Wisdoms: Muhyiddin Ibn al-ʿArabī

01

"Fear three things: Allah, your nafs (the lower self), and one who does not fear Allah."

02

"The highest maqām (spiritual station) is knowledge; the highest ḥāl (spiritual state) is love."

03

"The true adviser has few friends."

04

"Be determined never to repeat the faults you have abandoned. Also, continue the good deeds you are performing until you die; do not leave them."

05

"Those who encourage people toward good deeds share in the reward."

06

"Do not be eager to be pointed at with the finger. If no one knows you, let them not know you. It is enough that Allah knows you."

07

"No matter with whom you speak, you are not with the person you are speaking to, but with what is being spoken about..."

08

"Knowing that everything in this world continues until a term appointed by Allah grants dignity to our being."

09

"The sālik (traveler on the Sufi path) should not speak of his spiritual influxes and inspirations. This both diminishes the effect of the influx and prevents his sincerity before the Truth (God)."

10

"Learn what you do not know from one who knows. Teach what you know to those who do not know."

11

"We are not obliged to remain untainted, but to purify ourselves."

12

"The reason for being tested is the existence of a claim, no matter from whom it arises! Wherever there is a claim, there the test occurs. Whoever attributes a quality to himself will be tested according to that quality!"

13

"Among us, it is not the great or the strong who wins, my son; whoever Allah is with, he is the one who wins."

14

"Every action, every movement should be for a divine purpose."

15

"Allah gives knowledge only to those He loves, but gives ḥāl (spiritual state) to both those He loves and those He does not love. For knowledge is constant, ḥāl is transient."

16

"Be faithful to your debts. Do not go back on your word, and never make promises you cannot fulfill."

17

"Pay attention to what you say. For example, if a person calls his believing brother a disbeliever, that word goes to where it was directed. If it is as he said, it stays there; if not, it returns to the one who said it."

18

"Sometimes, the spiritual grace you cannot find in prayer or fasting, you find in tribulation and hardship."

19

"Realize your attributes in such a way that help comes from His attributes. Realize your humility so as to attract His might, your incapacity so as to receive help from His power, and your weakness so as to receive assistance from His strength and might."

20

"If a person becomes arif (gnostic) of his own ḥaqīqa (inner reality), he will not be bound by any creed."

21

"Those who worship material life are like those who drink seawater; the more they drink, the thirstier they become."

22

"Those who incline toward worldly life are like those who drink seawater. The more they drink, the thirstier they become, and the thirstier they are, the more they drink."

23

"Turn inward; do not occupy yourself only with your exterior. For you are human not by your body, but by your ruh (the spirit)."

24

"Not knowing that one should ask about what one does not know is also a part of ignorance."

25

"Speech emerges according to the value of the listener, not the speaker."

26

"When the smoke clears, you will see whether the mount you are riding is a horse or a donkey."

27

"Do not be eager to be pointed at with the finger. If no one knows you, let them not know you. It is enough that Allah knows you."

28

"Power belongs to truthfulness."

29

"Fear three things: Allah, your nafs, and one who does not fear Allah."

30

"Useless knowledge is like a medicine without a label. Good knowledge is that which is accompanied by action."

31

"Every word appears clothed in the garment of the qalb (the heart) from which it issues."

32

"Beneficial deeds done in secret are the greatest sign of ikhlas (sincerity)."

33

"Know how to keep a secret. The responsibility of a secret is very important."

34

"Strive to have good intentions in every state. The beginning of worship is intention."

35

"Begin acts of worship with joy."

36

"Always listen to knowledgeable people. When you finish one task, begin another."

37

"To be quick in supererogatory acts but lazy in obligatory ones is a sign of following one's desires."

38

"A person's mercy toward himself is greater than his mercy toward others."

39

"If you are in a position to speak, speak with the truth and judge with the truth. Do not follow whims and desires."

40

"Ablution is an independent act of worship; remain in a state of ablution."

41

"Words and expressions are like provisions for the community of listeners. Your share of that provision is only as much as you consume."

42

"Rush to help those in need without expecting anything in return."

43

"Sometimes, a person whose istiqāma (uprightness) has not reached perfection may be granted karāma (a saintly wonder)."

44

"O Allah, my aim is You, and Your riḍā (contentment with God's decree) is my desire."

45

"The words of one who is permitted to interpret spiritual matters are understood by the listeners, and his signs appear very clear to people."

46

"Do not reach out your hand to take something from people. Only if you see that the Giver is Allah Most High in their form, then you may take. Even then, take only as much as knowledge has made permissible for you."

47

"When you are hesitant between two tasks, choose the one that is harder on the nafs. For nothing but the truth is hard on the nafs."

48

"Afflictions are the exhibition of divine gifts."

49

"Sometimes, secrets you are not permitted to reveal appear to you with their lights dimmed."

50

"Whoever considers it unlikely that Allah will save him from lust and awaken him from heedlessness—God forbid—has deemed His divine power incapable. Allah Most High is capable of all things."

51

"If the Lord constantly brings a task to fruition and bears fruit for you, this is proof that Allah Most High has established you upon that task."

52

"I do not comprehend the reality of anything. How could I, when I myself am a part of that thing?"

53

"Never be so occupied with the faults of others that you forget yourself. This state brings blindness of the qalb."

54

"Those who worship material life are like those who drink seawater; the more they drink, the thirstier they become."

55

"If there remains any crumb of reason in the lover's love, that reason will prevent the lover from his Beloved and give him the opportunity to think of another. Such love is not pure and true, but only from the nafs. A Sufi has said: There is no good in love that is willed by the intellect."

56

"Give importance to the feeling of shame. For Allah is al-Ḥayy (the Ever-Living). To feel shame before Allah is to abandon what He does not approve of."

57

"If you have said something good or indicated something good, first practice it yourself. Give the first advice to your own nafs. People first look at a person's actions, not his words."

58

"If you want to gain, first work. If you want to be respected, first show respect. If you want to be loved, first learn to love."

59

"Do not speak ill of the rulers of the state. If they have faults, they belong to them. Your attitude should be to obey the commands and not disrupt order. If you are to criticize, criticize the attribute, not the essence. If you praise, praise both."

60

"Because Allah Most High knew that His servants' desire to perform righteous deeds is little, He made worship obligatory and drove them to His Paradise by binding them with the chains of obligation."

61

"If Allah has bestowed wealth upon you, spend it in places that please Allah. As a person's blessings increase, so should his shukr (gratitude). Those who do not give thanks become heedless in heart. Their tongues cannot attain dhikr (remembrance of God), nor their qalb attain tranquility."

62

"Both one who has just turned his gaze to a maqām and one who has long since reached it can speak of it. This is a distinction clear only to those with spiritual insight."

63

"The performance of obligatory acts of worship has been limited to specific times so that you do not keep postponing them; and spread over a broad period so that you have a share of will in them."

64

"The expressions of the people of ḥaqīqa (inner reality) are either due to the overflow of their ecstasy or with the intention of guiding the murīd (aspirant, disciple). The first is the state of the people of sulūk (spiritual journey), the second is the state of the people of verification and steadfastness."

65

"The spiritual lights of the people of the path precede their words. Thus, the effect of their words reaches wherever they have illuminated."

66

"Be careful not to sow discord between two people. This destroys religion."

67

"Sometimes, the arif (gnostic) is even ashamed to present his need to Allah, for he is content with His decree. If this is so, how could he present his need to Allah's servants?"

68

"Do not enter houses without permission."

69

"If a person keeps talking about the abundance of his own beneficence and goodness, a single evil that slips from his hand will embarrass and silence him. But one who keeps talking about the abundance of Allah's beneficence to him will not stop speaking of Allah's beneficence even if evil appears from his hand."

70

"When three people are together, it is not right for two of them to speak secretly or in a language the third does not understand."

71

"Know your health and your free time as your most precious treasure. Use them in a measured way in works that please Allah."

72

"By making service and worship obligatory upon you, the Lord has in fact made entering His Paradise obligatory upon you."