Aslam

its dwellers. Abu Hafs said: You have disclosed what you ought

to have concealed: You will not be able to remain with us.' So

. there is no other alternative for show than to conceal divine

service. At first it will seem very difficult but ultimately it will be

easy. God does not change the condition of a people unless they

change their own condition. The duty of man is to make sincere

efforts in divine service and it is the duty of God to give him

guidance. People will knock at the door of God and God will

open it. God does not spoil the rewards of a pious man. If he does

one act of virtues. He increases it manifold and gives him ample

rewards.

Thoughts that beget show are three and the modes of removing them are as follows. Sometimes the three thoughts occur together in mind and it seems that they are the same current of thought. Sometimes one thought comes after another, (a) The first thought that arises in mind is that the people should know your good works, (b) The second thought is to hope that those who come to know of it should think it good, (c) The third thought is to believe firmly that it is good when the people praise it and think it good. Firstly, when you can know that the people have come to know of your good works, remove your greed that the people should know your good deeds. Tell your mind: What necessity have you got that the people should know it? God knows best your condition. Man has got no hand in your affairs.
If the second thought arises in your mind, remove it by thinking that God will hate it on the Resurrection Day you will be deprivded of it when I will require it. When the third current of thought arises on your mind, think in this way. In the next world, the man of show will suffer humiliations. Only sincere efforts in divine service will be taken into account. If for the fault of show, divine services are spoiled, there will be great remorse on the Resurrection Day. This fear will dispel the thought of show of the third kind Hazrat Jaber said: We took oath of allegiance to the Prophet under the tree that we shall not flee from fight but in the battle of Hunain we forgot it. Then the Prophet said: O those who promised under the tree. Immediately we returned to the battle field and our minds were filled up with fear. Once some companions of the Prophet complained to him by saying:

Vol-III Love of power and show 235

Sometimes such thoughts come to our minds that we feel that we should rather fall to the ground, that wind should lift us up and the wind should blow us off to inaccessible places than to disclose it. The Prophet said: Do you feel it now? They said: Yes.
Then he said: This is open faith. They hated it by thinking that it is evil thought. But the Prophet thought it to be open faith as they had hated it. The Prophet said: AH praise is due to God who turned the contrivance of the devil to evil designs.

FREEDOM FROM BASELESS THOUGHTS OF SHOW: If