Second Discussion

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اِنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ ٭ وَكَاَيِّنْ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ لاَ تَحْمِلُ رِزْقَهَا اَللّٰهُ يَرْزُقُهَا وَاِيَّاكُمْ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ1

O people of îmân! You understood from the previous discussion how harmful enmity is. Understand, too, that greed is a detrimental disease as terrible as enmity for the life of Islam. Greed is the cause of disappointment, deficiency and disgrace; it brings deprivation and misery. Yes, the disgrace and misery of the Jewish nation, who by greed pounce the world more than any other nation, is decisive evidence for this judgement. Yes, greed evinces its bad effects in the world of living beings, from the widest sphere to the most particular of individuals. Reversely, striving for rizq with tawakkul is the source of ease and it evinces its beautiful effects everywhere.

Thus, since fruit trees and plants, which are a kind of living being and in need of rizq, stand still contentedly in their place with tawakkul and do not display any greed, their rizq runs to them. They feed much more offspring than the animals. As for the animals, they obtain their rizq with many deficiencies and difficulties, since they pursue it greedily.

Within the sphere of animals, the halal, perfect and delicate rizq of the young, who do tawakkul through the language of their impotence and weakness, being given from the treasury of rahmah, and the haram and unpleasant rizq, which the beasts — who pounce their rizq greedily — obtain with many difficulties, demonstrate that greed is the cause of deprivation, while tawakkul and contentment are the means of rahmah.

Within the sphere of mankind, the haram wealth of interest (ribâ), which the Jewish nation — who cling to the world greedily more than any other nation and adhere to the life of the world with an intense love — gained with many difficulties, the wealth, which they are only its treasurers, the benefit of which is little for them, and the blows of abasement and misery, death and insult they received from all nations demonstrate that greed is the source of disgrace and loss.

There are so many events regarding a greedy person being exposed to loss that 2 اَلْحَرِيصُ خَائِبٌ خَاسِرٌ has become a proverb and is accepted as a universal haqiqah by everyone. Since this is so, if you love possessions, strive for them not with greed but with contentment so that they will come abundantly.

The people of contentment and the people of greed resemble two persons who enter the large hall of a great personage. One of them says from his heart: "It is enough for me if he only admits me and I am saved from the cold outside. Even if they give me the lowermost chair, it is a kindness." The second man conceitedly says it is as if he had a right and everyone were obliged to respect him: "He should give me the highest chair." He enters with such greed, fixes his gaze on the high positions and wants to reach them. But the lord of the great hall turns him back and seats him in a low position. While being thankful was necessary for him, he does not thank him but rather criticizes the lord of the house. The lord of the house also detests him. The first man enters humbly and wishes to sit in the lowest chair. Such contentment of him pleases the lord of the great hall; he says: “Please come to the higher chair.” He also gradually increases his thankfulness and his gladness multiplies.

Thus, this world is a great hall of Ar-Rahmân. The face of the earth is a table of rahmah. The degrees of rizq and grades of ni’mah are the chairs.

Also, even in the most minor of affairs, everyone can feel the bad effects of greed.

For example, when two beggars ask for something, everyone, in his heart, feels detest for the one who importunes greedily, and no one wants to give what he asks, and everyone feels mercy for the quiet one and wants to give him.

Also, for example, you lose your sleep at night; when you want to sleep, you can go to sleep if you remain careless. But if you want to sleep greedily and say: "Let me sleep, let me sleep", you will lose your sleep entirely.

Also, for example, you greedily wait for someone for some significant consequences, saying: "He still hasn't come, he still hasn't come", ultimately greed will try your patience; you will get up and leave; one minute later, the person will come, but that significant consequence you waited for will be destroyed.

The mystery of these events is as follows: Just as bread comes into existence as a result of the field, harvest, mill and bakery, so too, in the arrangement of all things, there is a slow deliberation of hikmah. Since he does not act with slow deliberation due to greed, he will not conform to the ma’nawî steps that exist in the well-ordered things. He will either jump and fall or miss one step; he cannot reach his goal.

O brothers dazed by the struggle for livelihood and became drunk by the greed for the world! Although greed is such a detrimental and calamitous thing, how can you commit all kinds of acts of baseness in the way of greed and accept all kinds of goods without considering whether it is halal or haram and sacrifice many things necessary for the âkhirah? While zakat is a cause of barakah and calamity repellent for everyone, you even abandon zakat, one of the most important pillars of Islam, in the way of greed. In any case, the one who does not give zakat will lose goods as much as zakat; either he will spend it on some unnecessary places, or a calamity will come and take it from him.

In a veracious imaginary dream, in the fifth year of the First World War, it was asked to me in a strange dream:

"What is the reason for this hunger, financial loss and physical hardship that befall the Muslims?"

I said in the dream:

"Janâb-i Haqq wanted tenth from some of the goods {Note: That is, from the goods like wheat that He freshly gives every year.} or He wanted fortieth from some of the goods {Note: That is, from the forty He formerly gave; every year generally He freshly gives at least ten from that forty in the form of the profit in trade or the progeny of animals.} that He bestowed on us so that He can make us gain the du’â of the poor and prevent us from their rancour and envy. Due to avariciousness on account of our greed, we did not give. Janâb-i Haqq has taken His accumulated zakat, a thirtieth out of forty, eighth out of ten."

"He also wanted from us a hunger with seventy hikmahs in only one month each year. We pitied our nafs and did not suffer that temporary pleasurable hunger. As a punishment, for five years, Janâb-i Haqq compelled us to hold a kind of sawm with seventy kinds of misfortune."

"He also wanted one hour out of twenty-four hours, a kind of pleasing and sublime, luminous and beneficial Rabbânî drill from us. Due to laziness, we did not fulfil such salâh and supplication. Joining that single hour with the other hours, we wasted it. As its kaffarah, by drilling, exercises and making us run for five years, Janâb-i Haqq made us perform a kind of salâh."

Then I woke up, thought and understood that there was an extremely important haqiqah in that imaginary dream. As proven and explained in the Twenty-Fifth Word, in the discussion of the comparison of civilization and the laws of the Qur'an, two words are the sources of all immorality, disorder and rebellion in the social life of mankind:

One of them is: "So long as I am full, what is it to me if others die of hunger?"

The Second: "You work; I will eat."

What perpetuates these two words are the current of interest (ribâ) and the abandonment of zakat. The only remedy that will cure these two terrible social diseases is putting zakat into force as a universal principle and its being an imperative obligation and forbidding interest (ribâ). Zakat is the most important pillar for the happiness of life not only for individuals and particular societies but rather for all mankind; it is the pillar for the continuation of the life of men.

Because there are two classes of men: The upper and lower classes. It is zakat that will assure compassion and beneficence in the upper classes toward the lower and respect and obedience in the lower classes toward the upper. If there be not, from the upper, cruelty and oppression will descend on the lower classes, and from the lower, rancour and rebellion will rise against the rich. Two classes of men would have a permanent ma’nawî struggle and conflict arising from disagreement. Gradually, they will start to throttle one another in the form of the struggle for capital and labour, as has happened in Russia.

O munificent people of conscience! O beneficent people of generosity! If the bestowals are not in the name of zakat, they have three harms. And sometimes, it will be in vain. Since you do not give in the name of Allah, you cast your favour in his teeth in a mana’wî manner; you put the helpless poor in captivity of indebtedness. You will be deprived of his acceptable du’â as well. While you are an official of distribution appointed to give the possessions of Janâb-i Haqq to His ‘abds, imagining yourself to be the owner of possessions, you deny the ni’mah of Allah (kufr an-ni’mah). If you give in the name of zakat, you will gain a sawâb since you give in the name of Janâb-i Haqq; you will display a shukr for the ni’mah. The needy person, too, will not be compelled to flatter and fawn upon you; his dignity will not be shattered and his du’â will be accepted on your behalf. Yes, there is no comparison between giving as much as zakat, maybe more bestowal than the zakat, or giving in different forms but earning the harms like riyâ, fame, indebtedness and humiliation with fulfilling a fardh, gaining sawâb, ikhlas and an acceptable du’â by performing the same good deeds in the name of zakat?

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ الَّذِى قَالَ اَلْمُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ كَالْبُنْيَانِ الْمَرْصُوصِ يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا وَ قَالَ اَلْقَنَاعَةُ كَنْزٌ لاَ يَفْنَى وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ آمِينَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

* * *