The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page 258
258 Essence of Islam-1 world, as everlasting, and makes not the slightest change in it, and loses himself wholly in following it, and de- votes every particle of his being to its cause, and does not oppose it intellectually or by his conduct. It is then that he would be a true Muslim. [al-Hakam, 6 May 1908, p. 5] Istighfar of the Holy Prophetsa Most Christians, on account of their ignorance of the reality of Maghfirat-forgiveness-imagine that a person who seeks Maghfirat, is disobedient and sinful. A deep reflec- tion over the meaning of Maghfirat makes it clear that it is the one who does not seek Maghfirat of God Almighty who is disobedient and vile. As every true purity is be- stowed by Him and He alone safeguards one against the storm of passion, it should be a preoccupation of His righteous servants to constantly seek Maghfirat from that True Guardian and Protector. If we were to seek an illustration of Maghfirat in the physical world the best illustration would be that Magh- firat is a strong and unbreakable dam which is erected to hold back a flood. As all strength and all power belongs to God Almighty, and a man is weak in his soul as he is in his body, and seeks water from the Eternal Being all the time for the nurture of the tree of his being, and can- not keep alive without His grace, Istighfar, in its meaning that we have set out, becomes necessary and essential. As a tree puts forth its branches in all directions, as if it spreads its hands towards the surrounding spring of wa- ter, pleading for help that its greenness should not decline and that the time of its flowering and putting forth fruit should not be lost, the same is the case with