Tasawwuf Quotes

Do not dwell upon whether you will put yourself into the hands of a teacher. You are always in his hands. ~ Idries Shah

Beauty

Void lay the world, in nothingness concealed,
Without a trace of light or life revealed,
Save one existence which second knew-
Unknown the pleasant words of We and You.
Then Beauty shone, from stranger glances free,
Seen of herself, with naught beside to see,
With garments pure of stain, the fairest flower
Of virgin loveliness in bridal bower.
No combing hand had smoothed a flowing tress,
No mirror shown her eyes their loveliness
No surma dust those cloudless orbs had known,
To the bright rose her cheek no bulbul flown.
No heightening hand had decked the rose with green,
No patch or spot upon that cheek was seen.
No zephyr from her brow had fliched a hair,
No eye in thought had seen the splendour there.
Her witching snares in solitude she laid,
And love's sweet game without a partner played.
But when bright Beauty reigns and knows her power
She springs indignant from her curtained bower.
She scorns seclusion and eludes the guard,
And from the window looks if doors be barred.
See how the tulip on the mountain grown
Soon as the breath of genial Spring has blown,
Bursts from the rock, impatient to display
Her nascent beauty to the eye of day.
When sudden to thy soul reflection brings
The precious meaning of mysterious things,
Thou canst not drive the thought from out thy brain;
Speak, hear thou must, for silence is suc ~ Nūr Ad-Dīn 'Abd Ar-Rahmān Jāmī

A short time in the presence of the Friends (the Sufis) is better than a hundred years' sincere, obedient dedication. ~ Idries Shah

In the realm of Greater Understanding, the workshop is dismantled after the work is finished. ~ Idries Shah

He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself.
Only he who combines the two proves true. ~ Malik Ibn Anas

Sufism (tasawwuf) is not wearing clothes that you patched; it is not weeping when the singers sing their songs; and it is not dancing, shouting, experiencing ecstatic states, or passing out as if you've gone mad. Rather, Sufism is to become whole without any impurities; to follow the truth, the Qur'an, and this religion; and to be seen in a state of awe, broken and remorseful about all of your sins. ~ Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Arabi

The teaching must, of course, work with the best part of the individual, must be directed to his or her real capacity. ~ Idries Shah

Saying of the Prophet
Practice
Who are the learned? Those who put into practice what they know. ~ Idries Shah

The would-be Sufi needs guidance precisely because books, texts, while telling you what is needed, do not tell you when. ~ Idries Shah

The Path is not to be found anywhere except in human service ~ Idries Shah

The aspirant has to be guided by a mentor. The stage at which this guidance can take effect is seldom, if ever, perceptible to the learner. ~ Idries Shah

From it genesis twelve hundred years ago to today, Islamic philosophy (al-hikmah; al-falsafah) has been one of the major intellectual traditions within the Islamic world, and it has influenced and been influenced by many other intellectual perspectives, including Scholastic theology (kalam) and doctrinal Sufism (al-ma'rifah or al-tasawwuf al-'ilmi) and theoretical gnosis ('irfan-i nazari). ~ Seyyed Hossein Nasr