They ask thee what they should expend. Say: “Whatever good you expend should be for parents and kinsmen, orphans, the indigent, and the son of the road.” And whatever good you do, God knows it. Throwing away money in the path of the Shariah is beautiful, but it is not like throwing away the spirit in the field of the Haqiqah and becoming separate from all others at the moment of contem- plation. Keeping to the stipulation of loyalty is beautiful, but not as much as becoming separate from self and stepping onto the carpet of limpidness. Someone asks, “What should we do with our property? How should we spend it?” The Shariah answers, “From 200 dirhams, 5 dirhams; from 20 dinars, one-half dinar.” Someone else asks and the Haqiqah answers, “You will not be with Him along with body and spirit.” Yes, the story of the wage-earners is one thing, the story of the recognizers something else. The wage-earner's recognition reaches recognizing the spirit, but the recognizer's recognition reaches throwing away the spirit. Wealth, gold, things-gamble them away for nothing. When the work reaches your spirit, gamble it away! Those fortunate Companions did not ask how to spend because they had not found their way to poverty, but in hopes that this caress would reach them from the Exalted Presence: “And whatever good you do, God knows it. Whatever you have given and will give, I who am the Lord know it and am aware of it.” This is just like Moses, when he was called during that pitch black night in the desert of the Mount: “O Moses!” In the pleasure of this address Moses was burned by the call. In his burning and yearning he said, “Who is speaking to me?” Moses knew, but he was drowned in the ocean of yearning for the vision of the Real. He was seeking someone to take his hand: “I have burned in this one call. Perhaps He will call out again, and maybe I will light up.” The command came, “O Moses! Do you not know who is calling you?” He said, “I know, but I am waiting for the caller to say, 'Surely I am God, Lord of the worlds' [28:30].” Here I am, My servant, and you're in My embrace, and whatever you have said I know. Ask of Me without shame or dread, and fear not, for surely I am God. Here there are two verses. The verse at the beginning of the section alludes to the worshipers' spending their wealth in order to reach recognition. The verse at the end of the section alludes to the recognizers' spending their own lives for the sake of struggle in order to reach the Recognized. It is His words,