And among what is attributed to our Master, Amir al-Mu'minin, in verse:

"Unlawful wealth is like a fire kindled

Within provision, it destroys it and destroys its people."

If unlawful wealth leads to this result—whereby both the wealth and its owners are consigned to the Fire—then the consequence of corrupt, Outward Knowledge is even more calamitous and bitter.

The Master—peace be upon him—said: "The stomach is the pool of the body; if what is lawful falls into it, it issues it forth to the limbs with benefits, and the aspiration rises to the Knowledge of the Kingdom (Al-Malakut)."

Thus, whoever’s food is "lawful"—which is the Inward Luminous Knowledge—their aspiration rises to the path of wisdom.

The Sheikh who was in the valley [addressing] the Hijazi cited this narration in The Taliqani Epistle (Al-Risala al-Taliqaniyya) and clarified the meaning of the Imam's words, saying: "Amir al-Mu'minin (PBUH) did not intend by 'the stomach' anything other than the heart. Just as the stomach is the pool for food, so the heart is the pool for sciences.