Page:A Moslem seeker after God - showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century (IA moslemseekeraft00zwem).pdf/298



this world is that men disobey God in it. And the evil of the world also is that the other world can not be obtained without abandoning the present. Therefore pass through the world but do not build in it. Know that the root of all sin is the love of the world and perchance the desire of an hour will cause those who follow it to lose the other world altogether/ He also said: I have cast the world before you and ye have sat upon its back, do not therefore suffer kings or women to dispute its pos session with you. As for kings, do not dispute with them for its possession, for they will not give it back to you. And as for women, guard your selves against them by prayer and fasting/ " (Vol. Ill, p. 139.) "Said Jesus: The love of this world and of the world to come cannot abide in the same heart even as water and fire cannot abide in one vessel. " (Vol. Ill, p. 140.)

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), O ye teachers of wickedness! Ye fast and pray and give alms and do not what ye command others and ye teach that which ye do not understand. How evil is that which ye do. Ye repent only with words but your deeds are without value. In vain do ye purify your skins while your hearts are covered with evil. I say unto you, be not as the sieve from which the good flour passes out and all that remains in it are the si f tings. Thus ye make the truth to pass out of your mouths, but deceit remains in your hearts, O servants of the world! How can any one under