Idries Shah, Caravan Of Dreams Quotes

There is a Persian proverb: 'To test that which has been tested is ignorance.' To try to test something without the means of testing is even worse.

Better to be safe than to be sorry' is a remark of value only when these are the actual alternatives.

Saying of the ProphetAccusationsAnyone reviling a brother for a sin will not himself die before committing it.

Saying of the Prophet.Ink and Blood:The ink of the learned is holier than the blood of the martyr.

Saying of the ProphetObjectsIt is your attachment to objects which make you blind and deaf.

Saying of the ProphetLoveDo you think you love your Creator? Love your fellow-creature first.

Saying of the ProphetPrivacyWhoever invades people´s privacy corrupts them.

Saying of the ProphetReflectionThe Faithful are mirrors, one to the other.

Saying of the ProphetWomenWomen are the twin-halves of men.

Saying of the ProphetDistributionGod it is who gives: I am only a distributor.

Helping othersI order you to assist any oppressed person, whether he is a Moslem or not.

Saying of the ProphetOppressionWhen oppression exists, even the bird dies in its nest.

Saying of the ProphetPracticeWho are the learned? Those who put into practice what they know.

Saying of the ProphetTasksWhoever makes all his tasks one task, God will help him in his other concerns.

Brave is the thief who carries a lamp in his hand.

Saying of the ProphetFoodNobody has eaten better food than that won by his own labour.

Saying of the ProphetThe BequestI have nothing to leave you except my family.

Saying of the ProphetSome behaviourI am like a man who has lighted a fire, and all the creeping things have rushed to burn themselves in it.

Saying of the ProphetTHE PEOPLEIt is the people who are God's family.(Muhammad the Prophet)

Saying of the ProphetTruthSpeaking the truth to the unjust is the best of holy wars.

Saying of the ProphetObligation to LearnThe pursuit of knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim.

Saying of the ProphetMonkishnessNo monkery in Islam.

Teaching:One hour's teaching is better than a whole night of prayer.Saying of the Prophet

Saying of the ProphetHelping othersI order you to assist any oppressed person, whether he is a Muslim or not.

A stolen kiss is not easily returned.

Sayings of the ProphetTrust: Trust in God – but tie your camel first.

Three things cannot be retrieved:The arrow once sped from the bowThe word spoken in hasteThe missed opportunity. Ali, the Lion of Islam.

Dye your hair, certainly. But what can you do for your face?

What do I sing, and what does my tambourine sing?

The power of Allah: no sound, no shape, no form. But when it manifests, none can resist it.

What goes into a salt-mine becomes salt.

Take the straight path, even if it is long: marry no widow, even if she is a houri.

You make me a sinner if you stop me giving you hospitality.

It will pass, whatever it is.

You will never reach Mecca, I fear: for you are on the road to Turkestan.

Saying of the Prophet. The Bequest: I have nothing to leave you except my family.

Man has less than he suspects of: Time, Friends, Hopes, Qualities.Proverb

Each flies with its own kind: pigeon with pigeon, hawk with hawk.

One day the cub will become a wolf, even if it has been reared among the sons of man.

Be kind to the hawk and harm the sparrow.

Better the demon which makes you improve than the angel who threatens.

The sort of man who, throwing a stone upon the ground, would miss.

Have the nature of a dervish: then wear a stylish cap.

Pick up a bee from kindness, and learn the limitations of kindness.

If you want to be a calligrapher, write, and write, and write.

The definition of the word 'finished' is: 'This word means finished.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaAdherent:Someone who will believe anything except what he should.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaPoverty: The result of marriage.

Because sugar is not arsenic, many graves are full.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaWisdom: Something you can learn without knowing it.