The Seventeenth Flash

Your sinister cunning has darkened the daylight of humanity. And in order to cast a little warmth into that suffocating, painful, and restless night, you have lit the darkness with deceptive and transient lamps. Yet those lamps do not shine upon humanity with a friendly light; on the contrary, they seem to mock the cries and lamentations that rise from mankind in its suffering.

In the eyes of your followers, all living beings are wretched victims, exposed to merciless assaults. The earth appears to them as a vast house of mourning, filled with the sounds of weeping over death and suffering.

Your follower, thoroughly moulded by your way of thinking, becomes a pharaohThe ruler of ancient Egypt who opposed Prophet Mūsā (peace be upon him).. Yet he is a contemptible pharaohThe ruler of ancient Egypt who opposed Prophet Mūsā (peace be upon him). who bows before the lowest of creatures, taking as his lord whatever he imagines may benefit him. He is obstinate too—but his is a pitiful obstinacy, for he willingly accepts the deepest humiliation in return for the slightest advantage. He sinks so low that, for some trivial gain, he would even kiss the feet of Satan.

He is also arrogant. Yet because there is nothing in his heart on which he can truly rely, he is in reality no more than a powerless bully, swollen with empty pride. Moreover, the aim of his life is merely to satisfy his base desires. Under the guise of serving others, he seeks only his own advantage, driven by greed and ambition. He loves nothing except himself and is ready to sacrifice everything for his own interests.

The sincere and wholehearted student of the Qur’an, by contrast, is a servant—but an honoured servant who does not stoop to servitude before even the mightiest of creatures. He does not make even the greatest and most magnificent of rewards, such as Paradise, the aim of his worship.

He is also gentle and peaceable. Yet he is one who will never abase himself before another without the permission and command of his Fātir-i Dhul-JalālAllah, Whose greatness and majesty are boundless and Who creates all things from nothing.. He is needy, but because of the future reward prepared for him by his Generous Sultan, he is a rich man in his poverty, and he knocks at no door but His.

He is weak as well; yet because he places his trust in the infinite power of his All-Powerful Lord, he finds strength in his very weakness. The sincere student of the Qur’an does not regard this fleeting and transient world as the aim of his life. Indeed, through the instruction of the Qur’an, he does not even regard eternal Paradise as his ultimate aim.

Now consider how vastly the devotion and outlook of these two students differ from one another.

You may also judge the degree of self-sacrifice and concern for others in the student of misguided philosophy and the student of the Qur’an by means of the following comparison.

The student of philosophy distances himself from his brother and friend for the sake of his own advantage, and may even turn against them. The student of the Qur’an, however, regards all the righteous servants in the heavens and on the earth as his brothers. He prays sincerely for them, rejoices in their happiness, and feels a profound spiritual bond with them. This bond moves him to say in his prayers:

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِO Allah, forgive the believing men and believing women.