Chapter VIII: Self-Examination and Self-Accounting
There are some signs to show whether a man delivers sermons with divine motive. The first sign is this that he does not hate one who gives better lecture than him and gets praise of men. Sayeed- b-Merwan said: I was once seated near Hazrat Hasan Basari who was then given sermons. Suddenly the tyrant governor Hajjaj came to us through a door of the mosque escorted by his guard and mounted on a horse. He came near the assembly of Hasan Basari and got down from the horse and came to him and sat. Hazrat Hasan continued his sermon as before.
When he finished his sermon, Hajjaj placed his hand on the shoulder of Hasan Basari and said: You have spoken well, you will follow those instructions and form your dharacter and conduct, as I heard from the Prophet that an assembly of Zikr is a garden of Paradise. Had we not been engaged in the affairs of men, you would not have sat in such a place more than myself.
Then Hajjaj began to deliver such good lectures which charmed the audience.
When he went to Syria, a man came to Hasan and said: O Muslims, I am in charge of horses, asses and tents. I have got 300 dirhams which the people gave me. I have got seven daughters.
He began to complain about his wants. When he finished, Hazrat Hasan said: What has become of administrators? May God ruin them. They made the servants of God slaves, took up the treasures of God as their own and fight for money. When they go to make jehad against God's enemies, they live in comfortable beds and ride on fast horses. When they send other Muslims to jehad, they keep them hungry and thirsty. A man who heard this went to Hajjaj and informed him of this rebuking of Hasan Basari. After sometime a man came from Hajjaj to Hasan and told him to see Hajjaj. Hasan went accordingly and came back smiling. He said: Nobody say to a flame of fire what has been said
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to him on trust. When I went to Hajjaj, he said: Don't tell such things in future. Do you investigate people against me? I don't ■ care for it. I don't care for your sermons. You should control your tongue. Hazrat Hasan said: Thus God removed me from him.
Then Hasan started for his house but many people followed him.
He said to them: Have you gotany necessity with me? If you have not, please go away from me.