Chapter VII: Evils of Wealth and Miserliness
Once the Prophet was circumbulating the Ka'ba and found a man catching the cover of the Ka'ba saying: O God, forgive me by virtue of this holy Ka'ba. The Prophet said: Tell me your sin.
He said : My sin is greater, greater than mountain, sea, sky, Throne, The Prophet said : Is your sin greater than God ? He said :
God is greatest. The Prophet said : Tell me your sin. He said : I had enormous riches and beggars used to come to me to beg.
Then it appeared to me that they were approaching me with sticks of fire. The Prophet said : Be off from me, least I may be consumed by fire. By One who sent me with guidance, if you can pray for two lac years standing between this Rokan and Maqam and then weep so much that your tears run a river and as a result trees grow and thereafter you die on miserliness, God will roll you down in Hell. Woe to you, you know that miserliness is infidelity and infidelity is in Hell. Don;tyou know that God says?
He who is a miser shows miserliness against himself and those who are saved from miserliness of his soul are indeed successful.
Wise sayings. Muhammad-b-Munkader said : It is wellknown that when God does not wish good of a people, He give power to the impious of them to rule over them and places their provision in the hands of the misers of them. Once a woman was praised before the Prophet. They said that she fasts all the year round and prays the whole night, but she has got miserliness. The Prophet said : Than what good does she posses ?
The saint Bashr said : Heart becomes hard if look is cast on the misers and trouble comes to the hearts of the believers if they meet with the misers. Ihya-6-Ma'az said : There grows love in mind for the charitable persons and there grows hatred in mind for the misers even if they are virtuous. Once the Prophet Ihya (John) saw the devil in his own form and asked him : O devil, inform me who is the dearest to you and the most hated ? The devil said : The dearest to me is the miserly believer and the most hated to me is the charitable sinner. On being asked its cause, he
194 The Book of Destructive evils VoI-IH
said : Miserliness of the miser is sufficient for me. If charitable man commits sin. I fear lest God shows mercy on him for his generosity.
MERITS OF ISAR (SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS)