Islamic Quotes

The death of the self lies in the life of the heart.
- Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (rahimullah)


Actions are but lifeless forms whose soul is the secret of sincerity in them
- ibn Ata'illah


Whoever is sitting with friends
is in the midst of a flower garden,
though he may be in the fire.
Whoever sits with an enemy is in the fire,
even though he is in the midst of a garden.
- Jalaluddin Rumi
"Mathnawi" [IV, 1976-1978]


This world in comparison with the world to come, is the same as if one of you were to put his finger in the ocean.
Consider how much you would have when you pulled it out
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)


How can a sane man be conceited about his spiritual works, when his works are but a gift from Allah and a blessing from Him that he should thank Him for.
- Abu Sulayman al-Darani
[Nata'ij al-afkar, 1.114]


The soul constantly cries out, tears constantly flow and the heart constantly breaks into pieces to be united with the Almighty and His Messenger, but the mind says who are you anyway your body is weak and you are full of fear.


In my 39 years on this earth, the Holy city of Makkah had been the first time I had ever stood before the Creator of all and felt like a complete human being
- El Hajj el Malik al-Shabbaz (Malcolm X)


Peace of heart comes from a heart free of anxiety.
Anxiety is caused by the weight of all that is material.
Material weigh the heart down and prevent it from soaring.
Soaring of the heart comes from remembering Allah (Ta'ala)


The relation of patience to iman is like the relation of the head to the body. If the head is chopped off, the body becomes useless.� Then he raised his voice and said: �Certainly, the one who has no patience has no iman, and patience is like a riding-beast that nevers gets tired
- Ali ibn Abu Talib
from 'Patience and Gratitude' By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah


Arguing is a harsh way of dealing with differences. You will hardly ever find it mentioned in the Qur`an or Sunnah except that it is either censured, or qualified by the phrase, "except in the best way".


Nothing is difficult, if you seek it through your Lord;
nothing is easy, if you seek it through your self.
- Ibn Ata'illah What you love to have with you in the hereafter, you should advance today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon today
- Salman ibn Dinar


Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit.
-Imam al- Ghazali


It is related that Abu 'Uthman was once riding in the street when a pot of ashes was thrown down upon him. He dismounted, and prostrated himself to God in gratitude, and then brushed the ashes from his clothes without saying a word. 'Shall you not rebuke them?' he was asked, but he replied, 'A man who deserves hellfire but receives only ashes cannot fairly be angry'.
[Signs of good character]


Do not ask, 'Where is God?', but ask, 'where am I?'


Get used to a rough life,
for luxury does not last forever.
- Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiAllahu anhu)


To blame others for our misfortunes is always a victory for the nafs.
- Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad


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.
- a Salaf


There are four types of oceans. Passions are the ocean of sins, the self (nafs) is the ocean of lust, death is the ocean of life, and the grave is the ocean of distress
- Umar (radiAllahu anhu)


When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow
I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape
My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness
I found Your forgiveness to be greater
- Imam Shafi' (rahimullah)


The highest person is he who is of most use to humankind.
- Ali bin Abi Talib, "Masters of the Path"


Four things come not back -- the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.
- Arab proverb


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


Truth is Timeless,
and returning to Truth
is better than continuing in Falsehood
- Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radiAllahu anhu)


If you devote yourself to God in this world, He will admit you among His chosen servants in the hereafter. Such devotion, however, demands sacrifice and self-denial, the two instruments that make union with God possible.


Compared to the best
you're a nobody;
think of yourself as such.


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."
- Jalaluddin al-Rumi [from 'Whispers of the Beloved']


"Say: 'Come close, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden you: i. Do not associate anything with Him; ii. And [show] kindness towards both [your] parents. iii. Do not kill your children because of poverty; We shall provide for you as well as for them. iv. Do no indulge in shocking acts which you may practice either openly or keep in secret. v. Do not kill any person whom God has forbidden, except through [due process of] law. He has instructed you in this so that you may use your reason. vi. Do not approach an orphan's estate before he comes of age, except to improve it. vii. Grant full measure and weight in all fairness. We do not assign any person to do more than he can cope with. viii. Whenever you speak, be just even though it concerns a close relative. ix. Fulfill God's agreement. Thus has He instructed you so that you may bear it in mind. x. This is My straight Road, so follow it and do not follow [other] paths which will separate you from His path. Thus has He instructed you so that you may do your duty."
- Qur'an [6: 151-153]
The Ten Commandments


The Orphan is not he who has lost his father, an orphan is he who lacks knowledge and adab


Glory is for none but the learned,
Guided are they - and proofs for seekers of guidance.
Every person is measured based on how much of it (knowledge) he mastered,
The ignorant are to the learned their enemies,
Succeed with knowledge and live energetically forever,
Men are all dead, only the possessors of knowledge are truly alive
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)


Real knowledge, like everything else of value, is not to be obtained easily.
It must be worked for,
studied for,
thought for,
and, more that all,
must be prayed for.


Be aware of your own worth, use all of your power to achieve it. Create an ocean from a dewdrop. Do not beg for light from the moon, obtain it from the spark within you.
- Muhammad Iqbal


A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship HIM than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell
- C.S.Lewis (author)


O my Lord, whatever share of this world You have bestowed on me, bestow it to my enemies, and whatever share of the next world You have for me, give it to my friends.
You are enough for me.
- Rabia al-Adawiyya


We often mix between what is for Allah's sake and what is for our own sake.


Upon Allah is the bayan (explaining), upon the Messenger is Balagh (conveying) and upon us is tasleem (willingly accepting).
- Imam az-Zuhri


Sometimes in order to help He makes us cry
Happy the eye that sheds tears for His sake
Fortunate the heart that burns for His sake
Laughter always follow tears
Blessed are those who understand
Life blossoms wherever water flows
Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown

- Jalaluddin Rumi


In eloquence there is magic,
in knowledge ignorance,
in poetry wisdom,
and in speech heaviness
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[abu Dawud 41 #4994 - narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib]


If knowledge had no other merit than to make the ignorant fear and respect you, and scholars love and honour you, this would be good enough reason to seek after it. Let alone all its other merits in this world and the next.
- Ibn Hizam


O Beloved of Hearts, I beseech only You.
Have pity this day on those who turn to You.
My Hope, my Rest, my Delight,
this heart can love none other but You.
- Rabi'a, "Rabia the Mystic" "Islam teaches that God is one and only reality. Not just that there is only one God but that nothing else really exists! We have made �gods� of money, status, name, fame and many other concerns that are only transient, temporal and incapable of giving us the lasting peace that we all seek."


Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you,
and patience against what you covet.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib


If you dont wake up for Fajr, then dont wake up at all
- Hamza Yusuf


Allah�s Generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in His generosity. The generosity of Allah will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)


All creatures, day and night, make manifestation of God. Some of them know what they are doing and are aware of their manifesting, while others are unaware. However it may be, God's manifestation is confirmed.
- Jalaluddin Rumi


You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.


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 Ibn Ata'illah
[Commentry] 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.


Never be without rememberance of Him, for His rememberance gives strength and wings to the bird of the Spirit.
- Jalaluddin Rumi


Put aside your pride,
Set down your arrogance,
And remember your grave.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib


Today we have the same Qur�an with us. Millions of copies of it are in circulation. Day and night, it is ceaselessly recited. In homes, in mosques, and from pulpits. Voluminous exegetical works exist expounding its meaning. Words pour out incessantly to explain its teachings and to exhort us to live by it.
Yet eyes remain dry, hearts remain unmoved, minds remain untouched, lives remain unchanged. Ignominy and degradation appear to have become the lot of the followers of the Qur�an.
Why? Because we no longer read the Qur�an as a living reality. It is a sacred book, but it tells us something of the past only, concerning Muslims and Kafirs, Jews and Christians, the faithful and the hypocrites, who �once upon a time used to be.�
Khurram Murad, in [Way to the Qur�an]


Hadhrat Ahnaf bin Qais (radiAllahu anhu)said,
"I compared our actions to that of the people of Jannah and I discovered that they by far excelled us; our actions do not compare with theirs. They slept less at night and laboured more in their devotions to Allah. I then compared our actions to that of the people of Jahannum and I discovered that they refuted Allah, His Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and Qiyamah. I realised that our actions are not of the standard of the people of Jannah, and [Allah be praised] not like that of the people of Jahannum. I therefore conclude that we are among those about whom Allah Ta'ala says, "Those who mixed a good act with another that was evil.� [Ibn Kahir, 'Ma'ariful Quran' vol.8]


Beware of the flight of Blessings,
For nothing that runs away is returned.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib