Chapter IX: Meditation
Abu Darda'a said : Know that there are friends of God called Abdul who are the vicegerents of the prophets. They are Kutub or representatives in the world. When the Prophethood ended, God made their successors in their places who appear before the Muslims with true God-fear, pious intention and sound souls and give them sermons although they may not pray and fast and dress greater than most of the people. By this they search God's pleasure with patience without cowardice and humility without meanness. God prefers them and gives them special qualities for Himself. They are thirty to forty truthful persons in number. In their hearts, there is faith firm and strong like that of Hazrat Ibrahim. None of them dies without being replaced by anothef by God. O brother, know that they do not curse anything, don't inflict trouble on anything, don't hold anything in contempt, don't bear enmity will anybody and don't envy anybody. They are the best of the people and best in actions and their conduct is best in modesty a.nd charity. Benevolence is their sing, modesty is their habit and safety is their attribute. They are not such that to-day they fear God and to-morrow they are heedless. They are in the same condition outwardly. No storm or cyclone can ruin them in divine matters and no running horse can surpass them.
Their hearts rise up to God eagerly, merrily and progressively in good works. They are the party of God. God says : God's party will be successful.
The narrator said : O Abu Darda, I have never heard more beautiful statements than this. How can I earn them ? He said : If you like to earn these attributes, hate the world, because when you hate the world, you will proceed towards the love of the next world,.You will take recourse to renunciation of the world in proportion to your love of the next world. You will find things of your benefit in proportion to your renunciation. Hear what God says : God is with those who are God- fearing and who do good to others.
TREATMENT OF PRIDE AND MODES OF ACQUIRING MODESTY: Know, O dear readers, that pride is harmful. Every
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man has got some pride. It is incumbent or compulsory to remove it. It cannot be removed by mere wish but it should be placed under treatment to uproot it. There are two stages of treatment. The first stage is that the root of pride shall be uprooted. The second stage is that the impediments or the causes which generate pride shall have to be removed.