• "… And woe unto the disbelievers from an awful doom; Those who love the life of the world more than the Hereafter, and debar (men) from the way of Allah and would have it crooked: such are far astray." (S. 14: 2,3 MMP)

• "The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith, and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrection; for Allah bestows His abundance without measure on whom He will." (S. 2: 212 AYA)

• " Whoso desireth the life of the world and its pomp, We shall repay them their deeds herein, and therein they will not be wronged. Those are they for whom is naught in the Hereafter save the Fire. (All) that they contrive here is vain and (all) that they are wont to do is fruitless." (S. 11: 15,16 MMP)

• " Successful is he who is purified, And who remembereth the name of his Lord and prayeth. But (strange as it is), Ye prefer the life of this world; while the (life) Hereafter is better and more enduring." (S. 87: 14 -17 SAL).

• "So for them who have been inordinate (in their living), And preferred life of this world (to the life of the Hereafter), For them surely there is Hell -that shall be their final abode. But, for those who have shown deference to the majestic position of their Lord and have refrained themselves from lust (in every form), (for such) there is Paradise-that shall be their final abode." (S. 79: 37-41 SAL)

15. According to a couplet, if one murders a person in this world, the blood money is (to be paid in) dinars. And for one who lays down his life for Allah, its compensation (blood money) is His deedar (vision of Allah).

16. What Hazrat Rabe'a^RA and Sultan Ibrahim Adham^RA have said is excellence (aaliyat), but if one cannot reach the level of excellence; Allah has permitted acting at a lower level of rukhsat. Allah says in Quran: "He hath only forbidden dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, - then is he guiltless, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful," (S. 2: 173 AYA). Allah has said this; He has not asked you to seek the worldly life, or to desire it, or to go to the houses of the seekers of worldly life, or demand anything from them.

17. Imam Mahdi^AS has said, Allah has given him the knowledge of the eminence and the ranks of the apostles, the prophets, the saints (aulia) and the believers (male and female), and all the information about all that exists, in a manner as if one has something on (the palm of) his hand, sees and knows about it after turning it over and over (again) in his hand, to recognise it thoroughly, as a goldsmith (sarraf) does to find out if the silver coin is genuine.

18. The mullahs asked Imam Mahdi^AS: "You prohibit earning as haram (forbidden)?" Imam Mahdi^AS said: "Earning is legitimate for a believer (mumin). One should ponder over who is a mumin according to Quran."

19. The mullahs again asked: "You say that one can see Allah through physical eyes in this world which is perishable?" Imam Mahdi^AS in reply said: "Do I say it or does Allah say it?" Allah says in Quaran: 'And he who has been blind here (to Truth), shall be blind in the Hereafter and far away from the right path'. (S. 17: 72 SAL)

20. At this, the mullahs said that the consensus of the Sunnat-o-Jamaat was that Allah could be seen in the Hereafter. In reply Imam Mahdi^AS said: "Allah's promise is absolute and we also say so; we do not make it conditional. Besides, Sunnat-o-Jamaat too has not treated as impossible or illegal (na-jaiz) the Vision of Allah in this world. One should try to understand the meaning of their sayings in a good measure, to pin-point what they have said."

21. The mullahs told the Imam^AS: "You explain very few of the Quranic Verses about Mercy of Allah and the Hope Allah holds out (for his slaves} and very many verses about Allah's attributes of compulsion and annoyance (qahr). This creates despair among the people." Imam Mahdi^AS said that Prophet Muhammad^SLM had stated: "Your brother is one who frightens you and not the one who deceives you."

22. The mullahs said: "You prohibit people from learning." The Imam said: "I am a follower of Prophet Muhammad ^SLM. How can I prohibit anything the Prophet has not prohibited? In obedience to the commandments of Allah and the Quran, I have made perpetual remembrance of Allah obligatory. Anything that hinders perpetual remembrance of Allah is prohibited, whether it is learning, earning, befriending people, eating or sleeping. Negligence and heedlessness are haram (prohibited), and anything that causes negligence and heedlessness is also haram."

23. The mullahs said: "Your people are irreverent. They have turned against their teachers and peers (preceptors) and have become sick of mullahs and they find fault with the mullahs." In reply Imam Mahdi^AS said; "you have perhaps forgotten the rules of Shariat. What is the rule in respect of a girl being married to an impotent person? His weakness was not known. Later, it came to be known that he was not man enough. Under the Shariat, is the couple separated or not? A person buys some articles in good faith thinking them to be of good quality. Later, if a legal (Shar'i) defect was found, do you return it or not? The objective of the religion has become less important than that of the worldliness. Whether the purpose is achieved or not, one should not break his relationship with one's peer (preceptor); they should not become sick of their peers; they should not strive to achieve the purposes of the religion from other sources. How good is this desire for the religion? How good is the desire for the Vision of Allah? You allow disgust, separation and detestation in respect of your worldly purposes, but you do not allow these things where religious objectives are concerned. Prophet Muhammad^SLM has said: 'May Allah bless him who did justice and curse him who did not do justice." Prophet Muhammad ^SLM said 'I swear by Allah. Verily, the world is more despicable than the veins of swine in the hands of a butcher." Allah says in Quran: 'Beautified for mankind is love of the joys (that come) from women and offspring, and stored-up heaps of gold and silver, and horses branded (with their mark), and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life of the world. Allah! With Him is a more excellent abode." (S. 3: 14 MMP)

24. Know then that there are seven zones (darajaat) of Hell, one lower than the other, and all of them are surrounded with lusts (shahwat). And Prophet Muhammad^SLM has said that the Paradise is surrounded with hardships, and the Hell is surrounded with lusts. And there are seven degrees of lust. And there is a zone of the Hell corresponding to each degree of lust. One will be thrown into a zone of the Hell corresponding to the degree of one's lust. The seven lusts are those that Allah has specified in the Quranic Verse 2 cited above, clearly indicating each lust. Among these the lust for women or that of the sex (farj), the beastly lust for children, the lust for stored-up heaps of gold and silver, which is the lust for amassing and hoarding wealth, the lust for silver is the lust for jewellery for adoring oneself and acquiring silver crockery and cutlery, the lust for branded horses (of pedigree and chaste blood) which is the lust for pomp, rank and position, and the satisfaction achieved by riding them (horses), the lust for cattle which is the lust for acquiring, producing and amassing great riches and take pride in them, and the lust for land or tilth which is the lust for governing and acquiring the power of life and death over one's subjects and of enforcing one's commands and prohibiting what one forbids. These seven lusts encompass the seven zones of the Hell. These are the delights and the possessions of worldly life and these are the things that consume and engulf the world and derive benefit and profit from it. Verily their abode is Hell. All this has been excerpted from (the book) Bahr-ul-Haqaiq.

25. Haris bin Mughaira Basari^RA narrates that he asked Abu Abdullah Hussain Bin Ali^RZ: "What are the signs from which Imam Mahdi^AS could be recognized?" Husain Bin Ali^RZ said: "From firmness and gravity (matanat) and dignity (waqar)." Again he asked: "And from what other signs?" Husain^RZ said: "From his discriminating knowledge of legally allowed (halal) and prohibited (haram): people will be in want (of charity) from him and he would not be indigent (and want anything from anybody)."

26. Abdullah Bin Attar^RA narrates that he asked Abu Jafar Bin Muhammad Bin Ali^RZ: "What would be the conduct and behaviour (seerat) of Imam Mahdi^AS when he appears?" Abu Jafar^RA said: "He will demolish the past (malpractices) and renew Islam as Prophet Muhammad^SLM had done."

27. Ali^RZ Bin Abu Talib narrates that Imam Mahdi^AS will not leave any innovation (bid'at) without eradicating it and will not leave any traditional practice (sunnat) of Prophet Muhammad^SLM without re-establishing it. This has been stated in (the book) Aqd-ad-Darar.

28. Hence, Imam Mahdi^AS told his companions: "Do not go to people with your wants; be content with what destiny has ordained for you." Prophet Muhammad^SLM has said that Allah had written down the destinies for all the creatures (khalaiq) fifty thousand years before the creation of the earth and the skies.

29. Abdullah Bin Abbas^RZ narrates that he was (walking) behind Prophet Muhammad^SLM one day when he (the Prophet) said: "O boy: verily I will teach you something's. Learn them. When you seek help, seek it from Allah."

30. (Narration) " If you seek help, seek it only from Allah and know (it well) that if the entire community (umma) congregates and tries to benefit you, it cannot benefit you more than what Allah had destined you to be benefited; if it tries to harm you (or make you lose) it cannot harm you (or make you lose) more than what Allah has destined you to be harmed. Pens have been taken away, and books dried." This has been reported by (Imams) Ahmad and Tirmizi^RA. (The following is a translation of some lines of poetry (in Persian) that follow the original of the above text:) " O, heart! You will not get sustenance, wealth and property (rizq) more or less than what has been destined for you; Keep your heart strong and firm (mazbut); Do not get worried. Keep the heart strong; For, O, Sa'adi, only that which has already been written on the tablet (writing surface-lauh; slate) of destiny, will happen."
His (Allah's) Pen has, in the Beginning (azal or sempiternity), recorded whatever on my fore-head;/
There would be nothing more or less than that; /
Even if I were to pelt bricks on my head; /
I am content with whatever Allah has written for me;/
And I have assigned all my business to my Creator. /
Whatever has happened so far, Allah has done it well;/
And whatever will happen (in future), Allah will do it well."
Hence, the faithful (mumineen) repose belief (in destiny), and, therefore, they have kept themselves aloof from the people devoted to worldliness and they do not flatter and indulge in sycophancy to please the devotees of worldliness to earn their livelihood.

31. Hence, the attribute of the group of the followers of Imam Mahdi^AS is that they do not seek to please their self (nafas) by beseeching the creatures (makhlooq). Instead, they trust and have confidence in their Creator. They confine themselves in the path of Allah Almighty. Allah says in Quran: "(Give in charity) to the poor that are engaged in the cause of God (or in the social and moral uplift of their people) and are hindered thereby from going about the world (to earn their living)…" (S. 2: 273 SAL). In other words, they have restrained themselves from diverting their attention to things (including people) other than Allah (ghair-Allah) as they are absorbed in God's contemplation (or meditation - muraqiba). They see Allah through Allah. They are content with the will of Allah. They suffer patiently any affliction that befalls them as willed by Allah. They have confined themselves for the sake of Allah in a struggle (mujahida) against their own lust (nafs). Till death they do not violate the covenant they made with Allah at the Beginning (of Eternity-azal-or Sempiternity). In other words, Allah has described them or their attributes in hints and signs (that is, indirectly) as Ahsar-e-Nufoos (people who have confined themselves to the daira).

32. Some of the companions of Imam Mahdi^AS have reported that people entitled to receive alms and donations (futuh) are those in respect of whom Allah has said: "(Give in charity) to the poor that are engaged in the cause of God (or in the social and moral uplift of their people) and are hindered thereby from going about the world (to earn their living)…" (S. 2: 273 SAL).

33. And those who strive for earning a livelihood or who have fixed periodical income (ta'yin) should not take a share or consume what the indigent have a right to. For, that is the right of the indigent (fuqara). None other than the indigent should ask for alms and donations (futuh). However, if the murshid (preceptor or spiritual guide) gives as a right of neighbourliness or proximity, it should be accepted; for, they (such receivers) live in the Daira (locality) of the murshid.

34. It is narrated that a murid (disciple) asked his murshid (spiritual guide) about observing the death anniversary (urs) of his father. The murshid said: "I tell you. Do not ask anybody (to provide) even a cheetal (contemporary coins or money) for completing or doing anything. For Allah says: "…(They) are hindered thereby from going about the world…" (S. 2: 273 SAL). In other words, they do not wander all over the place, leaving their places of sitting, their meditation (muraqabah), their strong spiritual ecstasy (qawi hal), their overwhelming remembrance of Allah (zikr), abundance of divine love and devotion and total trust (tawakkal) in Allah, to seek a livlihood. For, the soundness of their trust in Allah, the beauty of their contentment and the reality of their submission (tasleem) to Allah have dominated them. These are the people who assign all their affairs to Allah and stop at the divine promise (waada). Allah says "...He who knoweth them not, taketh them for well-to-do folk because of their bearing of self-respect; (S. 2: 273 SAL). For, they do not resort to flattering by their mellifluous talk and a show of love for the worldly people. They do not explain their condition to win the sympathy and for fame (among the wealthy people) despite the fact that they are poor and needy (muhtaj)-they look to Allah for their needs. Ignorant people, who do not know their condition, and because of their own ignorance, consider them to be well-to-do. But a knowledgeable person recognises them by the light of their knowledge and faith (ilm and iman) Allah says: "… Thou wouldst know by their visage…" (S. 2: 273 SAL) Their faces would carry the (divine) glad tidings of Truth, their hearts would be full of the freshness of divine knowledge (ma'arifat), because Allah creates the brilliance of their qualities and attributes on their faces, and their foreheads would shine with the light of the divine beauty. Hence, one would recognize them by their attributes because they are unrevealed and unknown pious people (of God) and they do not revert to the people for the worldly pomp and ostentation. They are patient. They are confined to the love of and devotion to Allah. Allah says: "… They ask not of men with importunity… (S. 2: 273 SAL) In other words, they do not even turn their eyes to look at the worldly people. They do not seek to satisfy their lust. But, yes, they are very kind to their brothers-in-faith for the sake of Allah. Their eye is not on their desires and the things, their minds and temperaments are fond of. Hence, Imam Mahdi's group (of people) has the attribute that they do not appease their self (nafs) by the (worldly) people (makhluq).

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