All Quotes

"O God there are hundreds of snares and baits And we are even as greedy and foolish birds; Every moment our feet are caught in a fresh snare, Yea, each one of us though he be a falcon or Simurgh, Thou dost release us every moment and straightway We again fly into the snare, O Almighty one."

"William Falconer, in The Asiatic Journal (1840) p. 32, (1841) p. 238, (1842) p. 102 · Fraser's Magazine (April 1855) pp. 374–5"

"The Word is become foul with mingled earth, The water is become muddy; close the mouth of the well, Till God makes it again pure and sweet, Yea, till He purifies what He has made foul; Patience will accomplish thy desire, not haste, Be patient, God knows what is best."

"I journeyed years and months for love of that moon, Heedless of the way, absorbed in God, With bare feet I trod upon thorns and flints, Seeing I was bewildered, and beside myself and senseless; What knows the heart of road and stages, What of distant and near, while it is drunk with love."

"The head whose reason has fled is a tail."

"When the day dawns from heaven, night flees away What then can its darkness know of the nature of light? The gnat scuds away before the blast of the winds, What then knows the gnat of the savour of the winds? When the Eternal appears, the transitory is annulled, What then knows the transitory of the Eternal?"

"Though the material sun is unique and single, We can conceive similar suns like to it, But the Sun of the soul beyond this firmament, No like thereof is seen in concrete or abstract."

"The wine of God’s grace hath no brim, If it appear to have a brim, ’tis the fault of the cup."

"Giving thanks for blessing increases blessings But fatalism snatches those blessings from your hands, Your fatalism is to sleep on the road; sleep not Till ye behold the gate of the king’s palace."

"Look to your hearts! I whatever betide, O Moslems, Am so mingled with Him, that no heart is mingled with me, I was born of His love at the first, I gave Him my love at the last, When the fruit springs from the bough, on that bough it hangs."

"With thee hell would he a mansion of delight With thee a prison would be a rose garden."

"With thee how should we be afraid of loss O thou, who turnest every loss to gain."

"Why, when God’s earth is so wide, have you fallen asleep in prison?"

"The majority of those in Paradise are the simple Who have escaped the snares of philosophy. Strip yourself bare of overweening intellect That grace may ever be shed upon you from above."

"Whereas want of fidelity is shameful even in dogs, How can it be right in men? God Almighty himself makes boast of fidelity Saying 'Who is more faithful to his promise than we?'"

"Open your arms if you desire an embrace, Break the idol of clay that you may behold the face of the fair."

"Come, come for you will not find another friend like Me, Where indeed is a Beloved like Me in all the world? Come, come, and do not spend your life in wandering to and fro, Since there is no market elsewhere for your money."

"Come, and think of Me, Who gave you the faculty of thought, Since from my mine you may purchase an ass-load of rubies; Come, advance towards Him Who gave you a foot, Look with all your eyes upon Him Who gave you an eye."

"That spiritual garden accompanies them everywhere Yet it is never revealed to the eyes of the people, Its fruits ever asking to be gathered, Its fount of life welling up to be drunk."

"We used to be on the earth, ignorant of the earth, Ignorant of the treasure buried within it."

"Thou wert a love-lorn nightingale among owls, The scent of the rose-garden reached thee, and thou didst go to the rose-garden. Thou didst suffer sore headache from this bitter ferment, At last thou wentest to the tavern of eternity."

"'Tis slave-caressing thy love has practised, Else, where is the heart worthy of that love? Every heart that has slept one night in thine air Is like radiant day; thereby the air is illuminated."

"How many letters thou writest with Thy Almighty pen Through marvelling thereat stones become as wax; These letters exercise and perplex reason, Write on, O skilful Fair-writer, Imprinting every moment on Not-being the fair forms Of the world of ideals to confound all thought."

"Mine eye is from that source, and from another universe Here a world and there a world: I am seated on the threshold; On the threshold are they alone, whose eloquence is mute, 'Tis enough to utter this intimation: say no more, draw back thy tongue."

"What pearl art thou that none possesseth the price of thee? What does the world possess that is not thy gift?"

"Why does not the soul take wing when from the glorious presence A speech of sweet favour comes to it saying, 'Aloft!'"

"Why should a falcon not fly from the quarry towards the King When it hears by drum and drum-stick the notice of 'Return?' Why should not every Sufi begin to dance like a mote, In the sun of eternity that it may deliver him from decay."

"When the sun goeth up, where stayeth night? When the joy of bounty came, where lagged affliction?"

"Weave no more with soot, like the spider, a web of care, Wherein both woof and warp are rotten. While thou art silent, His speech is thy speech, While thou weavest not, God is the weaver."

"When thou seest in the pathway a severed head, Which is rolling toward our field, Ask of it, ask of it the secrets of the heart, For of it thou wilt learn our hidden mystery."

"How long shall we, like children in the earthly sphere Fill our lap with dust and stones and sherds? Let us give up the earth and fly heavenwards, Let us flee from childhood to the banquet of men."

"Were there no hostility, war would be impossible, Hadst thou no lust, obedience to the law could not be Hadst thou no concupiscence there could be no abstinence Where no antagonist exists, what need is there of armies?"

"Such grace and beauty and loveliness and bestowal of life, O misery and error, if anyone dispense with Him! Fly, fly O bird, to thy native home, For thou hast escaped from the cage, and thy pinions are outspread. Travel away from the bitter stream towards the water of life, Return from the vestibule to the high seat of the soul."

"Whereas the springhead is undying, its branch gives water continually; Since neither can cease, why are you lamenting? Conceive the Soul as a fountain and these created things as rivers; While the fountain flows, the rivers run from it Put grief out of your head, and keep quaffing this river water, Do not think of the water failing; for this water is without end."

"When you have seen the millstone turning round, Then, prithee, go and see the stream that turns it. When you have seen the dust rising up into the air, Go and mark the air in the midst of the dust. You see the kettles of thought boiling over, Look with intelligence at the fire beneath them. God said to Job "Out of my clemency I have given a grain of patience to every hair of thine" Look not then, so much at your own patience, After seeing patience, look to the giver of patience."

"Our wakefulness fetters our spirits, Then our souls are a prey to various whims, Thoughts of loss and gain and fears of misery. They retain not purity nor dignity nor lustre, Nor aspiration to soar heavenwards. That one is really sleeping who hankers after each whim And holds parley with each fancy."

"As there are many demons with men’s faces, It is wrong to join hands with every one."

"Since the latter of your states were better than the former, Seek annihilation and adore change of state; You have already seen hundreds of resurrections Occur every moment from your origin till now; One from the inorganic state to the vegetive state, From the vegetive state to the animal state of trial; Thence again to rationality and good discernment, Again you will rise from this world of sense and form."

"Since you are properly a clod you will not rise into the air; You will rise into the air if you break and become dust, If you break not, He who moulded you will break you."

"Having chosen thy Director, be not weak of heart Nor yet sluggish and lax like water and mud; But if thou takest umbrage at every rub How wilt thou become a polished mirror?"

"When God decides to humble any sinner proud A demon stirs this last to insult some man of God And he whom God elects to cloak where 'tis he halts Has grace bestowed on him to cover others' faults."

"Since all things are dependent on probability, Religion is so first of all, for thereby you find release. In this world no knocking at the door is possible Save hope, and God knows what is best."

"When the preacher himself has no light or life, How can his words yield leaves and fruit? He impudently preaches to others to walk aright, While himself he is unsteady as a reed shaken by wind. Thus though his preaching is very eloquent, It hides within it unsteadiness in the faith."

"When thou endurest not the pains of abstinence, And fulfillest not the terms, thou gainest no reward; How easy those terms! how abundant that reward! A reward that enchants the heart and charms the soul."

"Should envy fill thy breast ’gainst one that envies not Foul stains ensue; thy heart’s impure; all good’s forgot Prostrate thyself then at the feet of holy men, Cast dust upon thy head, God’s pardon to obtain."

"When the discourse touched on the matter of love, Pen was broken and paper torn; None but the sun can display the sun. If you would see it displayed, turn not away from it."

"Traditional knowledge when inspiration is available Is like making ablutions with sand when water is near Make yourself ignorant, be submissive, and then You will obtain release from your ignorance."

"When, O spiritual one, thou hast become thy own fortune Then, being thyself thy fortune, thou wilt never lose it How, O fortunate one, cans't thou ever lose thyself When thy real self is thy treasure and thy kingdom."

"When the drop departed from its native home and returned It found a shell and became a pearl. Did not Joseph go on a journey from his father weeping? Did he not in the journey come to fortune and kingdom and victory?"

"As the arrow speeds from the bow, like the bird of your imagination Know that the Absolute will certainly flee from the imaginary; His name will flee when it sees an attempt at speech; He will flee from you so that if you limn his picture The picture will fly from the tablet, the impression will flee from the soul."