From this is the report of the Commander of the Faithful—peace be from him—with Kumayl ibn Ziyad al-Nakha'i, who said:

"O Kumayl, knowledge is better than wealth; knowledge guards you while you guard wealth, and wealth is diminished by spending, while knowledge increases [yazku] by spending."

And his saying: "Two are greedy and never satisfied: the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of the world."

And his saying: "I am the leader [Ya'sub] of the believers, and wealth is the leader of the wicked."

Praised Wealth is the Inward, and it is the opposite of Censured Outward Wealth. He said regarding His saying (the Exalted): {Indeed, charities [Sadaqat] are for the poor and the needy and those who collect them and those whose hearts are to be reconciled and for freeing slaves and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the traveler} (At-Tawbah 60). These are eight categories to whom Allah has assigned a portion charities. So the portions of the people of Gnosis—despite the variation in the names of the mandates—are based on the description in Gnosis and the purity in Gnosis for the seekers of knowledge and those who fall short of reaching its realities. This is so that every holder of a portion is given his portion, and every holder of a right receives his right.