Dedication & Disclosoure 1. Dedication: to each Muslims and non-mulims who is sage, follower of sage or tourist toward a sage. 2. The nationalistic wahabis ignorant of Islam Muslims have abandoned their duty to be the sage, the follower or at least the tourist to start with reborn ( tawba/repentance) they are even misrepresenting Islam, that the head of USA say Islam is not this way Name of the book TOC 1. Sages joined Cross-road (civilization) (white house euro vs Ghazali) to be done slowly story He united the road after its cross point It was a mistake to even have a cross road Perfect people can handle it This is the best kept secret of balance WHO are you or who whould you like to be like? The sage, the follower or the tourist? 2. Dictionary (First things first The Spiritual Dictionary) done 3. Spiritual selection form Begn of guidance Anne here Pick only spiritual talks 4. Sage roadmap that saved him from the cross road junction logic 5. Four disciplines (reviving) covering 40 points of united the civilization Outrage Spiritual Fun First things first the Spiritual Dictionary Creator: is the One and only God, whose name in Arabic is Allah. He is genderless and has neither a daughter nor a son. He is the Creator of all things. Arch Angel Gabriel: is the highest in rank of all the angels. Gabriel is the angel who was entrusted to deliver the Word of Allah to His Prophets and Messengers. Revelation: the Word of Allah delivered by the Arch Angel Gabriel to His Prophets and Messenger. The final Revelation is the Arabic Holy Koran. Allah Himself protects it from any alteration. It is the same today as it was when first revealed. Prophet: is a person chosen by Allah to receive a Revelation via Angel Gabriel to guide himself. All messengers start as prophets, for example Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. A prophet is not commanded to preach. Messenger: a messenger of Allah is a prophet who has been raised in rank to that of a messenger and commanded to preach the Revelation of Allah that was given to him. Amongst the prophets and messengers of Allah were Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Holy Book/Word/Reading: the word of Allah, the Creator. Divine speech: the direct spoken word of Allah to His prophets or messengers. Prophetic speech: are the words spoken by the Prophet, and transmitted verbatim through a succession of transmitters either in its written form or verbally. Guidance: is given to us through following the prophets and messengers of Allah, it shows the way to the path of truth, which ultimately leads us to Paradise. Guides: primary guides are the prophets and messengers of Allah. They are also the learned people who studied the message of Allah and impart such knowledge to their students. Pursuit of happiness: each persons dream to aim at a balance between the material and spiritual civilization in faith, ethics and law in order to win happiness in this life and in the world to come. Body: is temporal having an allotted life span. Soul = Breath = Spirit: the soul is the spiritual principle embodied in the human being, it was created before the existence of the body and bore witness to the Oneness of the Creator, Allah. Breath relates to ones breathing without which the heart ceases to function. Spirit has two meanings; Gabriel is often called the Spirit of purity. Spirit is the essence of the human being. Brain = Reason: brain is either active or inactive, it is the source of reasoning through which one questions and reasons. Reason without guidance can led a seeker astray. Thought = Provision of thought: thoughts can be good, evil or indifferent. The thoughts of a seeker are motivated by guidance found in the Holy Book. Without guidance thoughts are prone to misguidance and error. Chest = Breast = Heart = Inside: such are parts of the human anatomy; a miracle of the Creator. Good self: the inclination to be good, do good and act in a way that is pleasing to the Creator. Good whisper/inspiration: is the righteous prompting of the soul. From an angel: a good whisper from an angel is rarely recognized as very few humans see angels and are unable therefore to distinguish the root of the whisper, consequently they just consider a whisper, a whisper. From a jinn: like the angels, a good whisper from a jinn is rarely recognized asvery few humans have seen them and are they therefore unable to distinguish the root of the whisper, consequently they just consider a whisper, a whisper. Bad self: is the inclination to reject what is good and do harmful things in disobedience to the Creator. Bad whisper/inspiration: is the prompting of the devil in disobedience to the Creator. Dream: dreams fall into two categories. A dream that has many aspects and often confused has no value. A dream that is short is called a vision and has value and can be interrupted by pious knowledgeable people, they can bear good news or a warning. Death and the tomb: two angels take away the soul at the time of death. After burial the two angels question the deceased asking, Who is your Lord and Who is your Prophet, then according to the correctness of the reply and good or bad deeds the deceased is shown its place either in Paradise or Hell. The Day of Judgement: the day when all souls are embodied in their resurrected bodies for final judgement by the Creator. Each is rewarded or punished according to his/her belief and deeds. Slaves to the world must be tossed in a basket Preface A sage, his follower and the tourist. Sage Ghazali was the most learned scholar in his time. A humble person, simple follower of a sage Ghazali, was sitting by the gate of the splender city of the emperor. A traveler came from far away to see the splender of the city and the first one to meet him was the humble man. The traveler his aim was to find out the special secret name of the Creator that an angel will serve him almost like/that reminds us of the spirit that comes out of Aladins lamp, that would give him power that when ever he pronounced it He got what ever he wanted. Even if it was bad though there would be a penalty to pay for it. The emperor is the white house and the Euro Council, the gate of the splendid city is the successful current civilization, safe ghazali is the spiritual leader who upheld the the two halves of the civilization - spiritual and material - The traveler is like all of us who want to balance their spiritual and material needs. The gate of the city is like the American Founders and the Supreme Court, the Congrees and the House of Representatives. You cannot understand the spiritual half of the civization without understand this prelimary spiritual dictionary The secret name rerperesents the revelation which came from the Creator, to the Arch Angel to the Prophets. Then continue with the story. O Traveler, then continue with Ghazali book. How the sage was asaved or reborn safety from error 4 books. The sage comeup with 4 books that classify our actions, those that can save us and those that can destroy us and our habits and our service to the Creator and His prophets. At the end of this include 1st 24 hours in Islam. Things arent always as they seem Al Kidr DISCLOSURE/DEDICATION Disclosure Dedication Dedicated to whom the Prophet said, you love most among his nation will believe him yet did nto see him find the hadith. Disclosure Muslims in Saudi Pakistan, Afghan and the ME and America most of them failied their religion and they all need to ebe reborn (tauba, repentance) and if you tell them they are so arrogvant to admit it. ANYTHING THAT IS NOT FUN, LAUGHABLE, HAPPY, IRIQUE IS OUT. In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful By simply opening this book, it is clear that you, the reader, have within yourself an eager desire to acquire the successful balancing of both spiritual and materialistic knowledge without detraction from either. You want to discover if such is possible, especially in this day and age where spirituality and materialism have been divorced from one another by government and many societies. If this is not your motive and you seek knowledge to attract the attention of your fellow peers, or perhaps surpass or impress them, or even to amass a fortune with your knowledge, and be perceived as a wealthy, influential figure in the society, looked up and envied to by others. If this is your agenda then be warned, you are on the way to bringing your religion to nothing and your destruction, for you deluded yourself and bartered away your future, everlasting life, for the superficial, short-lived, perishable gains of this life. Those who teach for such reasons assist you in your disobedience to the Creator. Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and grant him peace, warned, Whosoever aids and encourages a sin, even if it is just by half a word, is partner to it. On the other hand, if your intention and purpose is to search for knowledge is to seek the guidance of the Creator and not just the acquisition of information, then this is cause for great happiness. This is because the angels spread their wings over you, and all the creatures of the sea ask the Creator, Allah, to forgive you. You must also realize that the fruit of knowledge is guidance and it has a beginning and an end, an outward and inward aspect. No one can reach the end until he/she has completed the beginning, and no one can discover the inward aspect until the outward has been mastered. The beginning of guidance: Test yourself with this counsel, and with it examines your heart. If you find your heart drawn towards it and your soul calm and receptive, go ahead and journey to the end and sail into the oceans of knowledge. If, on the other hand, when you start studying your heart delays and is reluctant to practice, then you may be sure that part of your soul that is drawn to seek knowledge is the evil inclination of the irrational soul. If such are present then your soul has subjected itself to the obedience of satan, who is the sworn enemy of mankind, in which he lures you by his deception to destruction. His aim is to replace good things with those that are evil so that you may join them. Allah warns in the Koran, 18:102-103 Say: Shall we tell you of those who are the greatest losers in deeds? They are those whose striving in this world goes astray, while they think that what they are doing are good deeds. The strategy of satan is to impress you, rehearse the excellence of knowledge, and attract you through self pride to be famous among the high ranking scholars in your knowledge of the prophetic sayings and other religious affairs. Simply speaking, he diverts your attention from the saying of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and grant him peace, Whoever increases in knowledge and does not increase in guidance, only increases in distance from Allah. On the Day of Resurrection, a most severe punishment will be served on scholars who did not benefit from their knowledge. O Allah, I take refuge with You from knowledge that does not benefit, from the heart which does not humble itself, from the act which is not raised to You and from the prayer which is not heard. Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and grant him peace, said, During my night ascent, I passed some people whose lips were cut by fiery scissors, and I ask, Who are you? They replied, We used to command others to do good and we did not do the same, and we prohibited others from doing evil yet we did it ourselves. Therefore beware of listening to satans fair words, lest he lowers you by the rope into the well by the rope of his deception. The person who has learned nothing through his knowledge, and the person who has not practiced what he learned is a person in an unenviable state Three types of people in search of knowledge: First, there are those who seek knowledge as a traveling companion to benefit from in this life in preparation for the life in the Hereafter. He seeks only the Face of Allah and the palaces of Paradise. Such persons are those that are saved. Second, there are those who seek it for the help it gives in this transitory life to obtain, power, influence and wealth, and at the same time is aware of the ultimate truth and their hearts perceive the worthlessness of their condition and the vileness of their aim. Such persons are in danger. If their life ends abruptly before having time to repent, then a bad end to life is feared for them and his fate will depend upon the will of Allah. If such persons are given the opportunity to repent before the end of their life, and they amend their neglected affairs, they will join the ranks of the save because the man who repents of sin is like the man who has none. Third, those who are overcome by satan. The took satans knowledge as a means to increase their wealth, to boast about their influence and pride themselves upon the number of their followers. Through the knowledge they gained they explore every avenue that offers the prospect of realizing their worldly hopes. Such people see themselves as having an important rank before Allah because they, through their appearance and eloquent speech bear the mark of a goodly scholar, despite his hidden or apparent insane desire, for the world. Such will perish, they have been stupid and easily deceived, because they perceive themselves to be acting well there is no hope that they will repent. They are unmindful of the words of Allah, the Most High, Believers, why do you say what you never do? Koran 61:2. Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him, said, On your account, I fear one who is not the false messiah, more than the false messiah himself. When he was asked to whom he referred, he replied, An evil scholar. The meaning of this prophetic saying is that the purpose of the false messiah is to lead mankind astray, and such a scholar is of similar disposition. If such a person turns men from this world by what he says, he at the same time calls them to it by what he is and what he does. A persons conduct speaks more eloquently than his words. Human nature is more inclined to share in what is done than to follow what is said. The corruption caused by the acts of this misguided person is greater than the improvement effected by his words. This is because the ignorant man does not set his desire on this world until scholars have done so. The knowledge of such scholars cause ordinary people to disobey Allah when his ignorant soul remains confident in the belief that he is obeying Allah, and this fills such people with hope and desire, urging them to expect a reward from Allah on account of his knowledge. Such persons suppose themselves to be better than many of the worshipers of Allah. In this day and age the third group is typified by the Wahabi cult which was conceived out of disobedience to Allah, His Prophet, may Allah praise and venerate him, and the caliph who they, with the help of foreign powers overthrew, but to whom Muslim allegiance is obligatory as long as the caliph does not prevent Muslims from praying. The fanatical doctrine of the Wahabis, which is rejected by the four establish Islamic schools of jurisprudence, was supported and aided by the British and French early last century to secure their interests in the middle-east. The Wahabis, through their fanatical, misguided knowledge, interpretation and understanding of the Koran have led many ill-informed Muslims astray to the extent that they believe they are carrying out their atrocities in accordance to the command of Allah. Through ignorance of religion such followers neither realize that satan has deceived their leaders who are leading them astray and do not repent because they do not perceive their actions need repentance. What then is the beginning of guidance with which one may test his/her soul? The answer is outward piety and the end of guidance is inner piety. It is only through piety that there is guidance. Piety designates carrying out the commands of Allah, the Most High and turning away from His prohibitions and in the following Al Ghazali briefly expounds the aspects of piety in both of these categories. Part 1: Acts of obedience The commands of Allah, the Most High has prescribed acts that are both obligatory and voluntary. The obligatory act is, as it were, the capital on which trading activities are based and through which mankind is saved. The voluntary act is, as it were, the profit that affords mankind a higher degree of success. Allah, the Most High said, Nothing brings men nearer to me like the performance of the acts that I have obligated upon them; and through voluntary acts. My worshiper comes nearer, and nearer to Me until I love him, and when I bestow My love on him I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. From the break of day to the night, you will never arrive at the fulfillment of the commands of Allah unless you watch over your heart and body parts. Allah, the Most High is aware of your inner secrets, He observes both your inner and outward status. He knows your every glance, every thought, every step, and whatever else you may do in your state of rest or movement. It is the same no matter whether you are in the company others or alone, you live constantly within His presence. There is nothing in either the heavens or earth of which He is unaware. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, and all that lies between them, and underneath the soil. Koran 20:6. Therefore, one must realize that because you are constantly in the presence of Allah, the Most High your inward and outward behavior must be that of humility, an erring worshiper in the presence of the powerful and victorious King. Let you goal be that at all times, places and circumstances your Lord does not see you where He forbade you, and from the moment when you arise in the morning until the time you lay down to sleep be diligent in the performance of the commands Allah, the Most High has made obligatory. On waking up: Make it your aim to wake before daybreak, and let the first thing your heart and tongue mention Allah, the Most High and say, Praise be to Allah, who has made us alive after causing us to die; to Him we will be raised again. It is for Allah that we and all creation have come to this day. His is the greatness and the authority, His is the might and the power, He is Lord of the worlds. This day we have come submissive and sincerely to Allah, in the religion of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and grant him peace and in the nation of our father Abraham, who was submissive (a Muslim) to Allah and was not an idolater. O Allah, we beseech You to direct us this day to all good. I take refuge with You from committing evil this day and from bringing evil upon a Muslim. O Allah, through You we have come to this day, and through You we arrive at night; through You we live, through You we die, and to You we are raised up. We beseech You for the good of this day and of what is in it; we take refuge with You from the evil of this day and of what is in it. When you dress make your intention to fulfill the commands of Allah about covering your nakedness. Do no let your purpose in wearing clothes be that of a false appearance before your creatures, and go astray. On entering the toilet: When you wish to relieve yourself enter the toilet with your left foot and come out with the right foot first. Do not take anything on which the Name of Allah or His Messenger is inscribed into the toilet nor at any time mention the Name of Allah whilst there. AAA Neither enters the toilet bare-headed nor bare-footed. Before entering say, In the Name of Allah; I seek refuge with Allah from filth and defilement, from soiling impurity and from satan, the stoned and cursed. Upon leaving say, Have mercy on me; praise be to Allah who has removed what would harm me from me, and has left in me what will benefit me. Before relieving yourself be sure there are sufficient cleansing materials such as stones if you are in the countryside and have no toilet tissue, and water. When you cleanse yourself you should do so with both tissue, or as the case maybe stones, and water. If there is only one media, then water is preferable. When stones or tissue paper are the only media they must be clean. Three clean stones or three pieces of tissue paper must be used to wipe the anus so that no filth remains. If filth remains after these wiping then additional odd number of stones or tissues should be used until cleanliness is achieved. When a man urinates he must press it out and thereafter sprinkle it three times with water placing his left hand under his penis. A woman should squeeze her front between thumb and forefinger to prevent urine from exiting later. Having cleansed oneself, say to without sound O Allah, purify my heart from hypocrisy and keep my private parts from sin. Then wash your hands. When in the countryside or desert, go far from the eyes of observers to relieve yourself; if possible behind some kind of barrier. Neither exposes yourself until you reach the intended place, nor face the direction of the prayer, nor yet turn your face or back to the sun or moon. Do not urinate in a place where people meet, nor in still water, nor under a fruit tree, nor yet in a cave. Avoid hard ground and the windward direction so that you are not splashed. Prophet Muhammad may Allah praise and venerate him said, The punishment of the tomb is from it. AAA, question, is the following sentence necessary. Khadeijah if this is to be kept in then join the sentence to previous? When squatting, rest upon your left foot and do not urinate standing unless it is a necessity. Ablutions: The minor ablution Before the performance of prayer it is obligatory that one should cleanse other bodily parts. It is highly recommended, but not obligatory, before making the ablution to brush ones teeth because it is pleases the Creator, and displeases satan. A prayer said with clean teeth is better than seventy prayers said without, and if possible, the best tooth brush to use is a tooth-stick known as siwak. Abu Hurayrah, a close companion of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and grant him peace, reported the Prophet as saying, If I did not fear that it would be burdensome on my community, I would order them to use the tooth-stick before every prayer. It was also reported, I commanded the use of a tooth-stick so often that I feared it would be written against me. In preparation for making ablution one should say, inaudibly, if making the ablution in the toilet/bathroom, In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, and the Most Merciful. O my Lord, I seek refuge in You from the evil suggestions of the satans. O my Lord, I seek refuge in You lest the attend me. (Koran 23:97-98). This is followed by washing the hands thrice whilst saying, O Allah, I pray to You for good fortune and blessing and I seek refuge with You from ill fortune and disaster. This is followed by either making the intention to remove filth, or to fulfill the ritual preparation that is necessary for worshipping, and must not be omitted. Then take a handful of water and rinse your mouth three times, making sure that the water reaches the back of it unless one is fasting, in which case care must be taken not to swallow any water and say, O Allah, I intend to read from Your Book and to have Your Name on my lips through the steadfast word make me steadfast in this life and in the everlasting life. Then, take a handful of water and sniff it up into your nose three times and then expel the moisture from your nose; while sniffing it in say, O Allah, make me breathe in the fragrance of Paradise, and may I be pleasing to You. While expelling the moisture from the nose say, O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the odors of Hell and from the evil abode. Then take a handful of water for your face. As you wash your face say, O Allah, make my face white through Your light on the day when You whiten the faces of Your elect, and do not blacken my face with darkness on the day when You blacken the faces of Your enemies. Start by washing the face immediately under the hairline above the forehead down to the bottom of the chin and then from ear to ear. Be sure to make the water penetrates to the roots of the four places where the hair grows: the eye-brows, mustache, eye-lashes and cheeks, in other words, what lies in front of the ears from the beginning of the beard. The water must also penetrate as far as the roots of the hair of the thin part of the beard, however, it is unnecessary for the thick part. Next, wash the right hand and arm up to the limits of the elbow, and repeat the washing on the left hand and arm; this is because the adornment in Paradise reaches the places touched by ablution. As you wash your right hand supplicate, O Allah, give me my book in my right hand and grant me an easy reckoning. Whilst washing the left hand supplicate, O Allah, I take refuge with You from being given my book in my left hand or behind my back. Next, moisten the hands and wipe them over your head thrice, keeping the finger-tips of the right and left hands close together. Start by placing them on the fore part of the head and moving them back to the nape of the neck, then bring them forward again whilst supplicating, O Allah, deliver my neck from the Fire; O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the chains and fetters. Then without re-moisturizing the hands, wipe the external parts of both ears back and front. This is followed by the washing of the feet thrice. Start by washing the right foot up to and including the ankles and with the little finger of your left hand wash between each toe beginning with the little toe starting the washing from underneath the toe. The washing is then repeated on the left foot. The washing should also include the area up to the mid-calf of the leg. Whilst washing the feet supplicate, O Allah, I seek refuge with You that You may not cause my feet to slip from the path into the Fire on the day when You cause the feet of the hypocrites and idolaters to slip. When camping or hiking it is recommended to make ablution in a squatting position on an elevated place, facing the direction of prayer so as to prevent water splashing back up. Having completed the ablution, the worshiper should raise his/her eyes towards the heavens and supplicate inaudibly as in all supplications made in the toilet/bathroom, I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, alone. He has no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His worshiper and His messenger. Glory and praise be to You O Allah. I bear witness that there is no god except You. I have done evil and my soul has done wrong. I seek Your pardon and turn to You in penitence. Pardon me and accept my repentance, for You are the Forgiving, the Merciful. O Allah make me one of the penitent, make me one of the pure, make me one of Your righteous worshipers, make me patient and grateful, make me to remember You frequently, and that I shall praise you early and late. When a person makes such supplications during the performance of the ablution, his/her sins have departed from each part of his/her body. Also, a seal has been set upon his/her ablution and has been raised to beneath the Throne of Allah and without cessation praises and exalts Allah and the reward of that ablution is recorded in his/her book to the Day of Resurrection. Seven things should be avoided whilst making the ablution. In the terms of jurisprudence they are referred to being objectionable. The head should not be shaken so as to splash the water. The water used to wash the head and nose should not be made noisily. Refrain from talking. Restrict the washing to thrice. Do not use an excess of water because the devil plays with the excess. Avoid making ablution with water that has lain in the sun and do not use copper vessels. It has also been said that if a person remembers Allah whilst making his/her ablution, Allah purifies his/her whole body. If he/she does not remember Allah, He purifies only those parts that are reached by water. The major ablution: A major ablution is obligatory when a person experiences a wet-dream or has sexual intercourse. The first step in making this kind of ablution is to wash the hand three times and then remove the defilement from the body, the proceed to make ablution as one would do before praying, i.e. the minor ablution, but delaying the washing of the feet. Having completed the minor ablution water is then poured over the head three times, and during this time the intention to remove the impurity is made. This is followed by pouring water over the right side of the body three times as one rubs the front and back of the body, this is then repeated on the left side. Then the hair is made wet and the beard. The water should reach not only the roots of all hairs but also the folds in the body. If after having taken the major ablution ones hand touches the penis, the ablution is to be repeated. Basically, the obligatory things in the major ablution are the intention, removal of the impurity and the washing of the whole body with the feet being the last to be washed. Whereas the minor ablution of besides the intention, it is obligatory to wash the face, hands, including the elbows and feet up to the ankles thrice. SELECTIONS Black = material Green = spiritual Obligatory work is the capital on which trading activities are based and through which mankind arrives safely. Voluntary work, that is going the extra mile, is the profit that gives man a higher degree of success. Page 90 1. Nothing brings men near to Me like the performan of what I made obligatory for them; and through voluntary works My worshiper comes nearer to Me until I love him. When I have bestowed My love on him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Fulfillment is attained by continuously watching over ones heart and ones limbs. Page 91 If you speak loudly, He has indeed knowledge of the secret and the hidden. 20.7 He, (Allah) knows the furtive looks of the eyes and what the chests conceal. 40:19 Plan your time and order your activities so that you may thereby become aware of shortcomings in yourself that you have over looked .page 91 and 105 Make the intention to do good. Go over in your heart the many ways of doing good. Attend to the necessities of life, family in a way that harms no one. Page 105 and 109 Upon waking let the first activity of the heart and tongue be to mention the Creator. Look for the good in everything (my insertion) Cleansing washes away sins page 93 Hygiene teeth cleansing Entering/ touring the Abrahamic mosques in Jewish, Christian and Muslim countries The fruit of knowledge is only in the activity on which it is based, page 99 Supplication: O Allah, I have arrived at this morning and am unable to repel what I loathe and to gain what I hope for; by Your hand this morning has come and not by the hand of any other. I am obliged to do my work and no needier person is greater in need that I am of You, while no rich person is less in need than You are of me. O Allah, do not let my enemy rejoice over me, and do not let my friend think evil of me. May I not fall into misfortune in Your religion? May this world not be the greatest of my cares, nor the sum of my knowledge. Do not let those who have no mercy for me prevail over me by my sin. 105 Balance between work and spiritually. Select a job that has benefit for ones fellow men. The best way is to devote time to seeking really useful knowledge distinct from that which people busy themselves in and which they call knowledge. Really useful knowledge is that which makes you grow in the fear of Allah, in awareness of your own faults, and in knowledge of the service of your Lord. It decreases your desire for this world and increases your desire for the life to come; it opens your eyes to the defects in your conduct so that you guard against them; it makes you aware of the wiles and deceptions of the devil and how he imposes on evil intellectuals until he exposes them to the hate and anger of Allah the Most High, in that they buy this world at the price of religion and make their knowledge a means of gaining wealth from the powers that be and of unjustly consuming the wealth of trust-endowments for the poor and orphans, all their thoughts throughout the day are directed to the quest of worldly influence and a place in the hears of mankind, and that forces them to hypocrisy, to quarrelsomeness, to disputatiousness in matter of theology and metaphysics, to boastfulness. On the other hand, the conception of useful knowledge is what we have already expounded in THE REVIVAL OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCES CHECK THIS OUT. If you accept it and practice it, then teach it and preach it. As Jesus said, When a man knows these things and practices them that man shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. When you have completed that, and completed the reform of yourself outwardly and inwardly, and you still have some time free, there is no harm in spending it in the study of different legal rites to become familiar with its details with regard to the acts of service to the Creator, and the method of mediation between men when the following of their passions leads them to quarrels. If spending your time in such prevents you from your spiritual obligations you have a problem because the devil has secretly infected your heart with latent disease which is the love of wealth and influence. The important thing is soundness of intention. If the intention is not sound, it becomes a point where fools are deceived and mens feet slip. Four spiritual classifications: 1. Safety i.e. doing the obligatory. 2. Above the standard, doing voluntary deeds. 3. Below the standard, failure to do what is incumbent page 110 Three material classifications: 1. Desire through compassion and filling hearts with happiness. 2. Indifference, i.e. that of animals in which others neither benefit nor harm from them. 3. People cannot expect any good from you. Page 110 Strike a daily balance by making yourself busy with good deeds for this life and the next, matters which are indispensable. If you are unable to your duties to the Creator try solitude to attain peace. If solitude draws you away to what is displeasing |
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