Chapter IV: Poverty and Renunciation
Be generous to one who
" distributes wealth.
The honour and property
gained from Him perish
The satisfaction arising therefrom does not get old.
SUPERIORITY OF POVERTY OVER WEALTH. Know, O readers, that the learned differed whether wealth is better than poverty or poverty is better than wealth. The savants Junaid, Khowas and other held that poverty is better than wealth. It is true in a general sense but doubt arises in two cases - firstly in the case of patient poor man who has no greed for wealth but remains satisfied with his lot and secondly in the case of a wealthy man who spends his wealth in good works and has got no greed for amassing wealth. The rich man who spends money in good works in better than the greedy poor man. The rich man
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156 THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES Vol-IV
who remains engrossed in his riches is not better than the poor man who has greed for wealth. It is related that the poor once complained to the Prophet saying : the rich men do all acts of piety namely charity, Zakat pilgrimage. Jihad ect. The Prophet taught them certain words in praise of God and reminded them that the merits gained by the rich for this Doa (invocation) will be much less than those gained by the poor. The Prophet said that it is the grace of God and that God gives it to whom He wishes, the saint Ata quoted this Hadis and said that the rich are better than the poor. The meaning is reverse as it was said in that Hadis that the merits of the poor gained by the Doa are greater.