Islams Reformers

them by observing these rules. Deeds are an essential part not of
îmân but of the perfection of îmân. In one respect, îmân is
knowledge. While every kind of improvement and happiness in
the world is expected from knowledge, why should one be
surprised at that in the next world man will attain happiness owing
to îmân, which is based on powerful knowledge? Îmân, which is so
valuable, should not be supposed to be unimportant. Those who
despise it despite the greatness of the eternal reward it will bring
to man are the wretched people who have not been honoured with
the fortune of attaining it.
While people give so much consideration to worldly
advantages and spending most of their energy for them, they do
not pay attention to the fact that they are near an endless
happiness or calamity. They never think about this. Allâhu ta’âlâ
has given men reason and imposed useful duties on them. In order
to inform them, He sent prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâm). If one does
not know about the laws of life and how to struggle for life, or if he
knows but does not work in accordance with them, he will suffer
harm. Similarly it will certainly be harmful not to know or not to
follow the religious laws pertaining to the next world, the laws
which were put and commanded by Allâhu ta’âlâ more
importantly, though you know them. As such questions as “Why
did He create the miserable and the destitude? What fault do they
have?” are out of place and do not help such people, so it is useless
to say, “Why has He created the men whom He will torture in the
next world?” Man, whose birth and death are not in his own
power, has no right to speak ill of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s laws pertaining to
this world and the next. He can attain happiness only by following
these laws.
Some ignorant people who have believed in the lies of
communists and freemasons say, “What is religion on earth? Who
has seen Paradise and Hell? Such words are the stories of early
people and bigots; they are false.” If they understood scientific
knowledge and Islamic history by learning them from
conscientious teachers and if they saw that scientific
improvements and new inventions strengthen and prove Islamic
beliefs they would cling to Islam tightly, or at least be respectful,
decent towards it. If they learned Muhammad’s life (’alaihi ’ssalâm)
from books written correctly, they would fall in love with
his intellect, beautiful habits and accomplishments. The events
showing that hundreds of thousands of people have been attached
to him very sincerely, their manners, obedience and excessive love
– 62 –