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186 THE MIZANU'L HAQQ

Truth of the Necessarily Existent One is too exalted and transcendent for its Essence (كُنْة) to be known by any one of the wise (العُرَفَاء) or learned (الحُكَماَء), or even by the saints (الأولياء) or prophets (الأنبياء). Hence God would be unknown and unrevealed except for the Kalimatu'llah.1 Therefore "the Word2 of God", who knows God perfectly, cannot be a mere creature. Even were He the highest of the archangels, He would still fall infinitely short of being able perfectly to know God. None can fully know God but God Himself, for even a man's mind and thoughts cannot be fully known by any but God who searches the hearts. We see therefore that Reason demands the Deity of the Kalimatu'llah. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity shows that Reason is here justified. It thus helps us to believe that Christ's claims are true, and to accept the salvation which He offers.

4. Belief in the doctrine of the Divine Trinity in Unity abolishes the blind and hopeless belief in a stern and unchangeable Fate, which oppresses the Muslim as much as it does the Hindu. This belief in Fate is one of the chief causes of the apathy which has caused Muslim nations to become unprogressive, and hence to fall behind Christian nations in progress and civilization. The Arabs, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Turks, are at the very least as intellectual, as brave, as enterprising, as the nations of Europe. Ancient history proves this beyond the possibility of doubt. If it were not for their fatalism they might renew their strength. When we believe that God has loved us so much that He has revealed Himself in the Kalimatu'llah, who has for our sakes become man, has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, has lived and died and risen again for us, then we feel that we can trust God, for in all


1 [The Word (λογος) of God.]
2 [Arabic distinguishes clearly between "The Word of God" (كلمة الله) applied to Christ and what in English is the same title, but in Arabic is quite different (كلام الله),applied to the Bible.]
THE MIZANU'L HAQQ 187

this His Love has been proved to us (John iii. 16; 1 John iv. 7-16). It is because our Muslim brothers reject the doctrine of the Trinity that they reject the Deity of Christ. Therefore, if they think at all deeply, they find themselves absolutely unable to know God. Hence in Egypt at the present day the following proverb has become current: "Whateverl has entered into thy mind is thine own state, and God is the converse of that." Thus Islam leads to Agnosticism. But belief in the True Manifestation (مَطْهَرْ) enables us Christians to know God, and so to love Him who has first loved us (1 John iv. 19). His Holy Spirit ever abides with true Christians, rendering their hearts His shrine, and leading them nearer to God and into fuller knowledge of the truth (John xiv. 16, 17, 26; xv. 26; xvi. 7,15; Acts i. 5; ii. 1-4; I Cor. iii. 16, 17; vi. 19). They are thus reconciled to God and brought into communion with Him, as sons with a loving Father in Heaven, instead of trembling like slaves in the presence of a wrathful (قهّار) Master.

We learn, then, from the Bible that God Most High has revealed Himself to us: (1) as the Holy and Loving Father, who, although in His perfect Holiness He abhors sin, yet has from all eternity purposed to Himself, in accordance with the abundance of His love and mercy, to adopt one special method by which all men, if they be willing to accept His freely offered grace, may be saved from sin and reconciled to Him in heart and mind and in will and in conduct. (2) This revelation of God is given to mankind by means of His Word (كَلِمَتُهُ), the Only Son of God, through whom alone can any created being attain to the knowledge of the Heavenly Father. Becoming incarnate and taking upon Him human nature, the Divine Word "bore our griefs and carried our sorrows". He died on the cross for our sins and rose again for our justification (Rom. iv. 25). (3) And that mankind may accept the


‫1 كُلّ مَا خَطرَ فِي بَالِكَ ـ فَهْو حالُكَ ـ وَاللهُ بِخِلاَفِ ذَلِكَ‫.

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