SPIRITUAL UPLIFT

52. Spiritual Uplift ~ 155 ~ with the words, Assalamu ‘Alaikum (Peace be upon you). Similarly, Salat or five times daily prayer is the highest form of worship in Islam. At the close of each prayer all worshippers have to turn their faces to either side and utter the words Asslamu-’Alaikum warahmatullah (May peace and God’s blessings be upon you). This is like a pledge given to people: ‘O people you are safe from me. Your life, your property, your honour is secure with me.’ This sums up the spirit of true religion, the goal of which is spiritual uplift. It is the ultimate state of this spiritual uplift which is referred to in the Qur’an as the “soul at rest” (87:27). Thus a true and perfect man, from the religious point of view, is one who has reached that level of spiritual development where nothing but peace prevails. When a person has attained that peaceful state, others will receive from him nothing but peace. He may be likened to a flower which can send out only its fragrance to man, it being impossible for it to emit a foul smell. An incident relating to a saint very aptly illustrates the spirit of religion. The story goes that once a