arabs

"Let us consider a navigator's manual, published by INSA in 1998 to throw light on "traditional" navigational methods in the Lakshadweep islands. Like so many Arabic navigation manuals, this manual too is attributed to Ibn Majid, the most famous of Arab navigators, who lived in the 15th c. However, it contains updated information found in British sailing manuals of the 19th c. CE. The natural interpretation is that the attribution to Ibn Majid is nominal and symbolic, that the manual has been propagated accretively, motivated by the navigator's life-and-death concern to have the best possible knowledge, and hence the manual has borrowed also from British sailing manuals of the 19th c. It would be laughable to assert that the manual is due to Ibn Majid who had anticipated all this knowledge which was somehow transmitted to the British sailing manuals of the late 19th c. CE."

"What Kuwait did to the Palestinian people is worse than what has been done by Israel to Palestinians in the occupied territories."

"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."

"The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognised by all."

"Put an end to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people that is taking place while the world stares in amazement."

"That which has reached us from the discoveries of their clear thinking and the marvels of their inventions is the (game) of chess. The Indians have, in the construction of its cells, its double numbers, its symbols and secrets, reached the forefront of knowledge. They have extracted its mysteries from supernatural forces. While the game is being played and its pieces are being maneuvered, there appear the beauty of structure and the greatness of harmony. It demonstrates the manifestation of high intentions and noble deeds, as it provides various forms of warnings from enemies and points out ruses as well as ways to avoid dangers. And in this, there is considerable gain and useful profit."

"Some astrologers came up with an explanation for this condition; they said that both Saturn and Mercury control the destiny of the Indian people. Because of the influence of Saturn, their color turned black, while the influence of Mercury provided them with intellectual power and fine spirit. Saturn in partnership with Mercury gave them correctness of reasoning and depth of perception. This is why they enjoy the purity of talent and the power of distinction, making them totally different from the people of Sudan (Blacks) (2) such as the Zinj, the Abyssinians, the Ethiopians and others. To their credit, the Indians have made great strides in the study of numbers (3) and of geometry. They have acquired immense information and reached the zenith in their knowledge of the movements of the stars (astronomy) and the secrets of the skies (astrology) as well as other mathematical studies. After all that, they have surpassed all the other peoples in their knowledge of medical science and the strengths of various drugs, the characteristics of compounds and the peculiarities of substances."

"The kings of China have stated that the kings of the world are five in number and all the people of the world are their subjects. They mentioned the king of China, the king of India, the king of the Turks, the king of the Furs (Persians) and the king of the Romans (1). They referred to the king of China as the "king of humans" because the people of China are more obedient to authority and are stronger followers of government policies than all the other peoples of the world. They referred to the king of India as the "king of wisdom" because of the Indians careful treatment of `ul?m (sciences) and their advancement in all the branches of knowledge. They referred to the king of the Turks as the "king of lions" because of the courage and the ferocity of the Turks. They referred to the king of Persia as the "king of kings" because of the richness, glory and importance of his kingdom, since Persia had subdued the kings of the center of the populated world, and because it controlled, to the exclusion of other kingdoms, the most fertile of the climatic regions. And they referred to the king of the Romans as the "king of men" because the Romans, of all the peoples, have the most beautiful faces, the best built bodies and the most robust physique."

"The first nation (to have cultivated science) is India. This is a powerful nation having a large population, and a rich kingdom (possession). India is known for the wisdom of its people. Over many centuries, all the kings of the past have recognized the ability of the Indians in all the branches of knowledge."

"The Indians, as known to all nations for many centuries, are the metal [essence] of wisdom, the source of fairness and objectivity. They are peoples of sublime pensiveness, universal apologues, and useful and rare inventions. In spite of the fact that their color is in the first stage of blackness, which puts them in the same category as the blacks, Allah, in His glory, did not give them the low characters, the poor manners, or the inferior principles associated with this group and ranked them above a large number of white and brown peoples."

"From the Desert I come to thee On a stallion shod with fire; And the winds are left behind In the speed of my desire. Under thy window I stand, And the midnight hears my cry: I love thee, I love but thee, With a love that shall not die Till the sun grows cold, And the stars are old, And the leaves of the Judgment Book unfold!Look from thy window and see My passion and my pain; I lie on the sands below, And I faint in thy disdain. Let the night-winds touch thy brow With the heat of my burning sigh, And melt thee to hear the vow Of a love that shall not die Till the sun grows cold, ...My steps are nightly driven, By the fever in my breast, To hear from thy lattice breathed The word that shall give me rest. Open the door of thy heart, And open thy chamber door, And my kisses shall teach thy lips The love that shall fade no more Till the sun grows cold, ..."

"Above th’ encampments of the Bedouins, ere Their watchfires were extinct,"

"And many a bearded Bedouin draws back his yellow-striped burnous To gaze upon the Titan thews of him who was thy paladin."

"Take your head out from under the yoke of slavery And sing the hymn of life Break the longing you have Tell with the whole world Let go, let go, Don't miss your dreams"

"Take off your scarf, the sun is going to set Take off your scarf, will make the air all right Take off your scarf, make the hair re… re… released"

"Im the last martyr of this tribe The tribe that has no bread, no water The tribe that a lot of its matyrs dont have any grave"

"Sing until the city becomes a women's song Until this homeland, becomes a home land."

"Ali Ibn Abi Talib, said: Verily the Prophet said: God divided the earth in two halves and placed (me) in the better of the two, then He divided the half in three parts, and I was in the best of them, then He chose the Arabs from among the people, then He chose the Quraysh from among the Arabs, then He chose the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib from among the Banu Hashim, then he chose me from among the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and from them he chose me."

"We were headed toward and 'Umar accompanied us as far as Sirar. Then he made ablutions, washing twice, and said: "Do you know why I have accompanied you?" We said: "Yes, we are companions of God's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then, he said: You will be coming to the people of a town for whom the buzzing of the Qur'an is as the buzzing of bees. Therefore, do not distract them with the Hadiths, and thus engage them. Bare the Qur'an and spare the narration from God's messenger (peace and blessing be upon him)!"

"If someone wants to make Jerusalem or the Galilee Jewish it's the same policy. Whether an Arab or a Jew does it is irrelevant."

"This government (24th Knesset) is dependent on us (United Arab List) and on our decision. And if there is a decision that contradicts our national principles and our religion (Islam), we will not be there."

"The protection of our (Israeli Arab) students is a major and important demand for us due to the ongoing circumstances as they feel the loss of safety and security inside Israeli universities and school residencies."

"The State of Israel was born as a Jewish state, and it will remain one."

"I am satisfied with the process we started. We are inside (the Knesset). Now is the time to know how to play the game. That means improving our steps and finding solutions to problems."

"We are equal partners the whole way, part of the coalition, for the first time in the State of Israel. We are compromising to solve the Arab society's problems."

"I take love as my religion wherever its caravans lead, for love is my religion and my faith."

"His is the wisdom of singularity because he is the most perfect existent in the human species. That is why the whole affair began with him and is sealed with him. For he was a prophet while Adam was between water and clay. Then, in his elemental configuration, he was the Seal of the Prophets. And three is the first of the singulars. Every singular beyond one derives from it."

"Every self-manifestation bestows a new creation and removes a pre-ceding creation. Its removal is the essence of annihilation (fanaa) in the passing self-manifestation and subsistence (baqaa) in the bestowal of the following self-manifestation."

"There are three things which a man in bound to practice. Whosoever neglects any one of them must need neglect them all, and whosoever cleaves to any one of them much needs cleave to them all. Strive therefore, to understand, and consider heedfully."

"Defer not the date of repentance for sins and confession in the hope of grace or longevity of life."

"It is offensive that there should be seen in the outward appearance of man more humility than what is in his heart."

"Depend more on the promises of God than those of men."

"The savant whose learning pursuits the Almighty God, all people hold reverential fear of him, and he whose objective is worldly gain, is afraid of the people."

"The best atonement for the greater sins if to help the needy and down-trodden folk."

"As long as the heart of man remains engrossed in recollection of God he is in prayer may he be in the bazaar. If his lips are too busy in dhikr; it would be much better."

"Who grumbles at the descent of affliction is like one who holds spear is his hand and fight with the Lord."

"Only the fearful one sees the fearful. It is the mother without her child who likes to see other mourning mothers."

"Worship of God which is done for ostentation is submerged in the earth. And that which is done for God's sake ascends to celestial spheres."

"For the gnostic of God it is highly irksome to sit and talk with the created beings."

"When once death has arrived, it does not return. So ever remain ready for it."

"God hath made the pious living in their death and hath made the wicked dead during their lives, i.e., the pious, though they be dead, yet live, since the angels utter blessings on their piety until they are made immortal by the recompense which they receive at the Resurrection."

"Sell not the friendship of the Lord for the friendship of the world and its possessions."

"I have never seen anything easier than abstaining. Whatever yourself devises, abandon it."

"I fear to accept anything from anybody lest my heart should start cherishing love for that person. I desire only to live in His thoughts."

"Worse than sin against God is sin against man."

"For the people of the world sleep is more profitable than to keep awake, for then they keep off worldly discourses during sleep."

"Whoever comes to repent before death is not late."

"If you desire purification of the heart then shut your eye from the corporeal world. This is the hole through which heart is defiled."

"Intelligent person, in true sense is that who abdicates the world before it deserts him."

"For thirty years I have never smiled."