Quotes

Category: SOUND

"Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation."
-Rumi

"How can words trapped in the heart come out of the mouth?"

"Don’t allow your animal nature to rule your reason."
-Rumi

"God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one."
-Rumi

"In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you."
-Rumi

"All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."
-Rumi

Ibn Rushd: “What kind of solution have you found through divine unveiling and illumination? Is it identical with what you have found through speculative thought?"
Ibn Arabi: "Yes...No. Between the yes and the no, spirits take wing from their matter and necks are separated from their bodies."

"All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have not had a taste of it do not know!"
-Rumi

"Now why from its perch on high was it cast like this
To the lowest Nadir's gloomy and dear abyss?
Was it God who cast it forth for some purpose wise,
Concealed from the keenest seeker's inquiring eyes?
Then is its descent a discipline wise but stern,
That the things that it has not heard it thus may learn.
So 'tis she whom Fate does plunder, while the star
Sets at length in a place from its rising far,
Like a gleam of lightning which over the meadows shone,
And, as though it never had been, in a moment is gone."
-Ibn Sina (Translated by EG Brown)

"Whatever the situation may be, in the recollection of death there is reward and merit. For even the man engrossed in the world benefits from it by acquiring an aversion to the world, since it spoils his contentment and the fullness of his pleasure; and everything which spoils for man his pleasures and his appetites is one of the means of deliverance."
-Al-Ghazali

"The person I like most is the one who points out my defects."
-Umar (RA)
(marking a difference between pointing out defects which may not be verbal and simple disparaging which usually always is)

"O people who take pleasure in a life that will vanish,
falling in love with a fading shadow is sheer stupidity."
-Ibn al-Qayyim

"Knowledge is taken from breath,
not lives in a book"
-Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

"Only that which was effective for the first of this community will be effective for the last of it."
-Imam Malik (rahimullah)

"The righteous salaf (original Muslims) were as fearful of their good deeds being squandered, or not being accepted, as the present generation is certain that their neglect will be forgiven."
-Hasan al-Basri (died 737 A.D.)

"All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; and those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry."
-Imam Shafi (rahimullah)

"This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction."
-Muhammad Ali

"Allah guards the justice-loving government, even if it is the government of non-Muslims, and destroys the tyrant government, even if it is the government of Muslims."
-Ibn Taymiyyah

"Dear friend,
Your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it clean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets."
-Al-Ghazali

"I seek forgiveness from Allah for the lack of my sincerity when I say I seek the forgiveness of Allah."
-Rabia al-Adawiyyah

"Who are we to wish for Paradise? It will be enough if God spares us his wrath."
-Imam Abu Hanifah (rahimullah)

"He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true."
-Imam Malik (rahimullah)

"Knowledge is proud that it knows so much;
Wisdom is humble that it knows no more."

"You say that you are just a body, but inside of you is something greater than the Universe."
-Imam Shafi (rahimullah)

"He who clings to my Sunnah when my Ummah is corrupt, will receive the Reward of a hundred martyrs."
-Prophet Muhammad(saw)

"Many things in life will catch your eye, but few will catch your heart."

"The glance is a poisoned arrow of Shaitan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day that he meets Him."
-Prophet Muhammad(saw)

A man came before Hazrat Ali (RA) and asked: "Is man forced
or not?” (Meaning does he have a choice in his actions or not).
Hazrat Ali told him: "Lift up your one leg!"
The man lifted his one leg up. Then he said: "Now lift up the other".
He asked: "How can both legs be lifted up?"
Hazrat Ali replied: "Well, that is the answer to your question.
Man is half forced and half free".

'Behold and see as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you must be
Prepare for death and follow me.'
-A tombstone inscription from a cemetary in New York

"Reason wins love through eloquence, the soul wins love through silence."

"Expressing spiritual faith in physical practice is the key to life."

"We did not acquire this level of Tasawwuf just by talking about it; but rather, we acquired it through spending the nights awake in prayer, experiencing hunger from fasting the days, and going against our worldly desires."
-Imam Al-Junayd

"There are five signs of righteousness: a gentle disposition and a soft heart, shedding tears of regret, ascetism and not caring about the world, being unambitious, and having a conscience."
-Shaqiq al-Balkhi (rahimullah)
[The secret of secrets]

"Innumerable changes of moods are yours,
and they are uncontrolled by you.
If you knew their origin,
you would be able to dominate them.
If you cannot localize your own changes,
how can you localize that which formed you?"
-Rumi

"The punishment of becoming changed from human form to that of
animals has been lifted from this Ummat, but the punishment of the reason becoming so affected that we behave like animals, still descends upon us."
-Maulana Yunus Patel

"Create the bounty of madness in your heart (of His love)
Not by intelligence alone will you reach to the truth."
-Rumi

"Verily, the price for the goods of Allah is very expensive."
-Prophet Muhammad(saw)

"Verily Allah has purchased from the believers their selves and their possessions."
(Al-Quran: Surah Tawbah)

"May the Lovers of this world and Kingdoms enjoy their world,
Soon it will pass away
But for the True Lover of God,
A Kingdom that never ends."

"How can that one be a servant to Allah, who wants to keep their
wishes above that of Allah?"
-Rumi

"'Dunya' is that and only that which diverts attention from Allah."

"Heavens and earth cannot contain me.
But into the heart of a believer I enter like a guest."
-Allah(swa) Hadith Qudsi

"I tested reasoning but when nothing successful. emerged,
I made myself into a madman and I was successful. .
And when madness proved fruitful and caused me to reach my
Beloved,
I became in love with madness and cast aside reason.
O True Beloved, to utter cries in Thy remembrance appears very good.
O Allah, grant me the ability to continue crying to you till
Qiyamat."
-Rumi

"Allah equates the tears of sorrow and grief from the eyes of a repentant sinner With the blood emanating from a martyr."

"I am with those of broken hearts."
-Allah(swa) in Hadith Qudsi

"Do not curse time for I am time."
-Allah(swa) in Hadith Qudsi

"When you experience sorrow in the heart, turn towards Istigfaar,
Sorrow comes through Allah's command,
So neglect not good deeds, but in fact increase therein.
When Allah wishes to shower His mercy on us,
He creates in us the ability to incline towards weeping in humility."
-Rumi

"Without Mujahadah (spiritual efforts and exercises) no light of the truth is created in the heart
Which is perceived through true faith and Divine communion.
If that perception was possible through reason alone,
Then there was no need for putting the self to such strenuous
exercises."
-Rumi

"When does a friend keep himself aloof from the sorrow of a friend?
The friendship of a friend is like a skin around him and he will bear all sorrows from his friend.
A friend is like gold and calamities and misfortunes are like fire.
And pure gold shines even brighter when the heat of fire touches it."

"Proofs and arguments of proof have legs of wood, which are weak, But Divine Knowledge through
taqwa, righteous deeds and true love are beneficial indeed."
-Rumi

"Within yourself create the path towards Allah.
How is that achieved?
Cast from you the perception of the pictures of others
And when others leave the heart, Allah's splendour will enter into it.
O Man, treat your illness with the alchemy medicine that was placed within your body.
So that good morals be created from bad
And so that your enemies, yourself and your desires, turn to friends.
And when through the spiritual guide your bad morals turn to good,
You will become beautiful,
And He will bring you near to Him
And save you from the loneliness in contrast to worldly lovers. From whom He will turn away."
-Rumi

"O heart consumed with love, what did you breathe into my heart That there is in my heart a burning
fire?
I was not aware of the ways of love
But let a similar heart be pressed against my chest.
Perhaps its name is love and madness,
This flame that has been lit inside."
-Rumi


"Space and orbits do not contain Me, neither do minds nor the selves of men."
"However in the heart of a believer I am contained like a guest Who has been given full access and control over the residence of the host."
"Without such a mirror no one could bear to look upon My beauty, Neither on this earth nor in the heavens."
-Allah(swa) in Hadith Qudsi

"Understand the secret unseen ways of heart to heart contact like this:
When two lamps are being lit
The lamps will remain separate
But their light will become intermixed as one."
-Rumi

"Their signs are on their faces, from the effects of prostrations."
-Qur'an 48:29

"Keep yourself unknown and without name or fame and be like an indigent one
So that this condition should keep you far removed from fame
For fame takes away all bounds of comfort and brings many calamities in its wake".
-Rumi

"The bad smell of arrogance, greed and lustful desires comes out of conversation.
Just like the bad smell exuding from the mouth of him who ate onions.
O you people! you commit sinful acts and then go to sleep
And the unpleasant smell thereof reaches up to the green heaven".
-Rumi

"The whole creation are children except the lovers of Allah and the
darling servants of Allah,
And for as long as one does not attain freedom from the jungle of
desires of the self (Nafs) that body will remain immature".
-Rumi

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him."

"A human being is not a human being while his tendencies include self-indulgence, covetousness, temper and attacking other people."
-Al-Ghazali

"Your children are not your children:
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which
You cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
But seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."
-Khalil Gibran

"So many Muslims are concerned about 'Iman' as a conception and as a point of argument in debates, but few Muslims even comprehend the depth of 'Iman' which is total conviction (yaqeen).
It is the latter which the Sahabahs sought, attained, and through which, gained victory."
-Shaykh Hasan Ali

"It is striking that today, we Muslims read so many books and still have no result of any revival;
yet the Sahabahs revived a great portion of the world by reading only ONE book in their time:
the Holy Qur'an.
The fact is that they did not just read it
but practiced every bit of it.
It was enough then - and is still enough today."
-Shaykh Hasan Ali

"If you see my Ummah afraid of telling the oppressor: You are an oppressor, it is farewell to the Ummah."
-Prophet Muhammad(saw)

"The rise of Islam offers perhaps the most impressive example in world history of the power of words to alter human behavior in sudden, surprising ways."
-William H. McNeill

Somebody asked Imam Abu Hanifah one day what he thought of the battles between 'Ali (RA) and Mu'awiya (RA). "My mind," replied the Imam, "is always full of fear about things on which I shall be questioned on Judgement Day. I am sure this is not one of them. So I do not think much about it."

"Whoever sees sincerity in his sincerity, his sincerity is itself in need of sincerity. The destruction of every sincere person lies in his sincerity, (he is destroyed) to the extent that he sees sincerity in himself. When he abandons seeing sincerity in himself he will be sincere and purified."

"O Allah! How can I ask you for any favors knowing how disobedient I am, but how can I not ask you for anything knowing how Generous You are?"

'My heart is so small
it's almost invisible.
How can You place
such big sorrows in it?
"Look," He answered,
"your eyes are even smaller,
yet they behold the world."'
-Rumi

"The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment."

"Every utterance that comes forth does so with the vestment of the heart from which it emerged."
-Hikam of Ibn Ata'illah
[Commentary] It is said, that the tongue translates what is in the heart. If the heart is confused or sick, so are the utterances. If the heart is wholesome and pure, then the utterances are real and appropriate. If you contemplate deeply what is being said, you will come to know the state of the speaker and the extent of his connectedness to the Truth and his position with Allah.

'The highest degree of love is Tatayyum (total enthrallment). The lowest degree is ‘alaqah (attachment), when the heart is attached to the beloved: then comes sabahah (infatuation), when the heart is poured out: then gharam (passion), when love never leaves the heart: then ashaq (ardent love), and finally tatayyum. When we say that a person is enthralled, as it were, by Allah, it means that he worships Allah, because enthrallment is like enslavement to the beloved."'

'When some of the rulers from the Tabi'in (Successors... 2nd generation Muslim rulers) sent a delegation to collect the jizya from the non-believers, the latter refused to pay. The officials asked, "Why do you refuse to pay us when you used to pay the jizya to our forefathers?" The non-believers replied, "When your forefathers used to come, their clothes were old and torn, their hair was disheveled, and their eyes were streaked with red due to worshipping throughout the night. Yet their faces were so awe-inspiring that we were unable to raise our eyes towards them. Your characteristics are not like theirs, nor will you be as just. Be gone, we will not give you anything.'

'One day a certain person took a burning lamp in his hand during the light of day as he proceeded to
the market. Someone said to him: "What is wrong with you? What need is there for a lamp during the
light of day?"
He replied: "I am searching for man everywhere. I do not see even
one man".
The person said: "But this market is filled with men".
He replied: "No there is no man in this market, only the outer
forms of men.
These are only bread-eaters and persons involved with their desires.
All the persons you see in this market are all carriers of attributes contrary to the true manhood.
They are not men but persons dressed in the outer forms of men.
For a man the attributes of manhood are necessary.
If aloe wood which has a fragrance, does not possess fragrance,
Then what is the difference between it and other timber?
Manhood and humanity is not the name for flesh, fat and skin.
Manhood is the name given to those attributes, character and deeds
Through which Allah's pleasure is attained.
If manhood is only for those in manly form,
Then Ahmad and Abu Jahl would be equal, yet we know it is not so".'
-Rumi

'Say: "Come, I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you from": [1] Join not anything as equal with Him; [2] be good to your parents; [3] kill not your children on a plea of want;- We provide sustenance for you and for them;- [4] come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; [5] take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom. [6] And come not nigh to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he attain the age of full strength; [7] give measure and weight with (full) justice;- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear;- [8] whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; [9] and fulfil the covenant of Allah: thus doth He command you, that ye may remember. Verily, this is My way, leading straight: [10] follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous.'
-The Ten Commandments (Qur'an 6:151-153)

'Once Nabi Isa (A.S.) was running towards the mountain. One of his followers shouted at him in a loud
voice: "0 Rasul of Allah! whither are you going in this manner? What is the cause of your fear? I do not
see any enemy following you".
Nabi Isa (A.S.) replied:
"I am fleeing from a fool. You go and do your own work.
I desire to grant myself safety from the company of a fool. Do not
interrupt my fleeing".
The follower said:
"O Messenger of Allah, Are you not that Messiah
Through whom the blind and the deaf were healed of their ailments?"
Hazrat Isa (A.S.) replied:
"The illness of foolishness is the wrath of Allah.
To be blind is not a punishment, but a trial from His side.
A trial is such a sickness which brings Allah's Mercy.
While foolishness is such an ailment which brings wounds of His wrath.
Flee from fools and like Nabi Isa (A.S.) prefer to run away.
The friendship of fools has caused much bloodshed
Both the blood of Deen and Dunya has flowed.
Just as air evaporates water slowly and gradually
So the fool takes away the light of your intelligence slowly and gradually.
Nabi Isa's (A.S.) running away was not out of fear,
For through the Grace of Allah,
He was sinless and protected, but he fled in order to teach his Ummat a lesson.'
A fool in the technical language of the Quran is that person who jeers and scoffs at Allah and His Rasool ~ and their injunctions. As Allah points out in the Quran: "Verily they are the fools, but they know not (that they are fools)", and "They only know the pomp and splendour of this worldly life. And regarding the hereafter, they are unmindful and neglectful".
-Rumi's Mathnavi

"O God of this Universe, God of Beauty and Love
A great trial for men is figurative beauty and love
If love is felt for others save You (i.e. illicit love)
Then that is not love but in fact is iniquity.
That love can prove to be your punishment,
And can be a hindrance on your path.
For this reason the command is given: "Cast down your gaze,"
So that the heart can be without damage from the poison of love.
Don't ever consider looking at evil as a minor sin,
It destroys the heart in quick time.
Looking at evil is like an arrow from Iblees.
It is deception drowned in poison.
How many have been destroyed in this path?
How many have lost the way in the path of this desire?
They have lost in this way their whole life
The value of their lives is just remembrance of a beloved.
This figurative beauty only lasts for limited number of days
It is only for a couple of days that the conspiracy lasts
The love that is of colour and complexion
Is like the lovers love of the sun over the shade. Those who themselves are helpless and in need on the
day of Judgement they and their lovers
Will be before Allah with blackened souls."
-Hakim Akhtar