Also, the poverty of many literary figures and scholars, and the wealth and riches of many stupid people show that the means of attracting sustenance is not intelligence and power, but impotence and want; it is submitting to God while relying on Him, and supplication by word, state, and deed.
The verse,
For God is He Who gives [all] sustenance, Lord of Power, and Steadfast [for ever],(51:58)
proclaims this truth, and is a powerful, firm proof of this assertion of ours, which all plants and animals and young recite. Every group of creature that seeks sustenance recites this verse through the tongue of disposition.
Since sustenance is appointed and bestowed and it is Almighty God who gives it, and since He is both All-Compassionate and Munificent, those who degrade themselves by making illicit gains in such a way as to cast aspersions on His mercy and insult His munificence, and give their consciences and even certain sacred matters as bribes and accept things which are unlawful and inauspicious – they should ponder over just what compounded lunacy this is.
Yes, ‘the worldly’ and especially the people of misguidance do not give away their money cheaply; they sell it at a high price. Sometimes something which may help a little towards a year of worldly life is the means of destroying infinite eternal life. And with that vile greed, the person draws divine wrath on himself and tries to attract the pleasure of the people of misguidance.
Yes, my brothers! If those who toady to ‘the worldly’ and the dissemblers among the misguided lay hold of you due to this weak vein in human nature, think of the above truth and take this poor brother of yours as an example. I assure you with all my strength that contentment and frugality ensure your life and sustenance more than does a salary. As for any unlawful money that is given you, they will want a price a thousand times higher in return. It may also hinder your service of the Qur’an, which may open for you an everlasting treasury, or it may make you slack in that service. And that would be such a loss and emptiness that even if they gave you a thousand salaries every month, they could not fill its place.
Warning: The people of misguidance are not able to defend themselves and reply to the truths of belief and the Qur’an which we take from the All-Wise Qur’an and disseminate, therefore, through intrigue and dissembling they employ snares of deception and wile. They want to deceive my friends through the desire for position, greed, and fear, and to refute me by ascribing certain things to me. We always act positively in our sacred service, but