Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 473
27 September 1905 473 said that you have never issued a fatwa [religious verdict] for [cleaning] something so tiny. What a subtle response he gave in reply: ‘That is fatwa and this is taqw a [righteousness]. Thus, one should be mindful of the subtleties of taqw a ; security lies in this alone. If he does not care about the little things, then one day those little things will make him commit big sins, and he will perish due to the development of unscru- pulousness and carelessness in his disposition. Your goal should be to achieve the highest levels of taqw a , and for this, attention to the subtleties of taqw a is essential. In the same fashion, they say that someone asked Dhun- N u n Mi s r i rta how much Zak a t was due on 40 gold coins. Dhun-N u n said that Zak a t of 40 gold coins is 40 gold coins. The questioner was surprised at this reply and asked, ‘How so?’ At this, Dhun-N u n said, ‘Why did he have 40 in his posses- sion?’, as if to imply why he had not already spent them in the way of God—why did he accumulate them in the first place? This is verily what is come to be understood from the Shariah. It is said that some Mu h addith [scholar of Hadith] used to deliver sermons. A Sufi also heard his sermon. He then told him, ‘ Mu h addith Sahib, you should give Zak a t as well. ’ The Mu h addith replied, ‘I do not have any wealth. What should I give Zak a t on?’ The Sufi said, ‘For every 40 hadith you narrate to people, you should act upon at least one of them. ’ Three Classes of Human Beings The Promised Messiah as said: Three ranks of man are appointed in Islam: ٖ ه ِ س ْ ف َ ِّْن ل ٌ م ِ ل َظَا ٖ ه ِ س ْ ف َ ِّْن ل ٌ م ِ ل َظَا [ z a i mul - l li-nafsi— hard upon themselves], ٌ د ِ ص َْتَ ق ُ م ٌ د ِ ص َْتَ ق ُ م [ muqta s idun— take the