Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 315
29 December 1905 315 The Mark of Genuine Sincerity A life of hypocrisy and ostentation is an accursed life. It can- not be concealed. It becomes apparent in the end and leads to severe humiliation. God Almighty does not hide anything, nei- ther good nor evil. Truly beneficent people hide their virtuous deeds, but Allah manifests them. When Moses, peace be on him, was ordered to go to the Pharaoh in his capacity as a Messenger, he expressed his ina- bility. The secret behind this was that those with complete sin- cerity for God are entirely free from pretension and ostenta- tion. It is the mark of genuine sincerity that no thought should ever arise about what the world calls us. Whoever has even the slightest doubt about this matter in his heart also commits shirk [associating partners with Allah]. A truly sincere person does not care whether the world calls him good or bad. I have seen in Tadhkiratul-Auliy a’ that when a virtuous man supplicates before his Lord in secret, his condition is wonder- ful indeed. He never wants to reveal the relationship that he has with God Almighty. If anyone chances to appear during the time of these supplications, he feels so embarrassed akin to an adulterer getting caught in the very act of adultery. It is absolutely true that every virtuous person whose heart is full of sincerity naturally wants to keep himself concealed under a veil, such that even a chaste woman does not keep herself so shielded behind a veil. This behaviour is innate in their nature.