The Essence of Islam – Volume V — Page 87
The Plague 87 other wealthy people, most of them are steeped in li- centiousness, and are given to drinking, adultery, immorality and extravagance. They are Muslims in name only. They are totally indifferent to religious matters and have no sympathy for their faith. Now, since the Revelation which I have just mentioned shows that this is a matter of Taqdir-e-Mu'allaq [Conditional Destiny] and can be averted through re- pentance, seeking God's forgiveness, doing good deeds, renouncing sin, offering charity, and bringing about a pious change in oneself, I therefore urge eve- ryone to adopt piety from the bottom of their hearts, and occupy themselves with righteous deeds, and re- nounce all transgression and depravity. Muslims should sincerely follow the commandments of Allah, observe the daily prayers and eschew all kinds of sinful and immoral acts. They should repent and do good deeds, while fearing and remembering Allah, the Almighty. They should conduct themselves kindly towards the poor, the neighbours, the orphans, the widows, the wayfarers and other helpless people. They must offer charity and alms and offer their prayers with congre- gation. They should cry and beseech God in their prayers so as to be saved from this calamity. They should wake up in the small hours of the night and supplicate in their prayers. In short, they should per- form all kinds of good deeds and avoid wrongdoing of every description, and should fear God Who, in His wrath, can destroy the whole world in an instant. . .