The Essence of Islam – Volume IV — Page 12
12. Essence of Islam-IV directed towards the world. Only a few did I find who, out of regard for the Divine majesty, cultivated the higher moral values like meekness, nobility, chastity, courtesy, lowliness, humility, sympathy for mankind, purity of heart, eating lawful food, speaking the truth and righteousness. I found most of them afflicted with arrogance, transgression, neglect of religious values, and all types of evil morals. As the wisdom of God Almighty had decreed that I should have experience of all types of people I had to keep company with those of every kind. All this time I spent in great constraint and unease. As the author of Mathnawi Rūmi says: من بہر جمعیتے نالاں شدم جفت خوش حالاں و بد حالاں شدم ہر کسے از ظن خود شد یار من وز درون من نخست اسرار من. When I returned to my father I became occupied with the management of our land but the greater part of my time was devoted to the study of the Holy. Qur'an and its commentaries as well as Ḥadīth. I would often read out portions from these books to my father, who was mostly melancholy on account of the failure of his efforts to recover a part of his patrimony. He had spent some seventy thousand rupees in the prosecution of those cases, but the result was failure. We had lost those villages long ago and their recovery was a chimera. . I joined every kind of company-those who lived well and those who lived ill. Everyone in his own concept became a friend of mine but none of them sought to discover my inner secret. [Translator]