That is to say, in evils the soul is the cause and deserves the punishment, while in good deeds, both the cause and the occasion are from God. Man can only lay claim to them through belief. He may not say: “I want the reward,” but he may say: “I hope for divine favour.”
T h i r d Q u e s t i o n : It is understood from the above explanations that since evils multiply through contagion and aggression, a single evil deed should be recorded as a thousand; and since good deeds pertain to existence, they do not multiply nor do they occur through the servant’s creative act or the desires of his soul; they therefore should not be recorded at all or as only one. So why are evil deeds recorded as one and good deeds as ten, and sometimes as thousands?1
T h e A n s w e r : In this way Almighty God demonstrates His perfect mercy and the beauty of His compassionateness.
F o u r t h Q u e s t i o n : The successes the people of misguidance have achieved and the power they display and their victories over the people of guidance show that they rely on some power and truth. This means either that the people of guidance possess some weakness, or that the misguided possess some truth?
T h e A n s w e r : God forbid, neither do they possess any truth, nor do the people of truth have any weakness. But regretably some of the ordinary people who are short-sighted and unreasoning become doubtful and hesitant, and harm comes to their belief. For they say: If the people of truth had possessed complete truth and reality, they should not have suffered defeat and abasement to this degree. For the truth is powerful. According to the fundamental principle “Truth is exalted and shall not be overcome,”2 power lies in truth. If the people of misguidance had not possessed a true power and point of support, they could not have predominated over the people of truth and triumphed to this extent.
T h e A n s w e r : As is proven in the above Indications, the defeat of the people of truth does not arise from lack of power and absence of truth, and as is also proven, the people of misguidance’s victory does not spring from their power and capacity and their having some source of support. Hence, the answer to this question is all the above Indications; here we shall only point out a number of the tricks and weapons they employ, as follows:
I myself have frequently observed that mischief-makers, who form ten per cent, defeat the righteous, who form ninety per cent. I used to be astonished and curious. Investigating, I understood certainly that their victory
See, Qur’an, 6:160. See also, Bukhari, Iman, 31; Muslim, Iman, 206.
See, Bukhari, Jana’iz, 79: “al-Islam ya’lu wa la yu’la.”