faqīr/fuqarāʾ (ādāb al-faqīr; aghniyāʾ al-fuqarāʾ; fuqarāʾ al-aghniyāʾ; fuqarāʾ al-fuqarāʾ; fuqarāʾ al-thalātha; Rāzī; tajarrud ʿan al-asbāb / tajarrud ʿan al-azwāj)
The fuqarāʾ (the poor, i.e., faqīrs) are of three ranks. Some possess nothing at all. Outwardly or inwardly, they do not ask anything from anyone, nor do they expect anything from anyone. If something is given to them, they do not accept it. Their maqām (spiritual station) is that of the muqarrabūn (those brought near to God).
Some possess nothing at all. They do not ask anything from anyone, nor do they expect anything from anyone. They do not disclose their state to anyone. If, while not asking for anything, something is given to them, they accept it. It is related that Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The sign of the true faqīr is not to ask and not to object to what is given. If something is given to him, he remains silent...
Some possess nothing at all. When they are in need, they disclose their situation to certain brothers whom they know would be pleased by their disclosure. The expiation for their asking is charity. (Lumaʿ, 74)
When Dhu’l-Nūn was asked, "Who is the true faqīr?" he replied: The faqīr finds no comfort in anything, but everything finds comfort in him...
Abū Ḥāris Aflāsī, when asked, "Who is the true faqīr?" replied: He is one who finds no intimacy in anything, but everything finds intimacy in him...
Yūsuf Ḥusayn, when asked the same question, replied: He is the one who prefers his present moment (waqt) over other times. If he is looking for a second moment, he is not called a faqīr...
When Ḥusayn Manṣūr (al-Ḥallāj) was asked, "Who is the true faqīr?" he replied: The true faqīr does not turn away the means that come to him due to the soundness of his riḍā (contentment with God's decree).
When (Abū Ḥusayn) Nūrī was asked about the true faqīr, he replied: The true faqīr does not harbor suspicion about Allah regarding means, and in every state finds tranquility with Him.
When Sumnūn was asked about the true faqīr, he replied: The true faqīr is one who is as content with deprivation as the ignorant are with what they possess, and who feels estrangement from what he possesses as the ignorant feel estrangement from deprivation.
When Abū Ḥafṣ Nīsābūrī (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the true faqīr, he replied: The true faqīr is the one who acts according to the ruling of the present moment. If something comes to him that takes him out of the ruling of his moment, he feels estrangement from it.
When Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked who the true faqīr is, he replied: The true faqīr is the one who needs nothing, while everything needs him. (Lumaʿ, 151)
The true faqīr has three kinds of adab (proper conduct) regarding his faqr (poverty): When in need, he does not ask. If something is given to him, he does not turn it away, and when he takes it, he does not keep it for a second moment (but immediately gives it to someone else). (Lumaʿ, 231)
The fuqarāʾ (the poor) are of three ranks. The first rank is the fuqarāʾ al-aghniyāʾ (the rich among the poor). When in need, they ask. When they have enough, they suffice with what they have and are content with sufficiency. They are those who purify the rich and are a means for Allah's increase. They are those for whom Allah has allotted a share in the wealth of the rich. Among them are those who are in a state to ask and are deprived, as well as those who are content and destitute. The second rank is the fuqarāʾ al-fuqarāʾ (the poor among the poor). These are truly poor, who, knowing well the virtue of those who conceal their state with dignity, prefer poverty to wealth. They do not debase themselves by asking, nor do they attempt to ask with words; they are content with the little that comes from their Lord. When you see them, you recognize them by their faces because they do not ask or complain about their state. Those who do not know them think they are rich. Among them are those deprived of striving for the dunya (this world), those from whom means have turned away, and those who are content with whatever comes to them, whether small or great, and those who are content with what Allah decrees for them. It has been said: Whoever takes something from the dunya, let him accept it with three things: preoccupation, sorrow, and a lengthy reckoning.
The third rank is the aghniyāʾ al-fuqarāʾ (the poor among the rich). They are those endowed with generosity, open-handed and giving, who practice ihsan (spiritual excellence) and charity. They take and give, do not hoard or store wealth; if nothing is given to them, they show shukr (gratitude). For it is He who gives, and His withholding is also ihsan for them. If constriction comes to them, they praise the All-Encompassing (al-Wāsiʿ), for He alone is worthy of praise. His constriction is in fact expansion. If something is given to their fellow faqīrs, they show self-sacrifice and prefer others. They are ascetic toward the dunya, for they possess yaqīn (certainty). For them, yaqīn suffices as wealth. (Kūt, II, 195)
The faqīr is one who never possesses anything, and feels no deficiency in anything. The faqīr does not become rich by the existence of means, nor does he need any means in their absence. Regarding his poverty, the existence or non-existence of means is the same to him. It is permissible that he does not find greater happiness in absence. For the shaykhs have said: The more constrained the faqīr's hand, the greater the opening (fath) he receives. (Hujwīrī, 26)
Bishr (al-Ḥāfī, may Allah have mercy on him) used to say: The poor are of three types. The first does not ask, and if something is given to him, he does not take it. These are with the spiritual ones in the highest ranks (ʿilliyyīn). The second does not ask, but if something is given to him, he takes it. These are with the muqarrabūn in the gardens of Firdaws. The third asks when in need. These are with the truthful among the people of the right (ashāb al-yamīn). (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 265)
The faqīr should be as concerned about losing his poverty as the rich are about losing their wealth. The rich do everything to prevent their wealth from departing and strive for this. The faqīr should act similarly to preserve his poverty.
In times of constriction, due to the chastity of his nafs (the lower self), the faqīr does not ask Allah to turn his poverty into wealth, to gain a livelihood, profit, or for his wealth to increase, or for his family to preoccupy him. When he has enough, he restrains himself; when he has less than enough, he accepts what is given; and when he takes, he only takes as much as he needs, in accordance with Allah's command, out of fear of sinning due to the destruction of his nafs. These are among the conditions of poverty. (Ghunyal, II, 172)
Abū Ḥusayn Nūrī said: The attribute of the faqīr is tranquility in absence, and in presence...