Chapter IV: Poverty and Renunciation
If he had given me a loan I would have surely repaid it.
Take my coat of mail and buy some wheat on mortgaging it.
When he came out, this verse was revealed : Don't prolong your eyes for the things of various kinds I have given them for enjoyments, the splendor of the life of this world, through which I test them, but the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring — 28 : 131.
The Prophet said : He who among you rises at morn with his body sound, mind serene and with his daily livelihood, all the • treasures of the world were as it were gathered for him. God said to Moses : When you see poverty coming to you say, welcome to the sign of the virtuous. The saint Ata Khorasani said : Once a Prophet was passing by the bank of a river and saw a man catching fishes. He threw his net in the name of God but did not get any fish. Then he passed by another man who threw his net in the name of the devil and got huge quantity of fish. The Prophet said : O my God, what is this matter ? You know that everything is in your hand. God said to the angels : Show to My servant the states of the two fisherman. When Moses saw the high honour kept for the first man and disgrace and dishonor for the second man, he said : O my Lord, I am satisfied, Our Prophet said : I peeped in to paradise and saw that the majority of its innamtes are poor men. I peeped into Hell and saw that the majority of its inamates are the rich and women.
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The Prophet said: Poverty is a present for a believer in the world. It is reported in another tradition: Among the Prophets the Prophet Solaiman would go last to Paradise for his riches and among my followers Abdur Rahman-b-Auf will go last to Paradise on account of his wealth. Jesus Christ said : A rich man will enter paradise with great difficulty. The Prophet said : When God loves a servant, he surrounds him with dangers and difficulties, and when he loves one most. He gives him Eqtana.
The companions asked him : What is Eqtana ? The Prophet said :
It is a condition of one who leaves no property and family. The Prophet also said : When you see poverty coming say. welcome to the sign of the virtuous. When you see wealth coming say : The punishment of sins is soon coming. Once the Prophet Moses asked God : O my Lord, who is dearest to Thee among Thy creations? I will love him God said : Every poor man. The Prophet Jesus Christ said : Certainly I love poverty and hate wealth.