Chapter V: Oneness of God and Trust in God
(2) The second mode of putting God-reliance in to practice is saving. There are three conditions of a man who get wealth either by inheritance or by earning or by any other means. The first condition is to adopt everything up to the measure of necessity, to eat when hungry to put on cloth to cover nakedness and to take a house only for habitation in absence of any house. Such a person keeps away from other properties and materials. He takes only what is necessary, but does not hoard. This is the highest stage of God-reliance. The second condition is opposite to the first stage. He gives up God-reliance if he stores up provision for more than one year. A certain sage said that there are three kinds of animals who store up provision — rats ants and men.
The third stage of God-reliance is of a person who hoards up provisions for 40 days or less Uian'40 days. Sahal Tastari ousted him from the limit of God-reliance. Ibrahim Khawas also entertained the same opinion. Abu Taleb Makki retained him within the limit. Every good thing has got its beginning and end.
Those who reach the end are called "Sabeqin" or those going in advance. Those who remain in the initial stage are called the companions of fortune (Ashabul Yemin). There are different stages of these companions and also of Sabeqin. The fortunate persons of first stage are attached to the persons of the lowest stage going in advance. So under the circumstances there is no meaning in fixing time and measures of saving. The real thing is
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that God-reliance does not become perfect without curtailing hopes in case saving is given up. The lowest stage of hope is one day and one night or even lower than that and the highest stage of hope is the life span of a man. There is a great deal of difference in it. Hazrat Moses fasted consequitively for 40 days in order to attain spiritual height. Without that, he could not leave reached it according to the laws of God, as the Prophet said : God prepared the earth to create Adam for 40 days, as the earth required these days to be fit for making Adam, In short he who hoards up for more then 40 days goes out of God reliance for his weak mind and for his attachment to external causes. God is the ultimate cause of provision and food-stuffs are only a means to it. If reliance is placed upon provisions of a year, how can there be God reliance ? He who hoards for two months only is certainly higher than he who hoards for a year. He who does not hoard at all is the best.