Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 473
27 SEPTEMBER 1905 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 taqwā [righteousness]. Thus, one should be mindful of the subtleties of taqwā; 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 taqwā, and for this, attention to the subtleties of taqwā is essential. In the same fashion, they say that someone asked Dhun- Nūn Mişrīrta how much Zakāt was due on 40 gold coins. Dhun-Nūn said that Zakat of 40 gold coins is 40 gold coins. The questioner was surprised at this reply and asked, 'How so?' At this, Dhun-Nūn 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 Muhaddith [scholar of Hadith] used to deliver sermons. A Sufi also heard his sermon. He then told him, 'Muhaddith Şahib, you should give Zakāt as well. The Muhaddith replied, 'I do not have any wealth. What should I give Zakāt 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 Messiahas said: Three ranks of man are appointed in Islam : ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ ]zalimul- li-nafsi-hard upon themselves[ مُقْتَصِدٌ ]muqtasidun-take the 473