Idries Shah Quotes

Whoever is to be wise despises himself. Only the ignorant trust their own judgement.

Great men are great until they know it. Saints are holy until they know it.

The major barrier to understanding is wishful thinking and following that which pleases one.

A Sufi has a right to be served, but he has no right to demand. Maruf Karkhi of Khorasan

Form is useful, but it is secondary.

That which is capable of perceiving objective reality is, in Sufism, the human soul (ruh).

All forms are limited. Some of the limitations are time, place, culture, language.

Careful preparation is necessary before people can perceive something which is there all the time.

A man's capacity is the same as his breadth of vision.

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza.Poverty: The result of marriage.

What is humanity? To feel pain at the sorrows of our neighbours, to feel humiliated at the humiliation of fellow-beings.

Sandals. The Sufi teacher Ghulam-Shah was asked what pattern he used in formulating his courses for disciples. He said: 'Barefoot until you can get sandals, sandals until you can manage boots.

Right time, right place, right people equals success.Wrong time, wrong place, wrong people equals most of the real human history.

Angels are the powers hidden in the faculties and organs of man

He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.

Before the antidote arrives from Iraq The man with snake-bite will be dead.

The bowl is warmer than the soup.

The object of Sufi preparatory study, however, being to illustrate, expose and out-manoeuvre superficial ambition.

There are as many paths to Truth as there are souls of men.

Sufism is the essence of all religions.

SOVEREIGNTYSovereignty is a wind of change. (Hariri)

The hearts of the noble are the graves of confidences.

He who is fortunately enlightened [the Sufi]Knows that sophistry is from the devil and love from Adam.

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

Debating whether one trusts or not is a sign that one does not want to trust at all, and therefore is still incapable of it.

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

If you forsake a path, it is because you were hoping for conviction from it. You seek conviction, not self-knowledge.

Understanding and knowledge are completely different sensations in the realm of Truth than they are in the realm of society.

Unbelief and belief are both marching on His road, while both are saying, ‘He is one and He has no associates’.

The secret protects itself. It is found only in the spirit and practice of the Work.

When you feel least interested in following the Way which you have entered, this may be the time when it is most appropriate for you.

When you get a principle on which everyone is agreed, you get the beginning of complacency and deterioration.

The fruit of timidity is neither gain nor loss.

As with any other specialisation, teaching is a vocation, open only to those who are truly capable of discharging its functions.

Practise your knowledge, for knowledge without practice is a body without life

The totality of life cannot be understood, so runs Sufi teaching, if it is studied only through the methods which we use in everyday living.

The pathways into Sufic thinking are, it is traditionally said, almost as varied as the number of Sufis in existence.

At His door, what is the difference between Muslim and Christian, virtuous and guilty? At his door all are seekers and He the sought.

God provides the food, men provide the cooks.

Nothing can defile the Sufi, and he in fact purifies everything.” Abu-Turab al-Nakhsabi.

Rumi himself once said that counterfeit gold is only to be found because there is such a thing as real gold to be copied.

Hariri says, in his Maqamat: ‘Safety is on the river’s BANK.

The skilled artisan uses the same iron to make a horseshoeAs he does for a polished mirror for the King.

The great poet Hafiz says that you should dye your prayer-carpet with wine if your teacher tells you to do so.

Everything man needs is in the world.

And Rumi tells us, ‘Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue’.

At His door, what is the difference between Moslem and Christian, virtuous and guilty? At his door all are seekers and He the sought.

It is necessary to note, " says Rumi, "that opposite things work together, even though nominally opposed" (Fihi Ma Fihi).

The selection and following of a spiritual guide is the most important duty of a Sufi.

You may be able to get the bone down your throat But if it reaches your stomach it will tear your navel.(Gulistan)