Equality

From Aryez

Book 18 of the Marfat

18: Equality

1. God will punish those who use His name

2. to justify the doing of unjust things. Never involve the name

3. of God in killing or enslaving a person. This is

4. the Devil’s work. Even in a righteous war,

5. never invoke the name of God for he grieves

6. for the enemy sinners. He will cleanse

7. their sins at the end [of their lives, after they go to Him]. Remember that

8. God meant for all human beings to be equal-

9. so that no sex, race, or class is superior

10. or more privileged than another in the

11. eyes of God. All wise men are prophets of God.

Commentary: This book connects to the fact that God is good and loving and cannot thus sanction any evil. It warns against twisting religion for evil purposes, like slavery. It also warns against religious war [this can be misinterpreted to forbid holy war, which it does not because holy war is a war inspired by God against evil and injustice; it merely forbids war for the purpose of spreading or converting others to the religion]. This book, most importantly, establishes the principle that all human beings are equal, by God’s intention, be they any race, gender, class, religion, or anything else. Finally, it proclaims all wise men [here men means humans] prophets of God. In Aralan, a prophet is not necessarily one who speaks for God or to God, but is a wise person (all wisdom is inspired by God).