Words That Fall Upon the Heart from Shams-i Tabrizi
The wisdoms of Shams-i Tabrizi are a selection of short sayings that touch the human heart, character, and inner discipline. Each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, but behind it lie fundamental issues such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (courtesy), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
On this page, a concise selection of 72 sayings has been compiled for Shams-i Tabrizi.
01
"Someone comes and makes you you, someone comes and takes you away from yourself."
02
"Silence also has a voice. A heart is needed to hear it."
03
"If you want to give a punishment to someone who has wronged you so greatly that it cannot be forgiven, starting from where the limits of reason end; then forgive them with all your sincerity. Destiny, which archives everything that is felt, will take care of it in the best way."
04
"Just be; whether you are a 'beloved' or a 'wound'; both your grace and your wrath are upon my head."
05
"To be patient does not mean to just stand and wait, but to be farsighted. What is sabr (patient endurance)? It is to look at the thorn and imagine the rose, to look at the night and imagine the day. The lovers of Allah gently and sweetly suckle patience like rose jam, and digest it. And they know that it takes time for the moon in the sky to become full from a crescent."
06
"Do not worry that my order will be disrupted, that my life will be turned upside down; how can you know that the bottom of life will not be better than the top?"
07
"To think about where the end of the road will lead is nothing but a futile effort. You are only responsible for thinking about the first step you will take. The rest will come by itself!"
08
"A body without knowledge is like a city without water."
09
"Such is life, you see, everything can end in an instant. Such is life, at the very moment you call it the end, everything comes alive again."
10
"Words are not reality, they are sounds that come out of the mouth. To learn the truth, one needs not words but living."
11
"I did not love you to love, but so that you would know what it means to love!"
12
"For the one who does not love, even an ant is a burden; for the one who loves, elephants are like ants. A person can carry even a mountain if they fall in love and believe."
13
"If you are alone, know that you are not alone! If you are troubled, know that you have a remedy! Never say you own anything, know that you are only a trustee!"
14
"Do not make valuable by remembering the one who is not worthy of love! If they want to return, do not give another chance. Remember; love befits those with a brave heart."
15
"Forget what you know. Says the friend. Come, take an eraser in your hand, and start this new day by erasing your knowledge. Put your assumptions, judgments, prejudices, and all your generalizations in a sack and abandon them altogether. Do not gossip. Know that what is called gossip attracts bad energy like a magnet. Do not speak against anyone, do not talk from afar, do not judge people with a harsh tongue, know that you will be mistaken."
16
"If I were gold, everyone would know my value. Let me be a simple iron... Let only those who understand know my value..."
17
"You are the mirror of the heart, Sufi, If you make it pure, A door will open for you, The Beauty of Allah will become manifest. Blessings and peace of Allah be upon you, O Messenger of Allah."
18
"They say a friend speaks bitterly. But one who speaks bitterly is not a friend! The one who does not love you speaks bitterly. Even if the friend has something bitter to say to you, they say it in such a sweet way that it does not hurt you."
19
"O heart! Now I ask you, which love is greater? The one that falls to the tongue by being told, or the one that tears the heart by not being told?"
20
"If you are still angry, it means your struggle with yourself is not over. If you are still hurt, it means the bricks of your heart's house have not solidified. If you are still blaming, it means you have not reached the station of forgiveness. If you still do not love unconditionally and make distinctions in your love, if you still follow doubts and prevent the intensification of the love within you, if you still do not stop saying 'I', it means the reins are still in the hands of your nafs and you submit to this captivity. If you still grieve and burn over calamities, it means you do not know the truth. If you still complain, it means you cannot see the reality."
21
"The eyes of the beloved are in the color of the love they long for..."
22
"The most beautiful place you can be in life is to be inside a dua (supplication)."
23
"If you look at life from above, you only see the tops of people. Always look at life from the same level as people. Then you will see both their faces and their hearts."
24
"Either open your heart completely, or do not attempt at all! There is nothing else to love; you will choose either its black or its white."
25
"Set out on the road not with those who rest in your shadow, but with those whom you listen to in your heart."
26
"It is never too late to ask, 'Am I ready to change the life I live, to transform myself?'"
27
"Our station is love, our method is adab (courtesy)! Let those who knock not on our door, but on our heart, be welcome!"
28
"Say such a word to someone that it either gives life or kills; but never leave them wounded."
29
"Sometimes time flies like a bird, sometimes it passes with the slowness of a caterpillar. If a person does not notice whether time passes quickly or slowly, they are happy."
30
"Show shukr (gratitude)! It is easy to be grateful when you get what you want. The Sufi is one who can show gratitude even when what he wishes does not come true."
31
"Rise, shake yourself off, come to your senses. Do not cling to despair. Despair is from the devil, hope is from Allah."
32
"Qadar (destiny) does not mean that our life is predetermined. Therefore, to say 'what can we do, this is our destiny' and bow one's head is a sign of ignorance. Qadar gives only the crossroads, not the whole road. The route is clear, but all the turns and detours belong to the traveler. Therefore, you are neither the master of your life nor helpless in the face of life."
33
"A person gives and takes. Without knowing, he closes his own account. Do not be certain about anything. Do not consider yourself privileged. Do not trust your position or rank, your name or your fame."
34
"If I were gold, everyone would know my value. Let me be a simple iron. Let only those who understand know my value!"
35
"People are not looking for a beloved, they are looking for a slave to their selfish feelings. They find a slave but cannot find love."
36
"For the one who does not love, even an ant is a burden; for the one who loves, elephants are like ants; a person can carry even a mountain if they fall in love and believe."
37
"Just be, whether you are a beloved or a wound; both your grace and your wrath are upon my head."
38
"Such is life, you see, everything can end in an instant. Such is life, at the very moment you call it the end, everything comes alive again."
39
"If loving is this beautiful, who knows how beautiful the One who created love is."
40
"You think the skill is in turning, you say the Throne turns, the stars turn, what you see is the outward, you turn outwardly, know that the skill is not in turning but in finding."
41
"The most beautiful place you can be in life is to be inside a dua (supplication)."
42
"Let those who knock not on our door, but on our heart, be welcome!"
43
"If Allah has written you for me, there is no escape from me! But if destiny has taken you from me, there is no need to cry."
44
"The heart is dimpled again, its remedy is 'ah'. The friend of the sorrowful heart is 'Allah'."
45
"I will tell you words without tongue or lips. I will speak of secrets hidden from all ears. I will say these words to you in the midst of everyone, but no one but you will hear. No one will understand."
46
"If your heart changes, the world changes."
47
"If you keep silent, your speech will be brighter. For in silence is hidden both the light of silence and the benefit of speech."
48
"Understanding the value of things after death, which could not be understood while alive, benefits no one. The way to revive those you love is to confess and express it in the freshness of life."
49
"People are not looking for a beloved, they are looking for a slave to their selfish feelings. They find a slave; but cannot find love."
50
"Abandon evil so that it abandons you."
51
"O my orphaned heart; stop thinking sorrowfully... Be silent and patient! Let my Lord reckon the account of your tears; you, forgive your right."
52
"If one day you cross distances and come to me, come with the love that blooms in all colors in your heart."
53
"Spiritual knowledge is attained by three things. A tongue that remembers (dhikr), a heart that is grateful (shukr), a body that is patient (sabr). A body without knowledge is like a city without water. Ultimately, it is a dry form. The body should be watered and adorned with abstinence, good character, striving, and effort."
54
"Adab (courtesy) is the interpreter of the intellect. A person is as intelligent as their adab, as honorable as their intellect, and as valuable as their honor."
55
"Hope is the beginning of the path of security. Even if you do not walk on the path, always watch the beginning of the path. Do not say, 'I have done things that are not right.' Hold on to truthfulness. Then no crookedness will remain. Truthfulness is like the staff of Musa (Moses). Crookedness is like the magician's magic. When truthfulness appears, it swallows them all."
56
"When everything is abundant, it becomes cheap. Adab (courtesy) is the opposite; the more it increases, the more valuable it becomes."
57
"Sorrow keeps the wound of love fresh. I am pleased with both my wound and my beloved."
58
"The qalb (the heart) says to the ruh (the spirit): I love, I fall in love; but for some reason, you always suffer the pain. The ruh replies: As long as you love!"
59
"Do not be hopeless! Do not be ungrateful! Do not be impatient. One who knows the Mawla should know hope. One who knows Him should show gratitude..."
60
"Let us first understand love."
61
"If speaking much were beneficial, Allah would have given two mouths and one ear. Therefore, one should listen much and speak little."
62
"Others drink wine and become intoxicated, but we are people of love, we have become intoxicated without drinking."
63
"Break the tip of your pen. Our journey from now on is a journey of love. Love cannot be written by pen, nor can it be found in books."
64
"The one who does not love you speaks bitterly. Even if the friend has something bitter to say to you, they say it in such a sweet way that it does not hurt you."
65
"As much as it is, as much as it is not, it is destiny."
66
"If a human being has no share of adab (courtesy), he is not human. Adab is what distinguishes between human and animal."
67
"To your Lord who says, 'I created everything for you'; love is to be able to say, 'I have abandoned everything for You!'"
68
"Do not herd sheep in hearts whose grass and water you do not know! Otherwise, you cannot shepherd the 'goats you will lose'."
69
"I said, I am very cold. He said, wait, let me go and get something to put on me. How so, I said, I am the one who is cold. That's it, he said, you are inside me, and I warmed up."
70
"As much as it is; as much as it is not, it is destiny."
71
"Love is given to everyone; of course, only those who deserve it receive it."
72
"Say such a word that your sentences become roses for both friend and foe."