Chapter I: Repentance
between God and His servants and knowledge is the means of doing good deeds. In accordance with the measure of knowledge about Him, nearness is gained and in accordance with ignorance about Him, there is distance from Him. Ignorance has got another name named infidelity. He who has got knowledge of Him cannot remain safe and cannot be also despaired. He travels in these new stages which have got connection with God's attributes and actions. According to the Quran, there are three classes of sins — (1) what is known as major sins in the Quran, (2)
what is known as not major sins in the Quran and (3) the sins which have got doubt of being called major sins.
(2) With regard to the second stage of major sins, it is the impediment to save life, as knowledge of God can be acquired if there is life. So to commit suicide is a major sin, but lower than infidelity. To cut of hands and feet and the thing which leads to sudden death are majors sins. So also fornication and unnatural cohabitation are major sins as in a case of this nature there is no fixation of lineage, and cutting off the existence of man.
(3) The third stage has got connection with properties, as .properties are the means of livelihood. It is not permissible for
men to earn them arbitrarily, such as theft, docoity, misappropriation of money. In four ways, properties may be misappropriated. The first way is to take property secretly or by stealing. The second way is to eat the properties of an orphan which is also done secretly. The third way is to misappropriate property by false deposition. The fourth way is to get deposited property by false oath.
PUNISHMENT AND REWARD IN THE NEXT WORLD
Know O readers, that this world is visible material world and the next world is invisible spiritual world. The meaning of this world is your condition before your death and the next world is your condition after your death. The name of near condition is this world and of distant condition is the next world. Examples are the only means of describing the next world as we are now living in this world. God says : I have given these examples for men and none but the wise appreciate them: The reason is that this material world is like a dream in comparison with the next world. The Prophet said : 'Men are in sleep. They will wake up
26 TAUBA Vol-IV
after their death.' What occurs in wakeful state is not expressed in dream except in examples which are subject to interpretation.
Similarly what will occur in the next world in wakeful state is not clear without examples of sleep of this world.