Need for Purification

‘Surely, he prospers who augments it.’—al-Shams, 91:10

(Urdu couplet): He who loves the Holy One; Must purify himself in order to find Him.

Every people claims that there are many among them who love God Almighty, but what needs to be known is whether God loves them or not. The proof of God's love is that first He removes the veil that prevents a person from believing with certainty in the existence of God. Because of this veil man admits the existence of God with dark and blurred understanding and very often at the time of trial denies His existence altogether. The removal of this veil cannot be achieved except through converse with God. A person drinks of the fountain of true under standing on the day when God addresses him and conveys to him the good news: I am present. At that stage man's understanding does not remain confined to conjecture or argumentation. He comes so near to God as if he sees Him. It is entirely true that perfect faith in God is achieved only when He informs a person of His Own existence.

The second sign of God's love is that He not only informs those dear to Him of His existence, but manifests especially to them the signs of His mercy and grace, by accepting their prayers concerning matters which are apparently beyond hope and informing them of it through His revelation and His speech. This reassures them that their God is Powerful Who hears their prayers and informs them of it and delivers them from difficulties. They then understand the mystery of salvation and are convinced of the existence of God. By way of awakening and warning, other people also might occasionally have the experience of true dreams, but the experience of the converse of God is something entirely different. It is vouchsafed only to those who are His favourites. When such a one supplicates God Almighty He manifests Himself to him with His glory and causes His spirit to descend upon him and intimates to him the acceptance of his prayer in His loving words. He who has this experience very frequently is called Prophet or Muhaddath.

[Hujjat-ul-Islam , Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 6, pp. 42-43]

A servant displays his sincere love for God by his good behaviour, but God's response is astonishing. In response to the rapid advance of the servant, God rushes towards him like lightning and displays signs for him on earth and in heaven and becomes the friend of his friends and the enemy of his enemies. Even if five hundred million people oppose him God humiliates them and makes them helpless like a dead insect. He destroys a whole world for the sake of that one person and makes His earth and heaven the servants of such a one. He blesses his words and sends down a rain of light on his dwelling. He puts a blessing in his clothes and his food and even in the dust upon which he treads. He does not let him die a failure and Himself answers all objections raised against him. He becomes his eyes with which he sees, and becomes his ears with which he hears, and becomes his tongue with which he speaks, and becomes his feet with which he walks, and becomes his hands with which he deals with his enemies. He personally takes on the enemies of his friend, draws His sword against the wicked ones who persecute him, and makes him victorious in every field. He conveys to him the secrets of His decrees. The very first purchaser of his spiritual beauty who comes forward after his good behaviour and personal love is God Himself. Then how unfortunate are the people who should live in such an age and such a sun should rise upon them and they should continue to sit in darkness.

[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 21 p. 225]

After perfection of the spiritual structure, the flame of the personal love of God falls upon the heart of a person like a spirit and bestows upon him the condition of being ever present before God. Spiritual beauty manifests itself at its fullest when such a one arrives at his perfection. This spiritual beauty which might be called good behaviour far exceeds the beauty of countenance by virtue of its strong attraction. The beauty of countenance can only win the mortal love of one or two persons and soon declines. Its pull is very weak. But the spiritual beauty which has been called good behaviour is so strong in its pull that it draws a whole world to itself so that every particle of heaven and earth is pulled towards it. This is the philosophy of the acceptance of prayer.

When a person possessing spiritual beauty who is penetrated by the spirit of Divine love, supplicates for an impossible or very difficult object and carries his supplication to the limit, then on account of his spiritual beauty, every particle of this universe is drawn towards him by the command of God Almighty, and such means are provided as are adequate for his success. Both experience and the Book of God establish that every particle of the world has a natural love for such a person and his prayers draw all particles towards him as a magnet draws iron, and extraordinary matters come to light on account of this attraction which are not mentioned in physics or in philosophy. Ever since the Creator has fashioned the world of bodies from particles, He has invested every particle with that attraction and every particle is a sincere lover of spiritual beauty and so also is every good soul because that beauty is the manifestation of truth. It was that beauty on account of which God commanded the angels:

‘Submit to Adam’, and they all submitted. But Iblis did not.—al-Baqarah, 2:35

There are many today like Iblis who do not recognize that beauty, but that beauty has accomplished great things.

The same beauty was in Noah, out of regard for which the Lord of Honour and Glory destroyed all his enemies by the torment of water. Then Moses appeared with the same spiritual beauty, and he, after suffering for a few days, became the occasion for the ruin of Pharaoh. Then last of all the Chief of the Prophets and the best of mankind, our lord and master Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] appeared with a grand spiritual beauty in praise of which it is enough to cite the verse:

This means that: That Prophetsa drew closer to God and then leaned towards mankind and thus discharged fully that which was due to God and that which was due to man and demonstrated both kinds of spiritual beauty.

[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 21, pp. 219-221]

In the article that was read out in the meeting, it was stated that Permeshwar is free from anger, rancour, hatred and envy. Perhaps the meaning of the speaker was that in the Holy Qur’an the word anger has been used with reference to God. In contrast, he desired to convey that the Vedas is free from any affirmation that God becomes angry. But this is his mistake. It should be borne in mind that no undue tyrannical wrath is attributed to God Almighty in the Holy Qur’an. All that is meant is that, on account of His Holiness, God possesses an attribute which resembles wrath and that attribute demands that a disobedient one who persists in his rebellion should be chastised. God also possesses another attribute which resembles love and that demands that an obedient one should be rewarded for his obedience. The first attribute has been named wrath for the purpose of illustration, and the second one has been termed love. But neither His fury like human fury, nor is His love like human love. God Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an

al-Shura, 42:12

That is to say: There is nothing like God or His attributes.

We enquire from the speaker why does Permeshwar, according to the Vedas, punish sinners, so much so that He degrades them from the status of humanity and makes them dogs, swine, apes and cats, etc. One has to admit that He possesses an attribute that demands such punishment. This attribute is described in the Holy Qur’an as God's wrath....

If Permeshwar does not possess an attribute that demands that He should punish sinners, then why does He incline towards punishment? He must possess an attribute that demands recompense and that attribute is called wrath, but that wrath is not like the anger of man, but is suited to the dignity of God. That is the wrath that is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.... When God bestows His bounty upon those who act righteously, it is said that He loves them. When He punishes those who act viciously, it is said that He is angry with them. Thus as wrath is mentioned in the Vedas so is it mentioned in the Holy Qur’an; the only difference being that according to the Vedas the wrath of God in its severity can turn men on account of their sins, into insects, etc. but the Holy Qur’an does not carry God's wrath to such extremes. The Holy Qur’an says that despite punishment God maintains the humanity of a person and does not condemn him to some other existence, which shows that according to the

Holy Qur’an God's love and mercy are greater than His wrath, and according to the Vedas the punishment of sinners is unlimited and Permeshwar is all anger and has no trace of mercy. It appears clearly from the Holy Qur’an that a time will come when God will have mercy upon all the dwellers of hell.

[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 46-50]