If someone were to assert that belief in the Atonement enables a person to attain salvation from a life of sin, and the propensity to commit sin no longer remains within them, then this is a statement with no proof at all. For there is sin at the very root of this concept. The strength to abstain from sin comes from a fear of accountability to God. But how can there be any fear of accountability when it is accepted that Christ has taken upon himself the burden of our sins?
From this, I conclude that a person who subscribes to such a concept can never be God- fearing because they would deem unnecessary all such actions that have their basis in principles of fear of God. One ought to remember well that inner-purity always begins with concepts, if not:
خبث نفس نہ گرد و بسا لھا معلوم
“The impurity of one’s heart is not noticeable until many years have passed.”
Then we should also observe what practical examples of inner-purity have been demonstrated by those who subscribe to the concept of atonement. The sinful actions of people in Europe are known to all.
Alcohol, which is the mother of crimes and the mother of evils, is so heavily consumed that its likeness is difficult to find in any other country. I read in a newspaper that if all the liquor-stores in London were arranged in a line, they would extend to a distance of 75 miles.
Christians ought to reflect and tell us that when they have been given a certificate for the pardoning of sin, and any sin they commit is deemed forgiven, what shall be the result of such a concept? If, God forbid, we subscribed to such a doctrine, this would have an immensely detrimental effect upon us. The lower self which incites the soul to evil is always in search of something to lean back on.
Similarly, the Shias have fallen back on Imam Husain, may Allah be pleased with him, and they say whatever they please, hiding behind the concept of taqiyyah. Due to this concept of taqiyyah and the belief regarding the sacrifice of Imam Husainra, I can confidently say that very few God-fearing people exist among the Shias.
Khalifah Muhammad Hasan writes that the verse فَدَیْنٰہُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِیْمٍ (We ransomed him with a great sacrifice) in the Quran speaks of the martyrdom of Imam Husainra and he is overjoyed by this point, as if he has discovered the essence of the Holy Quran.
His “ingenuity” reminds me of the story about the foolish man. As the story goes, a foolish man had a water pot with a hole in it. Whenever he would go to answer the call of nature, before he could manage to relieve himself and then subsequently clean himself, all the water would drain out of his pot. Finally, after many days of thought and reflection, the bright solution that he came up with was that he began to clean himself with the water first, before relieving himself; and he was very pleased with his solution.
Khalifah Muhammad Hasan has come up with an insight and solution that is as clever as this foolish man when he derives that the verse فَدَیْنٰہُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِیْمٍ (We ransomed him with a great sacrifice) speaks of the martyrdom of Imam Husainra … The Shias claim that Imam Husainra and the household of the Holy Prophetsa were martyred for their sake and to weep in grief for them and to mourn for them is sufficient. No other deeds are required except these to enter Paradise.
In the same way, the Christians say that the blood of the Messiah has guaranteed their salvation. Now my question is that if such people are going to be questioned and punished for committing sin, then what sort of salvation is guaranteed to them? In actuality, a concept of this nature brings with it an immensely evil effect. If this belief did not exist, sin and impiety would not be so rampant in various countries within Europe, and such a flood of illicit behaviour would not surge forth as is the case at present.
One may go and observe the indecency at hotels and parks in London and Paris and ask those who return from these places. Every other day, the newspapers publish the names of illegitimate children in lists.
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 182-184)