Chapter VI: Love, Longing, Contentment
Abu Yezid told this to such a person who has got the disease of engagement with himself and also the disease that the people might look at him. There is no cure for such a disease without such a medicine. He who cannot use that medicine should not deny the cure of such a decease. This is the lowest stage of faith. Alas for him who has been deprived of this little quantity of faith. Inspite of this, he who claims to be a learned man of Shariat is far away from such a condition.
The Prophet said: The faith of a man does not becomes perfect till the little quantity of a thing does not become dearer to him than its bigger quantity. The Prophet also said: The faith of man is perfect who has got three qualities in him -(1) he does not fear the slander of a slanderer, (2) he does not do anything of his divine service for show of people and (3) when two things appear before him, one of this world and another of the next world he perfects more of the thing of the next world over that of this world. The Prophet said: The faith of nobody becomes perfect still he has got three conducts in him -(1) when he becomes angry, his wrath does not oust him from truth, (2) when he becomes pleased, his pleasure does not enter in void actions and, (3) when share is settled: he does not accept what is not due to him.
The Trophet said: When three things are given to a man, he has been given what David was given -justice in angef and pleasure, moderate expense in solvency and poverty and fear of God secretly and openly. The Prophet mentioned these conditions for a good faith. There is in Hadis that God revealed to a certain Prophet: I take him as a friend who does not cease to remember Me, who has got no other thought except My thought and who does not prefer anything of My creation except Me, who being burnt by fire does not feel pangs of burning, who if cut off by saw, does not feel sorrow at the touch of saw. How can miracles and Kashf appear in one whose love has not reached this stage? These matters occur after love and love comes after
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perfection of faith. There is no limit to the stages of faith and the difference of its increase and decrease.