World Philosophical Heritage

Wisdom and teachings of
Sufism

295 quote(s) | Page 9 / 12

L et your heart be in such a state that the existence or nonexistence of anything is the same. Then sit alone in a quiet place, free of any preoccupation, even the reciting of the Koran or thinking about its meaning. Let nothing besides God enter you mind. Once you are seated in this manner, say, "Allah, Allah," keeping your thought on these words.

quote 2967 | Ghazzali
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.155

O ur five senses are like five doors opening on the external world; but, more wonderful than this, our heart has a window that opens on the unseen world of spirit.
In the state of sleep, when the avenues of the senses are dosed, this window is opened, and we receive impressions from the unseen world and sometimes foreshadowings of the future. Our hearts are like a mirror that reflects what is pictured in the Tablet of Fate. But, even in sleep, thoughts of worldly things dull this mirror, so that the impressions it receives are not clear. After death, however, such thoughts vanish, and things are seen in their naked reality.

quote 2966 | Ghazzali
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.105

D ear friend,
Your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it dean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets.

quote 2965 | Ghazzali
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.102

L et us drown ourselves in the ocean of nonexistence and come out cloaked with the garment of divine existence.

quote 2964 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.98

S alih always taught his disciples, 'Who knocks at the door of someone constantly, one day the door must be opened to him.' Rabia one day heard it and said, "Salih, how long will you go on preaching thus, using the future tense, saying, 'will be opened'?
Was the door ever dosed?" Salih bowed in submission to her.

quote 2963 | Attar
Aessential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.109

O nce Hasan al-Basri went to Habib al-'Ajami at the time of evening prayers. Hasan heard al-'Ajami mispronounce a word during the prayer. He considered it improper to say his prayers with him, and therefore said them separately. During the night he dreamed the Lord spoke to him: "Hasan, if you had stood behind al-'Ajami and said your prayers, you would have earned Our pleasure, and that single prayer of yours would have borne thee greater benefit than all prayers taken together that you have offered in your lifetime. You found fault with his pronunciation but ignored the purity and excellence of his heart. Know it that We cherish a contrite heart much more than the correct pronunciation of words.

quote 2962 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.110

F rom each, Love demands a mystic silence.
What do all seek so earnestly? Tis Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer "Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret of them both is Love.

quote 2961 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.118

A young man came to Junaid and wished to become his student. He said, "You have been recommended as an expert on pearls [of wisdom]. Please give me one, or sell it to me.' Junaid replied, "you could not afford the price if I sold it, and if I gave you one for nothing, you will not realize its value. You must do as I have done. Dive into the Sea and wait patiently until you obtain your pearl.'

quote 2960 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.139

D hu-1-Nun. Said to a disciple, "Start instructing people by lecturing, but always remember never to bring yourself [your ego] in between.”

quote 2959 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.214

T ear aside veils of all you see in this world, and you will find yourself apart in solitude with God. If you draw aside the veils of the stars and the spheres, you will see that all is one with the Essence of your own pure soul. If you will but tear aside the veil, you will see nonexistence, and you will see forthwith the true meaning of God's purpose. When you have cast aside the veil, you will see the Essence, and all things will be shown forth within the Essence. If you draw aside the veil from the Face of the Beloved, all that is hidden will be made manifest, and you will become one with God, for then will you be the very Essence of the Divine.

quote 2958 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.233

Y ou ought to know yourself as you really are, so that you may understand of what nature you are, from where you have come to this world, for what purpose you were created, and in what your happiness and misery consist. For within you are combined the qualities of the animals and the wild beasts and also the qualities of the angels, but the spirit is your real essence, and all beside it is, in fact, foreign to you.
Strive for knowledge of your origin, so that you may know how to attain to the Divine Presence and the contemplation of the Divine Majesty and Beauty.

quote 2957 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.247

D eliver yourself from the fetters of lust and passion. God did not create you to be their captive; they should be your servants, under your control for the journey that is before you, to be your steed and your weapon, so that you may use them to pursue your happiness, and when you have not more need of them, then cast them under your feet.

quote 2956 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.247

A Sufi began to weep in the middle of the night. He said, "The world is like a closed casket in which we are placed and in which, through our ignorance, we spend our time in folly. When Death opens the lid of the casket, each one who has wings takes his flight to Eternity~ but that one who is without wings remains in the casket. Before the lid is taken away from this casket, become a bird of the Way to God. Develop your wings and your feathers. No, rather burn your wings and your feathers and destroy yourself by fire, and so will you arrive at the Goal before all others.'

quote 2955 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.247

I n truth, it is the one who has lost all knowledge and trace of his own existence who has, at the same time, found knowledge of the Beloved. So long as you will not ignore your own body and soul, how will you ever know the Object you love?

quote 2954 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.248

I t is easy to know God. But to find the way to God is painfully hard. You cannot find God without passing beyond your own being. A Sufi does not become a Sufi by sitting on a prayer mat. The dervish way is not just the donning of a special turban and cloak. A Sufi is one who annihilates himself in the Truth, one whose heart is purified. The Sufi is someone who needs neither the sun by day nor the moon by night. For the Sufi is one who walks night and day by the Light of Truth. Sufism is poverty that can dispense with property.
How is one to know one's degree of saintliness and vigilance? Only if all parts of one's body join in the Remembrance of God can one be aware of such things. This is the kind of person who is called a Sufi.

quote 2953 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.213

Y ou cannot find God without passing beyond your own being.

quote 2952 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.213

A ll creation is calling upon God. You cannot hear or see it on the outside, but the essence in everything is continuously remembering and calling upon God.

quote 2951 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.210

O nce, one of Jesus' apostles was preaching in a small town. The people asked him to perform a miracle, by raising the dead, as Jesus had done.
They went to the town cemetery and stopped before a grave. The apostle prayed to God to bring the dead back to life. The dead man rose from his grave, looked around him, and cried, "My donkey, where is my donkey?" In life, he had been a poor man whose most cherished possession was his donkey.
The same is true for you. Whatever you care about most will determine what happens to you at resurrection. You will be together in the Hereafter with the ones you love.

quote 2950 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.205

T he prophet Abraham grew up among idol worshipers. He sought to find God. He looked at the brightest stars and said, "You are my Lord." Then the full moon came out. It was far bigger and brighter than any of the stars. Abraham looked at the moon and said, "You are my Lord . ' Then the sun came up, and the moon and stars disappeared. Abraham said, "You are the greatest, You are my Lord.' Then night came, and the sun disappeared.
Abraham said, "My Lord is the One who changes things and who brings them back. My Lord is the One who is behind all changes.'

quote 2949 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.199

T he disciples of Abu al-Bistami once complained to him about the Devil. They said, "The Devil takes away our faith.' The sheikh then summoned the Devil and questioned him. The Devil said, I cannot force anyone to do anything. I fear God too much to dare to try that. Actually, most people throw their faith away for all sorts of trivial reasons. I simply pick up the faith they throw away.

quote 2948 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.172

I t is therefore a necessary prerequisite for lovers that they correct their lower selves by means of worship, spiritual exercises, and Remembrance of God. Through these, the self may attain a tranquil character, the heart purified, and the spirit burnished.

quote 2947 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.160

A fter this, he should close his eyes and think of himself as having died. They have stripped his corpse, laid it on the bench, washed it and wrapped it in the shroud, prayed over it, and put it to rest in the grave. He should reflect on each stage in this process, for this meditation, which we call recollecting death, is one of the practices of the Mystic Orders. To ponder one's death is not to cause it, but it is harmful to avoid the thought of death. For no one can or will escape the sure and destined end that comes sooner or later to every mortal being. This meditation is therefore an essential necessity for every lover of God.

quote 2946 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.159

Y ou do see some people at peace, saved from the disease of ambition though they have less than you do while you are in pain and oppressed by all that you have.

quote 2945 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.144

A person often remembers the object of his love. One lover of God also remembers Him, always and everywhere. On the bough of the beloved's rosebush, love's nightingale sings its love incessantly.

quote 2944 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.121

L ove is a special, pleasurable pain. Whoever has this in the heart will know the secret. They will see that everything is Truth, and that everything leads to Truth. There is nothing but Truth. In the realization of that, they will be overcome. They will sink into the sea of Truth.

quote 2943 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.117

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Wisdom and teachings ofSufism

Wisdom and teachings of
Sufism