268 Preface الشَّيطانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الفَقرَ وَيَأمُرُكُم بِالفَحشاءِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُم مَغفِرَةً مِنهُ وَفَضلًا ۗ وَاللَّهُ واسِعٌ عَليمٌYusuf AliThe Evil one threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. God promiseth you His forgiveness and bounties1. And God careth for all and He knoweth all things.Good and evil draw us opposite ways and by opposite motives, and the contrast is well-marked out in charity. When we think of doing some real act of kindness or charity, we are assailed with doubts and fear of impoverishment; but Evil supports any tendency to selfishness, greed, or even to extravagant expenditure for show, or self-indulgence, or unseemly appetites. On the other hand, God draws us on to all that is kind and good, for that way lies the forgiveness of our sins, and greater real prosperity and satisfaction. No kind or generous act ever ruined any one. It is false generosity that is sometimes shown as leading to ruin. As God knows all our motives and cares for all, and has everything in His power, it is obvious which course a wise man will choose. But wisdom is rare, and it is only wisdom that can appreciate true well-being and distinguish it from the false appearance of well-being.