“To admonish your brother in private is to advise him and improve him.”

How strange! You seek guidance, yet you do not tread its path, surely a boat does not sail on land.

My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me.

Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him.

When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape

My sin burdened me heavily. But when I measured it against Your Grace,

O Lord, Your forgiveness came out greater.

All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds.

Knowledge is not what is memorised. Knowledge is what benefits.

To be able to thank Allah for a blessing is a blessing within itself.

You say that you are just a body, but inside of you is something greater than the Universe.

I complained to Waki’ about the weakness of my memorisation, So he instructed me to abandon disobedience;

He informed me that knowledge is a light, And the light of Allah is not given to a sinner.

Wealth remains behind on earth while ibadaah accompanies you into the grave.

But to admonish him publicly is to disgrace and shame him.

The loftiest in status are those who do not know their own status.

Do not vie with others in the accumulation of wealth. Vie with them in Ibadaah.

I thought it was a fun thing to do, but we stepped outside my brother’s school and he was mortified!

I’ll never forget the time my mother showed up with her best friend and two daughters, and all four of us dressed up in matching clothes, shoes and hats to go pick up my brother from school.

We all tend to be in the same circles – people like my Wu-Tang brothers, or Black Thought from The Roots.

Prince Paul is another good friend; he’s like an older brother. He’ll criticise and be brutally honest with you. That’s what I like about Paul.

I wish I could say I see my little brother more.

I had seven brothers and four sisters. I told my mama, ‘One of these days I’m going to be big and strong and buy you a beautiful house.’ That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life, is to take care of my mother.

My brother and I ended up being known for our distance, but we had no idea how far we could hit the ball because we hit it the same, and all of a sudden.

Osteoarthritis is a tough thing, brother. If my knee was broke, I would have had it fixed. But my situation is totally different. It’s painful as hell is all I can say.