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Famous Idries Shah Quotes
“Imagination blocks you like a bolt on a door. Burn that bar. (Rumi)”
“Words, they say, are the food of minds. But, like other foods, they can do little by themselves.”
“Sayings of the Prophet Trust: Trust in God – but tie your camel first.”
“The spirit is the mirror; the body is the rust. (Divan-i-Shamsi Tabriz)”
“Fettered feet in the presence of friends is better than living in a garden with strangers.”
“Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza A fool: A man trying to be honest with the dishonest.”
“One day we will all wear a garment which has no pockets...”
“Wisdom is when you understand what, previously, at best you only knew.”
“SAYING OF SHEIKH ZIAUDIN: Self-justification is worse than the original offence.”
“Saying of the Prophet. The Bequest: I have nothing to leave you except my family.”
“If wine is the enemy of religion, I shall devour the enemy of religion.”
“The function of a nutrient is to become transmuted, not to leave unaltered traces.”
“You want to become wise in one lesson: First become a real human being.”
“Most people, whatever their opinions and protestations, do not want to learn.”
“You make me a sinner if you stop me giving you hospitality.”
“Patience is bitter, but bears a sweet fruit.”
“Humility has to precede instruction.”
“Humility is a teacher of itself. It is learnt by means of its practise.”
“Man has less than he suspects of: time, friends, hopes, qualities. Idries Shah - Caravan of Dreams”
“Trust is needed before lessons can be learnt.”
“Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza Wisdom: Something you can learn without knowing it.”
“Sufism was formerly a reality without a name: now it is a name without a reality.”
“The door of illumination is open to those for whom other doors are closed.”
“Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza Poverty: The result of marriage.”
“A man must be a Salomon before his magical ring will work”
“I am the Real, for I have not ceased to be real – through the Real.”
“Angels are the powers hidden in the faculties and organs of man”
“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”
“Better the demon which makes you improve than the angel who threatens.”
“Too much kindness towards the fox may mean doom for the rabbit.”
“Be kind to the hawk and harm the sparrow.”
“The question of divine knowledge is so deep that it is really known only to those who have it.”
“A Sufi has a right to be served, but he has no right to demand. Maruf Karkhi of Khorasan”
