It was inevitable, as soon as legends of miracles became attached to the names of the great mystics, that the credulous masses should applaud imposture more than true devotion; the cult of the saints, against which orthodox Islam ineffectually protested, promoted ignorance and superstition, and confounded charlatanry with lofty speculation. To live scandalously, to act impudently, to speak unintelligibly–this was the easy highroad to fame, wealth, and power. A.J. Arberry
I have loved in life and I have been loved. I have drunk the bowl of poison from the hands of love as nectar, and have been raised above life's joy and sorrow. My heart, aflame in love, set afire every heart that came in...
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Hazrat Inayat Khan
The happiness of the drop is to die in the river.
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Anonymous
In a village where everyone has only one leg, the biped will hop about more lamely than anyone else, if he knows what is good for him.
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Idries Shah
One day we will all wear a garment which has no pockets...
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Idries Shah
Wisdom is when you understand what, previously, at best you only knew.
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Idries Shah
More Quotes By A.J. Arberry
It was inevitable, as soon as legends of miracles became attached to the names of the great mystics, that the credulous masses should applaud imposture more than true devotion; the cult of the saints, against which orthodox Islam ineffectually protested, promoted ignorance and superstition, and...
To understand the extreme lengths to which the Sufis were prepared to go in reading esoteric meanings into the quite simple language of their Scriptures, it is necessary to remember that the Koran was committed to memory by all deeply religious men and women, and...
