God has not said
that there are mansions prepared for us if we pass our time associating with
the rich, but He has said there are many mansions prepared for the servants of
the poor, for the poor are very dear to God. The mercies and bounties of God
are with them. The rich are mostly negligent, inattentive, steeped in
worldliness, depending upon their means, whereas the poor are dependent upon
God, and their reliance is upon Him, not upon themselves. Therefore, the poor
are nearer the threshold of God and His throne.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 19
April, 1912, New York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by
'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
