The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page 206
206 Essence of Islam-1 should refrain from every kind of freedom and self- direction and should be completely obedient to his mas- ter, therefore, the seekers after truth have been urged that if they wish to attain salvation they should adapt them- selves to this condition. This verse has the same connotation as the verse: قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ 123 Perfect following demands that devotion and full obedi- ence which is conveyed in the expression 'abd. The verse: Say: O my servants; means in effect: Say: O my followers, who are involved in sins, despair not of mercy of Allah; for Allāh, through the blessing of your follow- ing me, will forgive all your sins. If the word servants in this verse is construed as meaning the servants of Allah, the meaning of the verse is perverted for it cannot be true that God Almighty would forgive all idol worshippers and disbelievers without their believing in and following the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. Such an interpretation would be contrary to the express directions of the Holy Qur'an. It should be remembered that the purport of the verse is that those who become the sincere servants of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] will be bestowed the light, the faith, the love and the passion which will deliver them from all that is beside Allāh, and they will be freed from sins and will be bestowed a pure life in this world and they will be delivered from the nar- row and dark graves of human passions. This is indicated by the Hadith: 123 'Say, If you love Allāh, follow me: then will Allāh love you and forgive you your faults. '-Al-e-'Imran, 3:32 [Publisher]