Quotes from Idries Shah, Caravan of Dreams

Saying of the ProphetEnvyEnvy devours good deeds, as a fire devours fuel.

TeachingOne hour's teaching is better than a whole night of prayer.

Day and NightThe night is long: do not shorten it by sleep. The day is fair: do not darken it with wrongdoing.

Saying of the ProphetStruggleThe holy warrior is he who struggles with himself.

Saying of the ProphetHumilityHumility and courtesy are themselves a part of piety.

Saying of the ProphetAngerYou ask for a piece of advice. I tell you : 'Do not get angry.' He is strong who can withhold anger.

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

Saying of the ProphetMonkishnessNo monkery in Islam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life: sometimes the man on the saddle, sometimes the saddle on the man.

You call me an unbeliever. I shall therefore call you a True Believer since a lie is best met with one of similar magnitude.

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.

When Fortune knocks, open the door, ' they say. But why should one make fortune knock, by keeping the door shut?