(177) The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods; fools only do not praise liberality; a wise man rejoices in liberality, and through it becomes blessed in the other world.

(2) (And if Thy guardian is verily to save our wealth) how shall he (obtain, and by what means shall he) seek after that joy-creating Kine (who is the living symbol of our peace )? (How shall that man obtain his wish) who shall desire to see her provided with pastures for (the welfare of) this land? (That only way is righteousness.) Do Thou then grant me lands (so would I ask of Thee) which live in justice in the many splendours of the sun, and lands which openly thus live, and which are to be sought and gained by me (as conquests for the cause). Give Thou this gift!

(27) And God Almighty bless thee and increase and multiply thee that thou maycst become a company of nations, and give thee the blessings of my father Abraham, to thee and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings and all the land which God gave to Abraham : go, my son, in peace."

(151) Now come on, you Electionists, and contenders about the Election of Grace, you that suppose you alone are in the right, and esteem a simple faith to be but a foolish thing; you have danced long enough before this door, and have made your boast of the Scriptures, that they maintain that God has of grace chosen some men in their mother's womb to the kingdom of heaven, and reprobated or rejected others.

(26) Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee ; And may all the blessings wherewith the Lord hath blessed me and blessed Abraham, my father, Be imparted to thee and to thy seed for ever : Cursed be he that curseth thee, And blessed be he that blesseth thee."

(23) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(36) Remember ye, my sons, the Lord God of Abraham your father, and how I too worshipped Him and served Him in righteousness and in joy, that He might multiply you and increase your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude, and establish you on the earth as the plant of righteousness which will not be rooted out unto all the generations for ever.

(2) A pious man who was on the true path saw Sultan Mahmud in a dream and said to him: 'O auspicious King, how are things in the Kingdom of Eternity?' The Sultan replied:

' Strike my body if you wish but leave my soul alone. Say nothing, and depart, for here one does not speak of royalty. My power was only vanity and self-pride, conceit and error. Can sovereignty exalt a handful of earth? Sovereignty belongs to God, the Master of the Universe. Now that I have seen my weaknesses and my impotence, I am ashamed of my royalty. If you wish to give me a title, give me that of "the afflicted one". God is the King of Nature, so do not call me king. Empire belongs to him; and I would be happy now to be a simple dervish on earth. Would to God he had a hundred weUs to put me in so that I had not been a ruler. Rather would I have been a gleaner in the cornfields. Call Mahmud a slave. Give my blessings to my son Masud, and say to him: " If you would have understanding take warning from your father's state. May the wings and the feathers wither of that Humay which cast its shadow upon me!"'

(5) I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities. I have shewed you how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said,

(223) Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!

(56) Accordingly he has not forbidden us to be rich in the right way, but only a wrongful and insatiable grasping of money. For "property gained unlawfully is diminished." "There are some who sow much and gain the more, and those who hoard become impoverished." Of them it is written: "He distributed, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever." For he who sows and gathers more is the man who by giving away his earthly and temporal goods has obtained a heavenly and eternal prize; the other is he who gives to no one, but vainly "lays up treasure on earth where moth and rust corrupt"; of him it is written: "In gathering motley, he has gathered it into a condemned cell." Of his land the Lord says in the gospel that it produced plentifully; then wishing to store the fruits he built larger store-houses, saying to himself in the words dramatically put into his mouth "You have many good things laid up for many years to come, eat, drink, and be merry. You fool," says the Lord, "this night your soul shall be required of you. Whose then shall be the things you have prepared?"

(3) A man was always complaining of the bitterness of poverty, so Ibrahim Adham said to him: "My son, perhaps you have not paid for your poverty?' The man replied: "What you say is nonsense, how can one buy poverty?' "I at least,' said Adham, "have chosen it voluntarily and I have bought it at the price of the kingdom of the world. And I would still buy a moment of this poverty for a hundred of those worlds.'

Men who have a thirst for self-perfection stake both soul and body on the issue. The bird of aspiration soars to God,

lifted on the wings of faith above things temporal and spiritual. If you have not this aspiration it is better to withdraw.

(25) And may He give them this goodly land — as He said He would give it to Abraham and to his seed after him alway * — And may they hold it as a possession for ever.

(6) And this man was our Patriarch; hence whoever Doth follow him as he commands can see That he is laden with good merchandise. But for new pasturage his flock has grown So greedy, that it is impossible They be not scattered over fields diverse; And in proportion as his sheep remote And vagabond go farther off from him, More void of milk return they to the fold. Verily some there are that fear a hurt, And keep close to the shepherd; but so few, That little cloth doth furnish forth their hoods. Now if my utterance be not indistinct, If thine own hearing hath attentive been, If thou recall to mind what I have said, In part contented shall thy wishes be; For thou shalt see the plant that's chipped away, And the rebuke that lieth in the words, 'Where well one fattens, if he strayeth not.'"

(3) Sultan Mahmud once took prisoner an old rajah, who, experiencing the love of God, became a Musulman and renounced the two worlds. Sitting alone in his tent he becamequite absorbed by this, weeping bitter tears and heaving sighs of longing - in the day more than in the night, and in the night more than in the day. At last Mahmud heard of this and summoned him: ' Do not weep and lament,' he said, 'you are a Rajah and I will give you a hundred kingdoms for the one you have lost.' 'O Padishah,' replied the Hindu, 'I do not weep for my lost kingdom or my dignity. I weep, because on the day of resurrection, God, the possessor of glory, will say to me: "O disloyal man, you have sown against me the grain of insult. Before Mahmud attacked you, you never thought of me. Only when you had to bring your army against him and lost everything did you remember me. Do you think this is just?" O, young king, it is because I am ashamed that I weep in my old age.'

Listen to the words of justice and faith; listen to the teaching in the Diwan of the Sacred Books. If you have faith, then undertake the journey to which I invite you.

But shall he who is not in the index of fidelity be found in the chapter of generosity!

(24) For to thee and to thy seed shall I give all this land, and I shall estab- lish My oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father, and I shall multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and shall give unto thy seed all this land. II. And in thy seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thy father obeyed My voice, and kept My charge and My commandments, and' My laws, and My ordinances, and My covenant ; and now obey My voice and dwell in this land." 2080-

(63) Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing. Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears hear."

(4) "For Abraham, who for his free faith was called ' the friend of God,' was not elated by glory, but modestly said, 'I am dust and ashes.' And of Job it is thus written: ' Job was just and blameless, true and pious, abstaining from all evil.'" He it was who overcame the tempter by patience, and at once testified and was testified to by God; who keeps hold of humility, and says, "No one is pure from defilement, not even if his life were but for one day." "Moses, 'the servant who was faithful in all his house,' said to Him who uttered the oracles from the bush,' Who am I, that Thou sendest me? I am slow of speech, and of a stammering tongue,' to minister the voice of God in human speech. And again: ' I am smoke from a pot.'" "For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."

(15) And exhibiting the Christian life, he writes in the Theoetetus in these words: "Let us now speak of the highest principles. For why should we speak of those who make an abuse of philosophy? These know neither the way to the forum, nor know they the court or the senate-house, or any other public assembly of the state. As for laws and decrees spoken or written, they neither see nor hear them. But party feelings of political associations and public meetings, and revels with musicians [occupy them]; but they never even dream of taking part in affairs. Has any one conducted himself either well or ill in the state, or has aught evil descended to a man from his forefathers? - it escapes their attention as much as do the sands of the sea.

(17) Here, my entrusted talent, which I have received, I will let out for interest, profit and increase, as I am commanded to do, and he that will deal with me in this way of gain or usury, it shall be free for him, he may freely do it, whether he be a Christian, a Jew, a Turk or a Heathen; it is all the same to me; my warehouse shall stand open for every one, none shall be tricked or deceived, but shall be dealt with in all fairness.