Am I a man of great wisdom? Hardly! Even when a simple person brings me a question, my mind goes utterly blank, I just thrash it out until I’ve exhausted every possibility.

To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.

Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.

If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.

What can a man do with music who is not benevolent?

When the wind blows, the grass bends.

The wise never doubt. The Humane never worry. The brave never fear.

One who never anticipates deceit or expects duplicity, and yet is the first to recognize such things – is that not a sage indeed?

I am not one who was born with great wisdom. I love the ancients and diligently seek wisdom among them.

If things far away don’t concern you, you’ll soon mourn things close at hand.

If we don't fear God, it's because we don't know God.

It was the end for something. It was the beginning for another. But in reality it just fell in the middle. In that confusing moment of time between my birth and my death.

Sometimes things just slip past you, into your hands and out through your fingers. In my half-in/half-out state I began to wonder if that could happen to people, too.

I sold my soul to the devil in L.A. He said 'sign your name here on the dotted line and your songs they all will play.'

Put your trust in Allah and not in anyone other than Him, because it is known that He alone is the Helper.

People will never fight for your freedom if you have not given evidence that you are prepared to fight for it yourself.

I started playing heavy-metal guitar because that's what I liked. And then I got into classical guitar because it was so technically complicated.

Our civilisation has lost this bond between times, and tends to measure time with a yardstick, bit by bit, from one point to another.

The most brilliant qualities become useless when they are not sustained by force of character.

The music industry has been hijacked by corporate interests, but the way music affects people and resonates with them hasn't changed.