THE SIXTEENTH DISCOURSE On trust and its stages

Nothing keeps you away from the favour of God and His direct blessing except your reliance on people, and means, and arts and crafts and earnings. Thus people become a barrier for you in getting to the livelihood sanctified by the practice of the Holy Prophet, that is, the earning. Thus so long as you remain with people, that is, if you hope for their gifts and favours and ask from them with expectation at their doors, you are associating God's creation with Him. You will accordingly be punished with the deprivation from a livelihood which is sanctioned by the practice of the Holy Prophet, that is, lawful earning of this world. Then, when you have renounced your living with the people and your associating them with your Lord and have recourse to earning and the comfort of living on your earning, and then rely on earning and become contented with it and forget the favour of your Lord, you are again behaving like a polytheist and this polytheism is subtler than the previous one; so God will punish you and keep you away from His favour and His direct dealing with you. Then when you have turned away from this position and have thrown away polytheism from your midst and discarded your reliance on your earning, ability and power, you will see God, — that He is the Giver of livelihood and Creator of causes of ease and Giver of strength for earning and Giver of power over everything good and that livelihood is in His hand, — sometimes He brings it to you through people by way of your asking from them at times of trial and struggle or through your asking from Him, the Mighty and Glorious, and at others through your earning by way of remuneration, and still at others through His spontaneous favour in such a way that you do not see the intervening cause and means. Thus, turn towards Him and throw yourself before Him, the Mighty, the Glorious, when He lifts the veil that intervenes between you and His favour and opens the door of sustenance by His favour in every time of necessity, in proportion to the need of your circumstances, in the manner of a loving physician who is also a friend to the patient — and this as a protection from Him, the Mighty, the Glorious, in order to keep you clean from any inclination towards what is besides Him. Thus He pleases you by His favour. So, when He removes from your heart every purpose and every desire and every pleasure and every object, there remains nothing in your heart except His purpose. When He wants to bring to you your allotted share which cannot escape from you and which is not meant for anyone else from among His creation, He will create in you a desire for that share and will direct it to you so it will reach you at the time of your need. Then He will give you strength to be grateful to Him and will give you the knowledge that it is from Him, and He will direct it to you and give it to you as your sustenance so that you may be grateful to Him and may recognise and know it. This will increase your desire for aloofness from people and distance from men and emptiness of your heart from whatever is besides Him. " Then when your knowledge has been strengthened, as also your certainty, and your heart has expanded and is illumined, and your nearness to God and your position with Him and your trustworthiness and worthiness in the matter of guarding His secrets have been increased thereby, you will be given knowledge beforehand as to when your share will come to you as a sign in your favour and as an exaltation of your dignity. This is a favour from Him, and an act of kindness and a guidance. God says: And We made it a guide for the children of Israel And We made from among them leaders to guide by Our command when they were patient. And they were certain of Our messages. (32:24). And He also says: And those who strive hard for Us, We shall certainly guide them in Our ways. (29:69). God, the Exalted and Glorious also says: And fear God and He will teach you, then He will invest you with the power of controlling the universe, with a clear permission, which will have no obscurity in it, and with clear signs which will be bright like the bright sun, . and with sweet words which will be sweeter than all sweet things, and with true revelation without any ambiguity and will be free from any evil suggestion of the animal self and from the prompting of the devil, the accursed. God says in one of His books: O child of Adam, I am God. Nothing deserves to be worshipped except Me. I say to a thing "Be" and it comes into being. Obey Me, I will make you such that if you say to a thing "Be" it will likewise come into being. And He has done like this with many of His prophets and awliya and people specially favoured from among the children of Adam.