has not the power to bestow what he has as a pure bounty or gift, while the donee has no right to it. He who is the owner of property has the authority to bestow any portion of it on anyone he chooses, but the Aryas believe that Permeshwar can neither forgive sins nor can He bestow anything on anyone as a gift or bounty, because if He does either He would be acting unjustly.
Those who believe in the transmigration of souls cannot affirm that Permeshwar is the Master of creation. We have repeatedly affirmed that it is quite improper to bind a Master to act according to the principles of justice. We can affirm that He Who is Malik is Rahim and Bestower and Generous and forgives sins, but we cannot say that He adheres to justice in respect of His slaves and horses and cattle, inasmuch as the notion of justice is only applicable where there is a certain freedom on both sides. For instance, we can say concerning worldly sovereigns that they are just and treat their subjects with justice. So long as their subjects obey them, the rule of justice makes it obligatory upon them that, in return for the obedience of their subjects and the payment of their dues, the sovereign should safeguard their lives and properties and in times of need should help them out of his wealth. Thus, from one aspect sovereigns impose their commands upon their subjects and from another aspect the subjects impose their wishes upon the sovereigns. So long as these aspects operate in cooperation, the country remains at peace, but when either side commits a default the country ceases to be at peace. This shows that we cannot describe a sovereign as a true Malik for he has to behave justly towards his subjects and his subjects have to behave justly towards him.
As regards God Almighty, we can call Him Rahim on account of His Malikiyyat, but we cannot call Him just. Any person who is owned by another cannot demand justice from his owner, though he can humbly supplicate for mercy. That is why the Holy Qur’an does not designate God Almighty as just, because justice demands mutual equality. God Almighty is Just in the sense that He acts justly as between creatures regarding their mutual rights, but He is not just in the sense that any creature of His might demand his right from Him as an associate. All His creatures belong to God and He has authority to treat them as He might wish. He might bestow kingdom upon whom He wills and He might make a beggar of him whom He so wills. He might cause anyone to die young or He might bestow a long life upon any. We ourselves when we own anything are free to bestow it as we might choose. Indeed God is Merciful; rather, He is the Most Merciful of all. By virtue of His mercy, and not out of any limits in consideration of justice, He provides for His creation. As we have repeatedly affirmed, the quality of Malikiyyat and the quality of justice are inconsistent with each other. Having been created by Him, we have no right to demand justice from Him. We supplicate Him humbly for mercy.
It is most unbecoming for a creature to demand justice from God Almighty in His treatment of him. As everything relating to the nature of man is from God and all of man's faculties, spiritual as well as physical, are His bounty and a good action can be performed only through the support and strength bestowed by Him, it would be the height of ignorance to demand justice from Him relying upon one's good actions. We cannot consider such a teaching to be based on true knowledge. Indeed such a teaching is deprived of all true understanding and is full of folly. God Almighty has taught us in the Holy Qur’an that to call God Just vis-à-vis His creatures is not only a sin, but a rank blasphemy.
[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 32-34]
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