“And those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.”

He may follow me; and if truth be on his side, I may follow him.

The one who admonishes his brother secretly, he has advised sincerely and has honored him.

Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently pray – O Lord, help him so that truth may flow from his heart and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side.

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.

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

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.

And yet, unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere ‘modernity’ cannot kill.

They say that it is the practiced liar who can deceive. But so often the practiced and chronic liar deceives only himself; it is the man who all his life has been selfconvicted of veracity whose lies find quickest credence.

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.

Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route.

The surest way to be deceived is to consider oneself cleverer than others.

We are so used to dissembling with others that in time we come to deceive and dissemble with ourselves.

Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them.