Words That Fall Upon the Heart from Mehmet Akif Ersoy
The wisdoms of Mehmet Akif Ersoy are a selection of short sayings that touch upon the heart, character, and inner discipline of a person. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental matters such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (proper conduct), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
"Do not be deceived by people's sincerity; their self-interest comes before everything else. If Allah had not promised Paradise, they would not even prostrate to Him."
02
"The Qur'an has not been sent down—know this well—not to be recited in graveyards or for fortune-telling."
03
"Do you remember? When you were born, you were crying and the world was laughing. Live such a life that your death brings you joy and the people mourning."
04
"No enemy can enter a nation before discord does. As long as hearts beat together, even cannons cannot subdue it."
05
"Whoever I taught to shoot an arrow, one day aimed at me."
06
"If speaking has one meaning, silence has a thousand and one. Everyone can speak, but silence is for the courageous."
07
"They asked Mehmet Akif: When will this country develop? He replied: When the congregation that comes for Friday prayer also comes for the dawn prayer."
08
"Mankind is shameless; no one knows their own cunning. Protect yourself from those to whom you have done good."
09
"She neither looks to the East nor knows the West, has no share in adab (proper conduct); her only capital is a face that does not blush and eyes that do not moisten."
10
"Whoever does not earn a piece of bread in this world becomes the disgrace of his friend and the laughingstock of his enemy."
11
"Once, we too were a nation—what a nation we were! We came into the world and taught what nationhood is."
12
"These adhans, whose testimonies are the foundation of the religion, must eternally resound over my homeland."
13
"May Allah never let this nation write another Independence March."
14
"If what you call civilization is to bare every part of your body, then say, animals are more civilized than you."
15
"In a gathering of friends, Mehmed Akif was passionately explaining something. A nouveau riche entered, greeted, but as everyone was listening to Akif, no one heard or returned his greeting. The man, to provoke Akif, said: 'Oh master, what are you raving about again?' Without losing his composure, Akif replied: 'I am raving about how good a person you are.'"
16
"Old world, new world, all the nations of mankind are boiling like sand, like a flood, like the Day of Judgment. The seven climes of the world, together with Australia, stand before you, and you see: Canada! Faces are different, tongues, skins are colorful; there is only one phenomenon: savageries are equal."
17
"I cannot applaud oppression, nor ever love the oppressor; I cannot curse the past for the pleasure of the present."
18
"Every true Muslim I have seen is in the grave. I do not know about Islam, but perhaps it is in the heavens."
19
"My sister's veil offends the eyes of the shameless; I pity the spit—by Allah, if I spat in his face."
20
"The religion of courage, the religion of effort, is only Islam. True Islam is the greatest heroism."
21
"O Lord, is there no morning for this ominous night? Is the salvation of the helpless only at the Resurrection?"
22
"Even if what comes is from Hell, we will extinguish it in our chests. This path is the path of Truth; we walk, never turning back."
23
"This is the profession I most admire in the world: let your word be your bond, let it be only truth."
24
"The fall of a homeland without an owner is just; if you take ownership, this homeland will not fall."
25
"The labor Allah loves most is to speak the truth to the oppressor."
26
"There is only a simple difference between you and those who leave a mark: they strive all their lives; you are amazed all your life."
27
"Who said that because I am mild-mannered, I am a docile ox? My neck may be cut, but it is not for bearing burdens."
28
"There are two kinds of people: those who, as time passes, confront their faults; and those who, as time passes, become shameless."
29
"Struck on his spotless forehead, he lies stretched out; O Lord, how many suns set for the sake of a crescent!"
30
"Do not think your ancestors slept for centuries; how would you have found this homeland in your hands otherwise!"
31
"A person cannot hide his essence with the robes he wears. He does not know, but deceives himself with the lies he tells!"
32
"I have begun to like the two-faced. Because as I live, I have begun to see people with twenty faces."
33
"What a lesson it is, your face that does not know how to blush. Leave off your studies, my brother; go first and learn adab (proper conduct) and modesty."
34
"There are two kinds of people. Those who, as time passes, confront their faults! Those who, as time passes, become shameless."
35
"I weep, but cannot make others weep; I feel, but cannot speak. My heart has no tongue, and how troubled I am by that."
36
"It is neither knowledge nor conscience that gives character its loftiness. The sense of virtue in people comes from fear of Allah."
37
"Can someone who does not give even one of the 24 hours to the Truth be called human?"
38
"A man approached Akif and asked: Excuse me, they say you are a veterinarian. Without losing his composure, Akif replied: Yes, unless you have a pain somewhere?"
39
"Where rudeness begins, literature ends."
40
"He who recognizes baqāʾ (subsistence in God) as Truth, sees striving as a duty. Work, work, for baqāʾ (subsistence) is earned through striving."
41
"To abandon determination by seeing the future as dark—if there is a base death, I am sure, it is only this."