Aslam

(6 ) Sixth basic Principle. It is that God is free to punish a man inspite of his virtues and to reward a man inspite of his sins.
The Mutazalites hold the contrary view. God has got freedom of actions among His servants and it is impossible that His servants will oppose His freedom. Tyranny means to dispossess a man from his possession but it is impossible in the case of God as He does not dispossess others in view of the fact that the kingdom of heaven and earth is His. It is proved by this. Slaughter of animals is infliction of pain on animals and men. Various tortures inflicted on animals have not been proceded by any offence or crimes committed by the animals. If it is said that these animals would be raised up again and awarded for this which is incumbent upon God, then we would say that every ant killed under feet and every bug crushed would be brought back to life. - It would violate the dictates of reason and law as nothing is incumbent upon God. _

. (7 ) Seventh basic Principle. It is that God does with regard to men what He wills and it is not incumbent on Him to do whatever is good for them. It has already been stated that nothing is compulsory on God but His dealings are not intelligible to men, because there is nobody to question Hlim what He does but men are subject to questions. The Mutazalites say that it is incumbent upon God to do whatever is salutary for men.

(8) Eighth basic Principle. It is that to have knowledge of God and to obey His commands are compulsory on men, not on account of the reason as the Mutazatities say, but on account of Shariat. Shariat declared poisonous serpents beyond death, while reason in realising that what Shariat foretells thinks it possible and urges that precautions should be taken against'arty possible punishment. But reason itself does not lead to that knowledge of harm. If a man warns by saying : A lion stands behind you, he should at once take to his heels without searching reason.

116 THE BOOK OF WORSHIP Vol-I

(9 ) Ninth basic Principal. It is that sending Prophets to men is not impossible. Some say that there had been no use in sending -them, because reason renders it unnecessary. This is false, because reason does not support the actions which will lead to salvation in the hearaf ter just as it does not guide them to discuse the medicines which are useful for health. The necessity of Prohets for men is like that of the physicians for men. The integrity of the physicians is known by experience and the truthness of the Prophets is known by miracles.