highlights
31 highlights saved, filed under philosophy.
- 01
in making a spiritual reckoning, and says to his soul, “O my soul, thou hast only one life; no single moment that has passed can be recovered, for in the counsel of God the number of breaths allotted thee is fixed, and cannot be increased. When life is over no further spiritual traffic, is possible for thee; therefore what thou dost, do now; treat this day as if thy life had been already spent, and this were an extra day granted thee by the special favour of the Almighty, What can be greater folly than to lose it?”
- 02
Therefore a man should, say to his soul every morning, “God has given thee twenty-four treasures; take heed lest thou lose any one of them., for thou wilt not be able to endure the regret that will follow such loss.”
- 03
God has said, “Paradise is for those who intend to commit some sin and then remember that My eye is upon them and forbear.”
- 04
I then asked them for some spiritual advice. The younger replied, ‘O Ibn Hanif, we are afflicted; we do not possess that tongue which gives advice.’
- 05
for at the Last Day three questions will be asked respecting every action: the first, “Why did you do this?” the second, “In what way did you do this?” the third, “For what purpose did you do this?”
- 06
God said to David, “O David! ask no questions of the learned man who is intoxicated with love of the world, for he will rob thee of My love,”
- 07
People count on their rosaries with self-satisfaction the number of times they have recited the name of God, but they keep no rosary for reckoning the numberless idle words they speak.
- 08
Caliph Omar said, “Weigh your words and deeds before they are weighed at the Judgment.”
- 09
“O my soul! thou thinkest thyself intelligent and art angry at being called a fool, and yet what else art thou, after all? Thou preparest clothing to shield thee from the cold of winter, yet makest no preparation for the after-life. Thy state is like that of a man who in mid-winter should say, ‘I will wear no warm clothing, but trust in God's mercy to shield me from the cold.
- 10
On one occasion Omar asked the Prophet what were the things specially to be sought in the world. He answered, “A tongue occupied in the remembrance of God, a grateful heart, and a believing wife.”
- 11
Caliph Omar’s sayings is, “After faith, no blessing is equal to a good wife.”
- 12
The Prophet said, “To give one’s wife the money she requires is more important than to give alms.”
- 13
The Prophet said: “He who deserts his wife and children is like a runaway slave; till he returns to them none of his fasts or prayers will be accepted by God.”
- 14
The Prophet said, “Suppose a man spends one dinar[1] in religious war, another in ransoming a slave, a third in charity, and gives the fourth to his wife, the giving of this last surpasses in merit all the others put together.”
- 15
When the angel of death came to take the soul of Abraham the latter said, “Have you ever seen a friend take his friend’s life?” God answered him, “Have you ever seen a friend unwilling to see his friend?” Then Abraham said, “O Azrael! take my soul!”
- 16
Prophet to his companions, “O God, grant me to love Thee and to love those who love Thee, and whatsoever brings me nearer to Thy love, and make Thy love more precious to me than cold water to the thirsty.”
- 17
Hassan Basri used to say, “He who knows God loves Him, and he who knows the world hates it.”
- 18
Prophet David, “That servant is dearest to Me who does not seek Me from fear of punishment or hope of reward, but to pay the debt due to My Deity.”
- 19
Psalms it is written, “Who is a greater transgressor than he who worships Me from fear of hell or hope of heaven? If I had created neither, should I not then have deserved to be worshipped?”
- 20
Abu Suleiman said, “He who is busy with himself now will be busy with himself then, and he who is occupied with God now will be occupied with Him then.”
- 21
when people asked Jesus “What is the highest work of all?” he answered, “To love God and to be resigned to His will.”
- 22
Prophet said, “Whoever wishes to see God, God wishes to see him.”
- 23
The saint Fudhail said to a certain man, “If anyone asks you whether you love God, keep silent; for if you say, ‘I do not love Him,’ you are an infidel; and if you say, ‘I do,’ your deeds contradict you.”
- 24
God said to David, “Be not too intimate with men; for two kinds of persons are excluded from My presence: those who are earnest in seeking reward and slack when they obtain it, and those who prefer their own thoughts to the remembrance of Me. The. a sign of My displeasure is that I leave such to themselves.”
- 25
The Prophet once asked God and said, “O Lord! Who are Thy lovers?” and the answer came, “Those who cleave to Me as a child to its mother, take refuge in the remembrance of Me as a bird seeks the shelter of its nest, and are as angry at the sight of sin as an angry lion who fears nothing.”
- 26
Jesus (upon whom be peace!) saw the world revealed in the form of an ugly old hag. He asked her how many husbands she had possessed; she replied that they were countless. He asked whether they had died or been divorced; she said that she had slain them all. “I marvel”, he said, “at the fools who see what you have done to others, and still desire you.”
- 27
Jesus (on whom be peace!) said, “The lover of the world is like a man drinking sea-water; the more he drinks, the more thirsty he gets, till at last he perishes with thirst unquenched.”
- 28
The Prophet said, “You can no more mix with the world without being contaminated by it than you can go into water without getting wet.”
- 29
Prophet said, “Death is a welcome gift of God to the believer.”
- 30
The profession of love to God which is insufficient to restrain from disobedience to God is a lie.
- 31
Love is the seed of happiness, and love to God is fostered and developed by worship.