Chapter IV: Poverty and Renunciation
(26) He said : Take to world renunciation God will love you.
He said : He who wishes that God should give him wisdom without education and guidance without a guide, should take recourse to world renunciation.
(27) He also said : He who desires to go to Paradise, should hasten to good deed and he who fears Hell should restrain himself from passions. He who hopes for death* should give up pleasures. He who adopts renunciation in the world takes his dangers and difficulties easy.
(28) Our Prophet and Jesus Christ said : Four things can be acquired with difficulty — (1) silence with primary divine service, (2) modesty. (3) excessive remembrance of God (4) and satisfaction with little.
Sayings of the sages. A certain companion said : We have followed every action, but we found nothing more meritorious than world renunciation. (2) Hazrat Omar said : World renunciation brings peace of mind and body. Hazrat Wahab-bin-Monabbah said : Paradise has got eight-doors. When the dwellers of Paradise will be advancing towards those, the door-keepers will say : By the houour of our Lord, none shall enter Paradise except those who renounced the word and those who loved Paradise. The saint Eusof bin-Asbat said : I desire three virtues from God — (1) when death comes to me, I may riot
1 76 THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES Vol-IV