Aslam

The saint Rabi-b Khashim was a man of very deep insight. He dug a grave within his house. He tied up his food along with his neck and used to go to this grave and say; O Lord, take me back to the world that I may do good works. Then he used to say: O Rabi, what you wanted has been given to you. Now engage yourself in divine service and you will not be again sent back. This is the medicine for one who remains aloof from expressing

Answer: There are dangers and difficulties as there are gifts.
If there are gifts, there arises the necessity of dangers and difficulties. To get relief from'a danger is a gift and to be deprived of a gift is a danger. Gift is divided into two- limitless gifts and limited gifts. The example of limitless gift is the attainment of the fortune of nearness to God in the next world or of faith and good conduct and the things that help, these two things. The meaning of limited gift is that it is a gift from one point of view and a danger from another point of view. For example, wealth is a gift as it helps religion and it is also a danger as it acts contrary to

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expressing gratefulness. He should know that when gratefulness for a gift is not express, the gift takes a back turn and does not come back again. For this reason, the saint Fazil-b-Iyaz used to say: You should stick to the expression of gratefulness for your gifts. If gifts go away from a nation they seldom come back to them. A certain sage said: Gift is like a wild beast. Keep it confined by gratefulness. There is in Hadis that if gifts descend upon a man profusely, the necessity of his expressing gratefulness becomes great. When he neglects them it prepares itself to go from him.
For this reason, God says: God does not change the condition of a people till they themselves change it - 1 3 : 1 1 .

PATIENCE OF GRATEFULNESS: From what has been described above, it is seen that every created thing is a gift of God. It is also seen from this that there is really no existence of any danger and difficulty.

Question: If there is no danger and difficulty, what is the meaning of patience? If on the other hand, there is danger and difficulty, what is the meaning of gratefulness? How can a man express gratefulness in dangers and difficulties.

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religion. Similar is the division of danger in to limitless danger and limited danger. The former is to be away from God in the next world and the danger of infidelity, sin and bad conduct in this world. Poverty, disease and other calamities, are limited dangers as they are in this world and not in the next. Limitless gratefulness is necessary for limitless gifts. Though wealth is a gift, yet it becomes a cause of destruction, so much so that the owner is even killed for its sake. Similar is the case with health.