Chapter I: Repentance
There are different classes of these fortunate persons. Some will be advancing and some retracing. Their rank will very according to the variance of their degree of knowledge of God.
There are many stages of God's lovers as there are many steps of knowledge of God. There is no end of the depth of the ocean of Marfat and there is no such person who can cross that ocean. The divers according to their strength and the strength given to them by divine order can dive therein. There is no end of the path towards God. So there is no limit to the stages of those persons who walk in the path of God. He who has got better faith is also one of the fortunate people. His rank is lower than that of the fortunate Prophets. The highest rank of the fortunate men of blind faith is near the rank of the near ones. The man who gives up major sins, does the compulsory duties, stands upon the five pilars of Islam, utters Kalema Shahadat by tongue and heart, performs pilgrimage, gets this rank. He who comitted major sins, and neglected to do other compulsry duties but made sincere repentance before his death, will live with that peson who has not commited these sins. A washed cloth is like the cloth which"
has got no dirt from the beginning. If he dies before repentance,
Vol-IV THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES 31
his time of death will be fraught with dangers. Blind faith at the first tempest of slight doubt is shaken at the root. He who is wise with deep inisght keeps himself away from this danager at the time of death.
He who continues to commit sins for as many days as he likes will get punishment therefore for proportionate days. He who does heinous sins will get severe punishment. He who does different kinds of sins will get different kinds of punishment, he will not come near the rank of the fortunate ones. Those who are gnostics with deep insight will live in the highest Paradise. There is in Hadis — He who will be taken last out of Hell will be given space ten times of this world. If the area of this world is one thousand miles, don't think he will be given space ten times of one thousand miles. This is like the saying of the man : I have given one who has taken my one camel ten camels. This means that if the price of a camel is ten dinars, he was given hundred dinars. The Prophet said : Paradise is situated in heaven. It appears that heaven is in this world. So how can Paradise situated in the world be ten times of this world? It should not be taken literally.
CAUSES OF DISASTERS ON RELIGIONS PEOPLE