Islamic Quotes

O students at the madrasa,
Everything you learn is mere misgivings.
If your concern is in other than the Beloved,
You shall have no share of the Next Life.
- One of the righteous poets of the spiritual path The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Patience which is in remembrance of Him is not bitter;
For bitterness from a friend's hand is sugar.
- Bustan

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

Make the remembrance of Allah, my garment, my Lord
Every utterance from my mouth be Your dhikr, my Lord.
Instead of breath, It should be Your dhikr from my throat, my Lord
Let this Dhikr never leave me
And be the last thing on my tongue O Creator.
La Ilaha Illallah.
La Ilaha Illallah.

If the Seven heavens and Seven earths were put together on one side of a scale and the words "La ilaha ilalah" were placed on the other side of the scale, the later would outweigh the former.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Sahih al-Bukhari]

Among the signs of true success (tawfiq) is witnessing one's shortcomings, while having high resolve; remaining lowly and needy; being characterized by slavehood to Allah, with true following of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his actions, states, words, and character; yet not beholding any of this nor relying on it nor being tricked by it or stopping with it.
- Imam Abd Allah Ba-Sudan al-Hadrami
(in his al-Anwar al-Lami`a, a commentary on al-Risala al-Jami`a, (p. 120))

Oh writer! An Angel watches over all you write. Make your writing meaningful for it will eventually return to you and you will be questioned about what you wrote.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

There will never be enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of Islam.

I believe if there is any place left where the humanity is still visible, it can not be anywhere else than in an Islamic society. Time would come when the world would be obliged to accept this reality.

When He opens a way for you and makes Himself known to you, then do not worry about your lack of deeds.
He only opened the way for you because He desired to make Himself known to you.
Do you not see that while He grants gnosis of Himself to you,
you have only deeds to offer Him?
What He brings you -
What you bring Him -
What a difference there is between them!
- Hikam of Ibn Ata'illa

If you remember the creation (gossip about such and such a person), then remember Allah the Most High. Remembering Him is the medicine for remembering His creation.
- Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (rahimahullah)

The heartbrokenness of the sinner is better than the forcefulness of the obedient
- Abu Madyan
[Diwan, 50]

The ambition of the spiritual traveller never wants to stop with what it has been shown save that the voices of reality call to him, "what you seek is ahead of you.
- Ibn 'Ata'illah Iskandari

The beloved of Allah are the perfume of Allah upon this world, but only the true, sincere believers have noses to smell them. They smell that beautiful perfume; they follow that smell. That perfume creates a yearning in their hearts for their Lord, and as a result the sincere believers increase their pace, efforts and devotions. - Yahya ibn Muadh al Razi (rahimullah)
[The Secrets of Secrets, p16, by Sk. Abdul Qadir Jilani]

If someone's state does not lift you up,
and his words do not lead you to Allah.
Then do not keep his company.

It may well be that you are in a bad state,
But to keep company with someone worse than you
would allow to see good in yourself.
- Ibn Ata'illah Iskandari

If someone remarks "What an excellent man you are!" and this pleases you more than his saying, "What a bad man you are!" know that you are still a bad man.
- Sufyan ath-Thawri

To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do

When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes.

O my people! Prove the sincerity of your respect for the Qur'an by putting its teachings into practice, not by arguing about it.
- Mohyuddin, Abdul Qadir al Jilani
from 'The Sublime Revelation', Trans. Muhtar Holland

One who is mild rather than forceful
has greater capcity for outreach.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Tala'al badru 'alaynaa, Min thanee yatil Wadaa. Wajabash shukru 'alaynaa maa da'aa lil lahidaa. Ayyuhal mab'oothu feenaa. Ji-ta bil amril mutaa. Ji-ta shar raftal Madinah. Marhaban yaa khayra daa.

The full moon rose over us from the vally in the south. Now we owe it to show thankfulness every time we call on Allah. O you who were raised among us, coming with a word to be obeyed. You have brought to this city nobleness so welcome! best caller to Allah's way.
- Sang by the girls of Madinah when the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)entered the city on the Hijrah

Practice what you have learned, for theory without practice is like a spirit without a body. One who is content with learning alone is not learned, for the truly learned seek more than mere words. Divine guidance entails self-mortification, without which contemplation is unattainable.
- Imam Al-Hujwiri [Kashf al-Mahjub]

Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you are dependable, honest, virtuous, and content in Allah�s will, no harm shall come your way.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [as reported by Abd�Allah bin Amr]

The need to be loved is childish, immature. The need to love is mature.

Eat what you want and dress up as you desire, as long as extravagance and pride do not mislead you.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [as reported by Abd�Allah ibn Abbas]

A garden in al-Andalus has
unveiled beauty and a lush scent.

The morning glistens from its teeth
and the night is overshadowed by its scarlet lips.

When the wind blows from the East
I cry: O how I long for al-Andalus!
- Abu Ishaq ibn Khafaja (d. 1139), excerpt from a poem 'The literature of al-Andalus'

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

And those who believe are overflowing in their love of God - Qur'an, 2: 165 Have you fully Realized what Islam is? It is indeed a religion founded on truth. It is such a fountain-head of learning that several streams of wisdom and knowledge flow from it.It is such a lamp that several lamps will be lighted from it. It is a lofty beacon of light illumining the path of Allah. It is such a set of principles and beliefs that it will fully satisfy every seeker of truth and reality.

Know you that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standards of his worship and obedience. He has favoured it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undoubtable arguments, unchallengeable supremacy and undeniable wisdom. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerly, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicity its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Islamic Quotes

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Pearls are priceless and should be protected and guarded from unworthy eyes.

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.
- ibn Taymiyyah
[Al-Uboodiyyah]

He does not refuse sustenance to the one who speaks ill of Him. How then could He refuse sustenance to the one whose soul is overflowing with love for Him?
- Rabi'a al-adawiyya
[Rabi'a the Mystic]

O you who complain to people about your misfortunes, what good will it do you to complain to creatures? They can bring you neither benefit nor harm. If you rely on them and associate partners with the Lord of the Truth, they will make you distant from Him, cause you to fall into His displeasure.
- Abdul Qadir Jilani

I swear that ever since the first day You brought me back to life,
The day You became my Friend,
I have not slept -
And even if You drive me from your door,
I swear again that we will never be separated -
Because You are alive in my heart
- Rabia al-Adawiyya

Wisdom is like the rain. Its source is unlimited, but it comes down according to the season. Grocers put sugar in a bag, but their supply of sugar is not the amount in the bag. When you come to a grocer, he has sugar in abundance. But he sees how much money you have brought and gives accordingly. Your currency on this Path is resolution and faith, and you are taught according to your resolution and faith. When you come seeking sugar, they examine your bag to see what its capacity is; then they measure out accordingly.
- Jalaluddin Rumi

Many a spoken word is more peircing than an attack.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib

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)

Actions are merely propped-up shapes.
Their life-breath is the presence of the secret of sincerity in them.
- Ibn Ata'illah Iskandari
[Al-hikam al-'Ata'iyyah]

Jaffer asked Rabia when a devotee might become content with God. She replied, "When his joy in affliciton equals his joy in blessing."
- Abu Makki

Everything that hearts find of worries and sadness is because of what they have been denied of beholding Allah.
- One of the Salaf

Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him, and his renunciation of the life of this world is equal to his desire of the Hereafter.
Whoever acts according to what he knows, Allah will make him successful in what he doesn't know.
And whoever is ill-tempered disgraces his honour, religion and generosity.
- Ibrahim al-Ash'ath

Weep like the waterwheel,
that green herbs may spiring up
from the courtyard of your soul.
If you wish for tears,
have mercy on one who sheds tears;
if you wish mercy, show mercy to the weak.
- Jalaluddin Rumi
Soften your heart [I, 821-2]

The soul should take care of the body, just as the pilgrim on his way to Makkah takes care of his camel; but if the pilgrim spends his whole time in feeding and adorning his camel, the caravan will leave him behind, and he will perish in the desert.
- abu Hamid al-Ghazali

For the larger interest of humanity, Islamic society presents the safest place on this planet.
- Jermaine Jackson

Money doesnt change people, it only exposes them.

Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot understand his deen.
- Al Hasan al-Basri

And make provision for yourselves; the best provision is taqwa - Quran, 2:197

I don't advise you to mind your life's affairs because I know that you are covetous to do so, but I advise you to mind the affairs of the Hereafter.
Take from this temporary home to the eternal one.
Consider this life as something that you have left, I swear by Allah you will leave it.
Consider death as something that you have tasted, I swear by Allah you will taste it.
And consider the Hereafter as a home that you have visited, I swear by Allah you will be there.
- Ata al Khurasani

Purification of the heart was once described by a scholar.
He gave the analogy of a man who didn�t have a bath for a whole year. So to make himself look clean and presentable, the dirty man decided to put on perfume and wear expensive clothes. Obviously his actions would be futile. He would still reek and smell, right?
Similarly, if we have dirty hearts and we focus on external actions (e.g Salah, fasting etc) our actions would be futile. Hence, tasawwuf and purification of the heart.
If we do not focus on the importance of purifying our hearts, all our external good deeds will be in vain.

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

There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.

People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

In the heavens there is calmness
and on the earth there is beauty.
In the gardens there is freshness
and in you there is a sign.
In the sea there is might
and in the air there is nourishment.
Take from all this comfort for your soul
and recovery for your mind.
And do not waste your time by being unmindful,
this will shield you from good
and lead you to evil.
- Hasan al-Banna

A bad attitude spoils a good deed just as vinegar spoils honey
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)

Reputation is what men and women think of us;
Character is what God and Angels know of us.

There is only one virtue
and one sin for a soul on the path:
virtue when he is conscious of God
and sin when he is not.
- Abu Hashim Madani

Iman is to believe, even when an overpowering tide of evil surrounds you.
� Imam Anwar al-Awlaki

Tasawwuf: The weakening of the negative aspects of the human soul and the strengthening of its positive aspects.

Do a lot of remembrance of Allah until they say, 'He is mad.'
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Reported by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri in Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hibban]

If your pride leads you to boast,
you will be doubly guilty,
because your intelligence will have shown
that it is incapable of controlling your pride.
- Ibn Hazm

Some people drink deeply from the fountain of knowledge.
Others just gargle.

He whose sin is due to desires, then have hope for him. And he whose sin is due to pride, then fear for him - because Nabi Adam disobeyed due to desire and was forgiven, and Iblis sinned due to pride and was cursed
- Sufyan ibn Uyainah

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

Everyone projects the image of friendship, but true friendship is that friendship which is established for the Pleasure of Allah. A true friend is one who takes no offence when a weakness of his is pointed out. And he too does not hesitate to point out the friend�s weakness and assist him in rectifying it.
- Moulana Yunus Patel saheb