Another bird said to the hoopoe: “I love gold; the love of gold is within me like the almond in its husk. So long as I have not gold in my hand as I would have a rose, I cannot blossom delightfully like this flower. Love of the world and of the world’s gold has filled me with vain desires and deprived me of understanding spiritual things.”
The hoopoe replied: “O thou who art astonished by the effect of an outward form! Thou whose heart has never seen the dawn of the true worth of things! Know that thou hast never ceased to be night-blind, and that thou hast remained, like the ant, held fast by a vain appearance. Attach thyself to the meaning of things and care not for their form; meaning is essential, form is but a hindrance. Without its colour, gold would be but an ordinary metal; yet thou art seduced by its colour like a child. If it turns thee away from God, it is an idol to thee. Ah! cast it far from thee; follow my counsel! If no one profits by thy gold, neither wilt thou profit by it. On the contrary, if thou givest a mite of thy gold to an unfortunate man, ye will both profit by it. Thou art no Omar or Zaid; but if thou givest a mite, thou wilt be a Junaïd. By means of gold, thou art the friend of men; but if thy shoulder is marked, it is because of thy mule.
The hoopoe replied: “O thou who art astonished by the effect of an outward form! Thou whose heart has never seen the dawn of the true worth of things! Know that thou hast never ceased to be night-blind, and that thou hast remained, like the ant, held fast by a vain appearance. Attach thyself to the meaning of things and care not for their form; meaning is essential, form is but a hindrance. Without its colour, gold would be but an ordinary metal; yet thou art seduced by its colour like a child. If it turns thee away from God, it is an idol to thee. Ah! cast it far from thee; follow my counsel! If no one profits by thy gold, neither wilt thou profit by it. On the contrary, if thou givest a mite of thy gold to an unfortunate man, ye will both profit by it. Thou art no Omar or Zaid; but if thou givest a mite, thou wilt be a Junaïd. By means of gold, thou art the friend of men; but if thy shoulder is marked, it is because of thy mule.
“Every new month, thou must pay the price of thy shop, and that price is thine own soul. But thy precious soul and cherished life depart from thee before thou canst earn a single obole in that shop. Thou hast given everything, even the things to which thy heart was most attached, only to receive nothing in return. Yet I hope that fortune will stretch a ladder beneath the gallows for thee. Religion need not utterly destroy worldly things for thee, though the world and religion are little in accord. Thou seekest rest through labour, and complainest when thou dost not find it. Spend on every side what thou possessest, for thou shalt attain happiness only in proportion to thy generosity! Thou must leave all that exists; thou must even renounce life. If thou canst not renounce life, thou canst still less renounce wealth, honours, this thing and that. Though thou hadst no more than a coarse blanket on which to lie, it would still be a barrier preventing thee from entering the spiritual path. O thou who knowest the truth! burn this blanket. How long wilt thou act deceitfully towards God? If thou darest not burn this blanket today, how wilt thou tomorrow cast off the vast shroud of death?”
He whose و, wd, of the word خود, khod, has been absorbed by the و, wd, of the word خود, khod, itself, shall have no و, wd, left at all. The name of the letter و, wd, is composed of the two letters وا, the alif and the wd. Now I see them both in خاک, khdk, the earth, and خون, khün, the blood. Behold the wd established in the midst of the blood, خون, khün, and the alif humbled in the midst of the dust, خاک, khdk.