Page 146 - The Vision of Islam

F inal Word

task of conveying God’s message to the world, they too will be
held accountable along with other communities in the Hereafter.
If the other communities or peoples committed the wrong of not
adopting a life in accordance with Quranic principles, the Muslims
will be held responsible for not having conveyed God’s message
to them. The second case is in no way of a lesser degree than the
former.
The Jews invited God’s displeasure because they kept secret the
religion that had been revealed to them by God and did not make
people aware of its teachings. If the bearers of the Quran are guilty
of the same wrong as the bearers of the Taurah, they shall in no way
be shown any leniency.
Divine law will not spare them, just as it did not spare previous
communities. God has no special relationship with any particular
community. Nothing is further from the truth than the belief that
any group has a special relationship with God.
Muslims today have to perform for the benefit of the world
the same duty of calling people to God, as was performed by the
prophets for their communities. This is a duty which involves
conveying the message of the Quran to them. Just as without the
payment of zakat all the wealth of a person remains unlawful to
him, similarly without performing this duty it is unlawful for us
to spend our time and money on anything else. We can have no
happiness or security until we devote ourselves to this cause.
The following are the points on which we have to focus our
attention:
This work does not simply involve making speeches and writing
books, but is rather the task of representing God. It has to be
performed with the meticulous care and according to the highest
standards which it demands. We have to do it with the same utmost
sincerity and seriousness with which a government official conveys
an important message entrusted to him.
Well-wishing and other demands as are expected of an earnest
undertaker of a serious task, have to be combined together while
performing this work. Moreover, it is also essential that the Hell of
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