Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 285
APPE N DI X to B AR Ā H Ī N-E-A H M ADIY YA — PART F IV E 285 miserliness, spend their cherished possession in the way of God, and do so out of their own free will. Thus, in this third stage of the spiritual being, those same three excellences are found as in the third stage of the physical being; that is, those that are found in the مضغة [ mu d ghah —piece of flesh] state. Because this is a state in which one spends—in order to be free from miserliness—one’s wealth in the way of Allah and gives away one’s hard earned possessions to someone else purely for the sake of God, it is cer- tainly a state more developed than that of merely shunning frivolous pursuits and vain actions. Within this state one definitely and mani- festly attains purification from the filth of miserliness and develops the relationship with the Merciful God. Since giving up one’s cherished possession for the sake of God is a far greater burden upon the self than shunning vain pursuits, undertaking this harder exercise leads to a greater relationship with God and, due to undertaking a difficult task, the faith is strengthened and intensified. Then, after this, comes the fourth stage of the spiritual being, which Allah the Exalted describes in this noble verse: 1 َو َنْيِذَّلا ْمُه ْمِهِجْوُرُفِل َنْوُظِفٰح Meaning that the believers who rise above the third stage are those who protect themselves against carnal passions and forbidden lustful urges. This stage is above the third stage because in the third stage the believer only gives away his most cherished and dear possessions in the path of God, but in the fourth stage he sacrifices what is even dearer to him than money and possession, and that is his carnal passions. Man is so enamoured by his carnal passions that he can spend his money like water and squander thousands of rupees for their fulfilment. In fact, he considers money to be nothing when it comes to fulfilling carnal desires. As is often seen that evil-natured miserly people, who 1. S u rah al-Mu’min u n, 23:6 [Publisher]