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Ghazali_Letters_To_Statemen, page : 60
the following verses: "As for the unbelievers, their works are like a mirage in the
wilderness. The thirsty person thinks it is water, but when he comes near he finds that it
is nothing. He finds Allah there, who pays him his account in full. Allah is Swift
in
reckoning." Koran, Chapter 24 verse 39
As this world is a means for reaching the next, a wise and enlightened person does not
make the means and end in itself. Whosoever sells this world for the next stands
condemned.
The Caliph, Omar bin Abdul Aziz was a practical moralist. Even before he was elected
caliph, he would say when a piece of very expensive cloth was brought to him: "Alas, it
is too coarse for me to wear". However, after his election when an inexpensive robe was
brought for him, he would say: "Alas, it is too fine for me to wear. You do not know how
much I wish that my robe was made from coarse sack-cloth so that by its touch the skin
of my hand would be scratched." Upon hearing this he was asked what was the
meaning of the two opposite attitudes of his mind. He replied: "Before my election my
self had such a refined taste that it could not be satisfied with what it had and strove
after better, however, since my election, I have been following a rigorous discipline and
wilderness. The thirsty person thinks it is water, but when he comes near he finds that it
is nothing. He finds Allah there, who pays him his account in full. Allah is Swift
in
reckoning." Koran, Chapter 24 verse 39
As this world is a means for reaching the next, a wise and enlightened person does not
make the means and end in itself. Whosoever sells this world for the next stands
condemned.
The Caliph, Omar bin Abdul Aziz was a practical moralist. Even before he was elected
caliph, he would say when a piece of very expensive cloth was brought to him: "Alas, it
is too coarse for me to wear". However, after his election when an inexpensive robe was
brought for him, he would say: "Alas, it is too fine for me to wear. You do not know how
much I wish that my robe was made from coarse sack-cloth so that by its touch the skin
of my hand would be scratched." Upon hearing this he was asked what was the
meaning of the two opposite attitudes of his mind. He replied: "Before my election my
self had such a refined taste that it could not be satisfied with what it had and strove
after better, however, since my election, I have been following a rigorous discipline and