Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 218
218 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of true spirituality. Otherwise, materialistically speaking these people are quite wealthy and affluent. Provisions by Way of Trial and Provisions by Way of Anointment The fact of the matter is that provisions are of two kinds. There is one form that serves as a trial and the other is by way of anointment. Provisions by way of trial are those which have no relation with Allah; in fact, such provision continues to move man away from God, until it destroys him completely. It is to this that Allah Almighty alludes in the following verse: 15. e. let not your wealth ruin you. Provision by way of anointment is that which is devoted to God. God becomes the Guardian of such people. Such individuals consider all their posses- sions to belong to God and they demonstrate this through their action. Consider the state of the companions—when faced with trying times, they sacrificed what- ever they had in the way of Allah Almighty. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq™ was the first to don the garb of poverty. But how did Allah the Exalted reward him for this? It was he who became the very first Caliph. Therefore, in order to be blessed with true merit, goodness and spiritual pleasure, only that wealth can be of use which is spent in the way of God. ² 30 January 1898 The Truth About the World and Its Pleasures In reality, the world and its pleasures are nothing more than a sport and pastime. They are temporary and short-lived, and the result of these joys is that a person is distanced from God. However, the pleasure derived from attaining deeper insight into God is something which no eye has seen and no ear has heard; none of the other senses have experienced this sensation. It is a piercing phenomenon. At every moment it gives rise to a new form of pleasure which had not been experienced previously. Man has a unique relationship with God Almighty. The divines have presented the most subtle discourses on the bond that exists between the human essence and divine nature of providence. If the mouth of an infant is put up against a al-Munafiqun, 63:10 Al-Hakam, vol. 3, no. 22, dated 23 June 1899, p. 1