Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 283
APPENDIX TO BARĀHIN-E-AHMADIYYA PART FIVE 283 Meaning that: "Then We fashioned the علقة ] alaqah-clot] into a piece of flesh. This is the stage whereby the physical being of man comes out of the impurity. Compared to its previous states it acquires a degree of density and solidity. Both the sperm and the عَلَقَة ]alaqah-clot of blood] have a slight impurity in them, and in respect of consistency, too, they are thinner and softer than the مضغة ]mudghah-piece of flesh. But مضغة ]mudghah which is a piece of flesh, develops a pure state in itself, and compared with the sperm and the عَلَقَة ]alaqah- clot], develops a certain extent of firmness. The same is true of the third stage of the spiritual being which is described in the verse: وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَوةِ فَعِلُونَ This verse means that the believer who goes beyond the first two stages does not only stay away from vain and frivolous things, but, in order to rid himself of the impurity of miserliness that is to be found in every human being, also gives Zakāt. That is, he spends a portion of his wealth in the path of God. Zakāt² is so called because when man gives Zakāt gives away his beloved possessions for the sake of God- he is freed from the impurity of miserliness. And when the impurity of miserliness-which man is naturally prone to-departs from within a person, he attains a certain degree of purity and so acquires an affinity with God who is Holy in His Being. کرے پاک آپ کو تب اُس کو پاوے کوئی اُس پاک سے جو دل لگاوے Whoever gives his heart to that Holy One Must first purify himself, then will be find Him. This quality is not found in the first two stages because humility, sub- missiveness, and supplication and the giving up of vain pursuits can be 1. Sūrah al-Mu'minūn, 23:5 [Publisher] 2. The word zakāt is from the root zakā, which means 'purification. [Publisher]