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The_Savior_from_Spiritual_Error, page : 135
circumstances‟.
If one considers the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him and what is related in Prophetic Sayings about his concern for showing
people the true way and about his graciousness in leading men by various
acts of sympathy and kindness to improve their character and conduct and
to better their mutual relations leading them to the indispensable basis of all
betterment, religious and secular alike, if one considers this, one comes to
the obvious knowledge that his good will towards his people is greater than
that of a father towards his child.
Again, if one considers the marvelous acts manifested in his case and the
wonderful mysteries declared by his mouth in the Koran and in the
Prophetic Sayings, and his predictions of events in the distant future,
together with the fulfillment of these predictions, then one will know
necessarily that he attained to the sphere which is beyond reason, where
an eye opened in him by which the mysteries were laid bare which only the
elect apprehend, the mysteries which are not apprehended by the intellect.
This is the method of reaching obvious knowledge that the Prophet, peace
be upon him is to be believed. Make the experiment, reflect on the Koran,
read the Prophetic Sayings; then you will know that by seeing for yourself.
We have now dealt with the students of philosophy in sufficient detail,
discussing the question at some length in view of the great need for such
criticism at the present time.
As for the fourth cause of weakness of faith, namely, the evil lives of the
religious leaders (`ulama’, singular `alim) this disease is cured by three
things.
(a) The first is that you should say to yourself that the `alim whom you
consider to eat what is prohibited has a knowledge that wine and pork and
usury are prohibited and also that lying and backbiting and slander are
prohibited. You yourself also know that and yet you do these latter things,
not because you do not believe they are sins, but because your desire
overcomes you. Now the other man‟s desire is like your desire; it has
overcome him, just as yours has overcome you. His knowledge of other
matters beyond this (such a theological arguments and the application of
legal principles) distinguishes him from you but does not imply any greater
abstinence from specific forbidden things. Many a believer in medical
science does not hold back from fruit and from cold water even though the
doctor has told him to abstain from them! That does not show that they are
not harmful, or that his faith in medicine is not genuine. Such a line of
thought helps one to put up with the faults of the `ulama’.
(b) The second thing is to say to the ordinary man: `You must believe that
the `alim has regarded his knowledge as a treasure laid up for himself in the
If one considers the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him and what is related in Prophetic Sayings about his concern for showing
people the true way and about his graciousness in leading men by various
acts of sympathy and kindness to improve their character and conduct and
to better their mutual relations leading them to the indispensable basis of all
betterment, religious and secular alike, if one considers this, one comes to
the obvious knowledge that his good will towards his people is greater than
that of a father towards his child.
Again, if one considers the marvelous acts manifested in his case and the
wonderful mysteries declared by his mouth in the Koran and in the
Prophetic Sayings, and his predictions of events in the distant future,
together with the fulfillment of these predictions, then one will know
necessarily that he attained to the sphere which is beyond reason, where
an eye opened in him by which the mysteries were laid bare which only the
elect apprehend, the mysteries which are not apprehended by the intellect.
This is the method of reaching obvious knowledge that the Prophet, peace
be upon him is to be believed. Make the experiment, reflect on the Koran,
read the Prophetic Sayings; then you will know that by seeing for yourself.
We have now dealt with the students of philosophy in sufficient detail,
discussing the question at some length in view of the great need for such
criticism at the present time.
As for the fourth cause of weakness of faith, namely, the evil lives of the
religious leaders (`ulama’, singular `alim) this disease is cured by three
things.
(a) The first is that you should say to yourself that the `alim whom you
consider to eat what is prohibited has a knowledge that wine and pork and
usury are prohibited and also that lying and backbiting and slander are
prohibited. You yourself also know that and yet you do these latter things,
not because you do not believe they are sins, but because your desire
overcomes you. Now the other man‟s desire is like your desire; it has
overcome him, just as yours has overcome you. His knowledge of other
matters beyond this (such a theological arguments and the application of
legal principles) distinguishes him from you but does not imply any greater
abstinence from specific forbidden things. Many a believer in medical
science does not hold back from fruit and from cold water even though the
doctor has told him to abstain from them! That does not show that they are
not harmful, or that his faith in medicine is not genuine. Such a line of
thought helps one to put up with the faults of the `ulama’.
(b) The second thing is to say to the ordinary man: `You must believe that
the `alim has regarded his knowledge as a treasure laid up for himself in the