The Essence of Islam – Volume IV — Page 293
Propagation, Establishment of a Holy Jama'at, and Instructions 293 all dirt and filth from the clothes. Then he gets up early next morning and carries the laundry to the wa- ter and after wetting the clothes strikes them repeatedly against smooth stones until the dirt, which had stuck to the clothes and had become part of the laundry, begins to depart. As a result of both the boil- ing and being beaten against stones, the clothes become as white as new. This is also the way of cleansing the human self. Your salvation depends en- tirely upon acquiring this pristine whiteness. This is what God Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّهَا 153 [Government Angrezī aur Jihad, Rūķānī Khazā'in, vol. 17, pp. 14-15] So long as a person does not set right his affair with God Almighty in every situation and does not dis- charge fully the two kinds of obligations that he owes, he cannot achieve his purpose. As I have mentioned, obligations are of two kinds: those due to Allāh, and those due to His creatures. The latter are of two kinds: those that are owed to brethren in faith- whether they are related as father, son, or brother, they are still brothers in faith-and the other obliga- tion is to mankind in general, by way of true sympathy. The principal obligation due to God Almighty is that He should be worshipped and this worship should 153 He indeed truly prospers who purifies it [the soul]. Al-Shams, 91:10 [Publisher]