20 Preface إِنَّهُم إِن يَظهَروا عَلَيكُم يَرجُموكُم أَو يُعيدوكُم في مِلَّتِهِم وَلَن تُفلِحوا إِذًا أَبَدًاYusuf Ali“For if they should come upon you, they would stone you or force1 you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain prosperity.”2They think that the world had not changed, and that the fierce persecution they knew was still raging, under which a man had to pay with his life for his religious faith, if he would not conform to Pagan worship.That is, never reap the spiritual good which your knowledge, instruction, and experience entitle you to attain. To become a renegade, to give up the Truth which you have won, simply on account of the fear of men, is the most despicable form of cowardice, and would rightly close the door of salvation if strict justice were to be done. But even then God’s Mercy comes to the coward’s aid so long as the door of repentance is open.