virtual III

the official rules

"Suppose a man according to his physical health expects to live for 150 years provided he looks after his health. If he does not, his expectation of life will be reduced to one half of that period. Now suppose that man does not look after his health and dies at the age of 75. It will be right to say that this man was destined to have two ages, and both of them were conditional. The condition of only one of them was fulfilled.

The destiny the condition of which has been fulfilled is irrevocable, and that the condition of which has not been fulfilled is revocable."


nest eggs & hacks

1. A direct appeal to the Author can be made at any stage, and will be answered.

"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way."

-- Holy Quran, 2:186

2. Special power: Prayer. May be employed by any player at any time, and can alter any aspect of the game, even if this involves breaking outside the set framework of the game.

"Prayer changes even confirmed destiny"

-- hadeeth, Holy Prophet (saw)

3. Special power: good works. The game is coded such that virtuous deeds will always lead to a greater reward than vice. This is the case regardless of where the apaprent benefit lies. Virtues shape the player's future as consequences of his own free will, as previously discussed.

"The number of those who die because of committing sins is larger than the number of those who die their natural death, and the number of those who live because of doing good deeds is larger than the number of those who live because of their real age"

-- hadeeth, Imam Sadiq (as)

4. Alliance with the Forces of Nature.

If the player has managed to perfect the use of all three methods combined, he may succeeding in allying himself with a number of great, fundamental, non-material causes of destiny, which are part of the programmed world order. Some examples of these forces follow.

force: "the support of Justice & Equity", because of which the world is in existence. All efforts allied with this join the greater whole, and will not be wasted.

"Believers, if you help Allah's cause, He will help you and make you stand firmly"

-- Holy Quran, 47:7

force: "Trust in the Author", by which the player gains conviction, strength and determination. He will never fear death, devastation, poverty or helplessness as a consequence of the path of virtue.

"Such people when warned to fear those who are gathered against them, (the threat of danger) increased their faith and they cried: Allah is sufficient for us! Most excellent is He in whom we trust!"

-- Holy Quran, 3:172

"the world has been so arranged that the whole system of causes and effects will come to his aid if he whole-heartedly exerts himself to serve the cause of his creed. His power naturally increases thousands of times when the energy stored in the world comes to his aid."

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more ideas from Man and his Destiny, M Mutahhery

(c) Feb 2007