36 Preface إِنَّمَا الحَياةُ الدُّنيا لَعِبٌ وَلَهوٌ ۚ وَإِن تُؤمِنوا وَتَتَّقوا يُؤتِكُم أُجورَكُم وَلا يَسأَلكُم أَموالَكُمYusuf AliThe life of this world is but play and amusement:1 and if ye believe and guard against Evil, He will grant you your recompense, and will not ask you (to give up) your possessions.2Cf. 6:32, and n. 855; and 29:64, and n. 3497. Amusement and play are not bad things in themselves. As preparations for the more serious life, they have their value. But if we concentrate on them, and neglect the business of life, we cannot prosper. So we must use our life in this world as a preparation for our spiritual or inner life.Complete self-sacrifice, if voluntarily offered, has a meaning: it means that the person’s devotion is exclusively and completely for the Cause. But no law or rule can demand it. And a mere offer to kill yourself has no meaning. You should be ready to take risks to your life in fighting for the Cause, but you should aim at life, not death. If you live, you should be ready to place your substance and your acquisitions at the disposal of the Cause. But it is not reasonable to pauperise yourself and become a hanger-on for the Cause. Moreover, the inborn tendency to self-preservation in an average man would lead to concealment and miserliness if all were asked for the Cause, by Law, and there would further be a feeling of bitterness and rebellion.