Islamic Quotes

Upon your life! On the day that I carried the standard
So that the calvary of al-Lat could overcome the calvary of Muhammad
Like an uncertain person who sets out at night,
This was the time that I was offered guidance and was guided.
I was guided by someone other than myself;
I was guided to Allah by the very one I had striven so hard to drive away.
No camel has there been who ever bore upon its back
Anyone more righteous or more faithful in his pledge than Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
- Sufyan ibn al-Harith (radiAllahu anhu)

We used to say that those amongst us with the most sins are those who spend their time talking about the sins of others. - Muhammad ibn Sireen

We have come to free the slaves of Allah from the slavery of the creation.

Purifying the heart, is equally if not more important then external ritualistic worship. It is something that we should not neglect.

Abu Bakr al-Katani said:
A discussion about mahabbah took place in Makkah, during pilgrimage season. The Shaykhs who were present spoke about this topic, and al-Junayd being the youngest of them. They said to him: What do you say, O Iraqi? So al-Junayd lowered his head and tears were gushing from his eyes, then he said:

"A servant should overcome his soul,
And be continuous in the remembrance of his Lord,
Establishing the rights of his Lord,
Focusing upon Him with his heart,
The light of fear setting ablaze his heart,
Whilst drinking from the vessel of pure love,
And certain hidden realities being unveiled for him.
So when he talks, it is due to Allah,
When he speaks, it is from Allah,
When he moves, it is by the Command of Allah,
And when he is serene, then it is from Allah,
He belongs to Allah, is for Allaah and is with Allah."

Upon hearing, the Shaykhs all started weeping, and they said:
There is nothing left to add to that, may Allah reward you O Crown of the Knowledgeable Ones.

Say Bismillah, In the name of God, as the shaykh does with a knife when he offers an animal. Bismillah your old self to find your real name. - Jalaluddin al-Rumi [from 'The Essential Rumi']

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 secrets of secrets, p 62 by Sh. Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Whenever Allah gives a blessing to a servant, and then takes it back from him, and the servant patiently endures his loss, then He rewards him with a blessing which is better than the one which He took back.
- Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz

While holding the door of the Ka'bah, Abu Dharr told that he had heard the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) say,
My family among you are like Noah's ark. He who sails on it will be safe, but he who holds back from it will perish.
[at-Tirmidhi Hadith #6174, Musnad Ahmad bin Hambal]

A man with wisdom as soon as adversity appears does that which a foolish man does after a month (i.e. he resorts to patience)
- a wise man

The eye of contentment is blind to every blemish,
But the eye of rancor ferrets out mistakes.
- Abdullah ibn Mu�awiya ibn Abdullah ibn Ja�far ibn Abi Talib

It was not Muslims that had made Islam great; it was Islam that had made the Muslims great.
- Muhammad Asad

We came to liberate you from the submission and worship of people to the worship of the Lord of all people, and from the injustice of other deens to the justice of Islam, and from the anguish of this life to the bliss of this life and the hereafter.
- Ribay ibn Amir addressing the Persian Emperor

If you are looking for a friend who is faultless, you will be friendless.
- Jalaluddin Rumi

I saw myself in a wide green garden, more beautiful than I could begin to understand. In this garden was a young girl. I said to her, "How wonderful this place is!"
"Would you like to see a place even more wonderful than this?" she asked.
"Oh yes," I answered. Then taking me by the hand, she led me on until we came to a magnificent palace, like nothing that was ever seen by human eyes. The young girl knocked on the door, and someone opened it. Immediately both of us were flooded with light.

Only Allah knows the inner meaning of the maidens we saw living there. Each one carried in her hand a serving-tray filled with light. The young girl asked the maidens where they were going, and they answered her, "We are looking for someone who was drowned in the sea, and so became a martyr. She never slept at night, not one wink! We are going to rub funeral spices on her body."
"Then rub some on my friend here," the young girl said.
"Once upon a time," said the maidens, "part of this spice and the fragrance of it clung to her body -- but then she shied away."
Quickly the young girl let go of my hand, turned, and said to me:

"Your prayers are your light;
Your devotion is your strength;
Sleep is the enemy of both.
Your life is the only opportunity that life can give you.
If you ignore it, if you waste it,
You will only turn to dust." Then the young girl disappeared
-Rabia al-Basri

Be with Allah,
You will find Allah with you.
- Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi

Learn silence as you have learned speech.
Speech will guide you, and silence will protect you.
- One of the scholars of Ihsan

If I had known of any science greater than tasawwuf I would have gone to it, even on my hands and knees.
- Imam Junayd

Uthman (radiAllahu anhu), during the time of his Khilafah, came to visit Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radiAllahu anhu) on his deathbed. He asked, "What is your ailment?"
"My sins", Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (ra) replied.
"And what do you desire?", Uthman asked.
"The mercy of my Lord"

For no single thing exists that does not have its source with Us; and naught do We bestow from on high unless it be in accordance with a measure well-defined
- Qur'an, Surah al-Hijr, 21

Beware of luxury, for the slaves of Allah are not luxurious.
- Ibn Masu'd

Neglect not your time, nor use it haphazardly; on the contrary you should bring yourself to account. Structure your litanies and other practices during each day and night. This is how to bring about the spiritual blessing (baraka) in each period. If each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, Be not like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life grows ever shorter.
- abu Hamid al-Ghazali [in 'Bidayat ul-Hidaya']

You have not abandoned ignorance at all if you want something to take place in any moment other than what Allah has manifested it in.
- Shaykh Ibn Ata'illah

Whoever desires Paradise, proceeds towards goodness; whoever fears Hell, refrains from the impulses of passions; whoever believes firmly in death, detests wordly life; and whoever recognises the worldly life, the trials and tribulations (of life) become slight for him.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Do not despair when in spite of intense supplication,
there is a delay in receiving the expected gift.
He has guaranteed that he will respond
in what He chooses for you,
and not what you choose for yourself,
and at the time He chooses
� not the time you desire.
- Ibn Ata'illah