Now, I’m very happy to hear you ask this particular question, because it is generally a very much misunderstood question. Before I begin to speak on this particular verse of the Bible, I should like to draw your attention to a general principle which is applicable to every religion and founder of every religion. These words are not unique to Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, but in fact, when you study, make a comparative study of all religions, the founders of almost all religions would be known to have said the verse to the same effect. Unless you begin to see the similarity and the reason why they are spoken, you won’t be able to get to the answer of this question, the true import of these words.
Everyone who comes from God speaks truth. This is the fundamental principle, whether he is born in the Middle East or in the Far East or North or South, that does not make any difference, because all this universe is God’s creation. And he did not only love the people of a certain religion, but God as such loved all his creation alike. So according to the Quranic principle, God has been revealing himself to every people in every age, and the essence of this message, which is called Deenul Qayyama, according to the Holy Quran, has always been the same. Whoever speaks on behalf of God, he speaks the truth, and he shows the eternal way. But those who accept, it all depends on the way they accept, and on their integrity, on their own personal truth, whether they will benefit from that eternal truth truly and honestly and deeply and widely enough or not.
So the answer would vary from person to person according to his own conduct vis-à-vis that eternal truth. So any man, I’m talking of the sources now, particularly with intention, because at sources all the religions are the same. At sources they’re always true, and they’re always from one true God. So when you go to the sources and begin to compare there, then no debate arises as to who was right and who was wrong, because all are true at the source. So when a religion is at source, every religion offers the same thing to the mankind or the section of mankind to which that religion is addressing. Now it all depends on the person who accepts the message. How far he would share his part in the eternal life. If he’s honest in his approach, and this was exactly the subject I was discussing just before this question came, and he’s true, not only to the message, but to himself, sometimes it happens that there is a contradiction.
There are people who are true to the message, but unfortunately are not true to themselves. They speak highly for a message, they’re vociferous in the preaching of that message, and they give good sermons as well, but they’re not true to themselves. There is a contradiction between what they say and what they do. So all these factors have to be taken into account before one can be certain of the eternal life that is offered by every prophet of God to the people whom he addresses. But there should be some signs, as you said, how could we be unsure? The Holy Quran gives us those signs and tells us that if you begin to get those signs, that is a way of finding whether you are on the right path or whether you are attaining some fruit of your labour or not. This is mentioned, this aspect, in some verses of the Holy Quran which I will recite. The Holy Quran tells us, It says that those people who say Allah, the Lord, is our sustainer, and He alone is our sustainer. This claim is not enough by itself.
Then because of the truth of their claim and sincerity of their claim, they are being opposed from all sides. People oppose them, they become hostile to them, just for the reason that they have claimed that there is one Lord whom they follow and He is sustainer and He is enough as sustainer to them. Now this claim in itself is the most innocent claim that one can make. I mean it doesn’t hurt anybody, it shouldn’t hurt anybody. But unfortunately, as the Holy Quran tells us, this claim becomes the bitterest claim and people become hostile to such claimants. Now this is verified by the study of early history of every religion. When Jesus Christ came, peace be upon Him, the same thing happened to Him and to His followers. They said Lord is our sustainer and they didn’t go to anybody for begging their property or misappropriating anybody else’s money. They were the two most true and honest people of that age, yet people became hostile to them.
This is exactly what the Holy Quran is telling about. So the first significance of this true claim is that you receive hostility at the hands of the surrounding for no crime of yours. Summa stakamu also means and then they remain steadfast. Despite the fact, the single word stakamu has both these meanings, both these connotations. People try to, they oppose you and try to throw you. Stakamu means somebody who remains standing despite the other efforts to throw one down. So stakamu means then they remain steadfast despite all the hostility. That is the first sign that they are true and they are on the path of eternal life.
The second symptom is that Allah’s angels begin to descend upon them and they do not believe in Allah and his angels as conjectures, as theories, but they begin to witness them. They come and descend upon them, not dumb and deaf angels, which you may feel they are with you and you may be wrong, maybe a psychological experience. The Holy Quran tells us they speak to them, they tell them, la tahafu wa la tahzanu. We have come to tell you a message from Allah, give you a message from Allah that do not fear and do not be grieved at what people are doing to you. Nahnu awliya’ukum fil hayati dunya, now we have come to be with you, to remain with you as friends and to help you against all enemies. From then on, the signs are not just subjective, the signs become objective for the rest of the world to witness the signs and share the seeing of the signs with these people. It is not just a psychological affair anymore.
Those people who oppose them, they also begin to see that they get some help from high on and despite the fact that they are weaker, humble, and as compared to our might, they are just nothing, yet they know that they fail to destroy them, they know that all the efforts they make to crush them result in exactly the opposite reaction, instead of being diminished and becoming minute, they grow in size and influence and become larger and become more and more stable. So the sign which they receive from Allah is through dreams, through verbal messages from angels, through visions, these are the methods how the angels descend upon them. And what they receive is not just a psychological experience, because a psychological experience cannot last you against a real opposition and hostility from mightier powers. So this is why I said, the subjective sign turns into an objective sign, and even the enemies begin to share that sign with you. And then they grow from strength to strength, till their death, and they remain steadfast and they do not have to fear any power on earth.
This is one of the signs of the true people, but this is not the only sign, there are other signs as well, mentioned in so many other verses, I mean I could speak on this subject for hours, but I have just given you one sample. Another sample for instance would be that their whole life is changed, the people who meet them, they know they are from a good person. If Allah is beauty, and somebody truly attains God, then he must become beautiful to the extent that he has adopted the ways of his beloved. It is impossible for a truly religious person who really believes in Allah and loves him to be hateful in reality. That hatred is for the sake of Allah, not because of a crime, but because of a beauty. So this is an analysis which has to be kept in mind, this is why I am mentioning the second aspect now. The second aspect is apparently in contradiction with the first one, but it is true. The fact is that those people who truly begin to believe in Allah and love him, and are on the path of eternal life, they have some signs appearing within their character.
They are truthful, they are God fearing, they love mankind, they do not hate mankind under the excuse of religious differences, and they want the well-being of everybody. And they serve others, gradually they begin to live for others. All that they possess is in fact devoted to a higher and noble cause, with the result that those who look at them with neutral eyes, they begin to see the signs. And this phenomenon also is two-fold. The first is subjective. Those people who know Allah and are on the right path, they do not care whether their beauty is observed by a foreign observer or not. They are completely satisfied and content with what they know themselves about themselves.
For instance the prophets, all the prophets and all the true saintly people, they do not do good deeds for the sake of winning hearts, or for the sake of attracting attention, of praising eyes. They do good things for the sake of their Lord, who knows, and that’s quite enough for them. And they gain a sense of inner nobility which satisfies their urge for praise, which satiates them. As far as the urge to recognize is concerned, they know themselves and they know that we are the best of ourselves.
So they are completely without regard to outside observers. But when the beauty matures in them, and exudes in good deeds, and its fragrance begins to spread all around, what happens is that appreciators come and begin to love them. And so both the processes start simultaneously. From one end the hatred is generated, jealousy creates more hatred, and people want to oppose them and bring about all sorts of atrocities against them. At the same time, there are some eyes which begin to see the beauty, which is created because of their being truly followers of their Lord. It has to be created, otherwise it’s a contradiction. So they begin to gain lovers as well, and both these two forces are situated on the extreme ends. They are extremely hated, and extremely loved.
For instance, we have a very interesting tradition telling us about this exact situation in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the founder of Islam. What happened was, there was one companion of the Holy Prophet, about whom it’s related, that after the death of the Holy Prophet, somebody wanted to find out from him what were the features, what were the features of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and how beautiful he was, and to tell him about his personality and things. So instead of answering him, he started crying. And he was surprised, he thought I didn’t say anything which would hurt him, and wondered why he started crying. So after a while he repeated the question, and again he started crying. And in one instance, in one of the traditions it is said, that he went completely out of his control, and even swooned with the intensity of emotion.
So when he came to, and calmed down after a while, the questioner, after begging his pardon, politely asked him if he had offended him in any way, he should be, he should, he craves his pardon. He said, no, not at all. It was not that you offended me in any way, or hurt me in any way. It is because when you asked me to describe the features of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, I couldn’t do it. He was surprised, he said, why couldn’t you? Because you have been his companion for some time. He said, I tell you why, there were two phases to my life. The first phase was, that I hated that man so much, so intensely, that I would not permit my eyes to fall upon his face and be defiant. That was the intensity of my hatred against him. But then, when Allah gave me faith, and I began to believe in him, I found him so intensely beautiful, that it was impossible for me to gaze on him, like you cannot gaze on the face of sun.
So this is true, there is no exaggeration today for me to say, that if somebody asks me what the features of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, were, I can’t describe. And that hurts me, that I had quite a lifetime to live with him, and yet it was impossible for me to see him. So this is the extreme, which is created by the truly godly people, who love God and who are consistent in their belief, and whose faith is practiced. Not just that it is a theory, but it is a practiced faith. They begin to generate these two things. And they in themselves become science. It’s not at all difficult to see them and to find out whether they are godly people or not. And for them, to begin to live with God. There is no doubt left in them, that they are on the eternal path.
