Page:Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din - The Strength of Islam.djvu/23

This page needs to be proofread.
THE STRENGTH OF ISLAM
19

in that I am neglecting the chance of obtaining fresh knowledge.

The idea of seeking wisdom from on High is expressed in the following verses;—

When prostrate at Thy feet I fall,
Fresh wisdom to acquire,
All Thy past favours I recall,
Nor do I now desire
To ask from Thee what Thou must know,
In Thy omniscient mind,
Is really best for us below
And infinitely kind.[1]

Here we have the injunction to pray for fresh wisdom from the Highest source, tempered by the admission that we cannot presume to ask for specific benefit, because God ordains all things, and must be the best judge of what is best for us.

Most of the strength of Islam lies in the knowledge that God is ever near—nearer, as has been said, than our jugular vein; it is the very spirit of the Faith. Call it madness, call it


  1. Thought for the Future. (The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd., 1913).