Sacred texts · Sufism
50 Sufi quotes from Rumi, Saadi, al-Ghazali and Attar
Sufism is the mystical path of Islam, a search for closeness to God through love, remembrance and the purification of the heart. Four of its great Persian voices meet on this page: Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–1273), the poet of the Masnavi; Saadi of Shiraz, author of the Gulistan in 1258 and often counted among the Sufi poets; the theologian al-Ghazali (1058–1111), who turned to Sufism after a crisis of doubt; and Farid al-Din Attar, poet of the Conference of the Birds.
Each text is quoted from a translation now in the public domain: R. A. Nicholson for Rumi (1926), James Ross for Saadi (1823), Claud Field for al-Ghazali (1909) and Edward FitzGerald for Attar (1889). Every line was checked word for word against those editions, and Rumi’s against three separate scans of Nicholson’s book. Many “Rumi quotes” shared online come from free modern adaptations or have no source; the ones here can all be traced. See also the Quran verses page.
Rumi quotes from the Masnavi
These lines come from the first book of Rumi’s Masnavi (Mathnawi), in Reynold A. Nicholson’s literal prose translation. The first belongs to the famous Song of the Reed that opens the poem, the lament of a reed cut from its reed-bed; the others are on hope, patience and the friendship of hearts.
Every one who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it.
Wherever is flowing water, there is greenery: wherever are running tears, (the Divine) mercy is shown.
Go not to the neighbourhood of despair: there are hopes.
Patience brings the object of desire, not haste.
Though there be thousands of snares at our feet, when Thou art with us there is not any trouble.
Though the seed-pearl is pounded in the mortar, it becomes the light of eye and heart and looks aloft.
Years hast thou been a heart-jagging rock: once, for the sake of experiment, be earth!
O thou that seekest to repent of a state that is past, say, when wilt thou repent of this repentance?
Therefore the tongue of mutual understanding is different indeed: to be one in heart is better than to be one in tongue.
Thou hast been my remedy in afflictions: I am unwilling that thou shouldst be penniless.
Saadi’s Gulistan: patience, generosity and contentment
Saadi’s Gulistan, “the Rose Garden,” mixes short stories in prose with verses that draw the lesson. The maxims chosen here, in James Ross’s 1823 translation, speak of patience, generosity, contentment and kindness, in a few plain words each.
Fix not thy heart on what is transitory; for the Dijlah, or Tigris, will continue to flow through Bagdad after the race of Khalifs is extinct. If thy hand has plenty, be liberal as the date-tree; but if it affords nothing to give away, be an azad, or free man, like the cypress.
Answer not with harshness a mild-spoken man, nor force him into war who knocks at the gate of peace.
Breathe the breath of ease and live the life of freedom!
Not a hornet, that they shall complain of my sting.
Be generous, O my friend! and avail thyself of life, before they proclaim it as an event that such a person is not left.
Be thou good thyself, and let people speak evil of thee; it is better than to be wicked, and that they should consider thee as good.
God be praised that I am overtaken with misfortune and not with sin!
On the day of thy prosperity remember the bankrupt and needy, for by visiting the hearts of the poor with charity thou shalt divert calamity.
Patience accomplishes its object, while hurry speeds to its ruin.
Riches are intended for the comfort of life, and not life for the purpose of hoarding riches.
Bring, O nightingale! the glad tidings of the spring, and leave to the owl to be the harbinger of evil.
Wherever the tree of generosity strikes root it sends forth its boughs, and they shoot above the skies.
O contentment! do thou make me rich, for without thee there is no wealth.
Be thou virtuously disposed, that the detractor may not have it in his power to indulge his malignity.
None is more unlucky than the misanthrope, for on the day of adversity he has not a single friend.
A loaf of brown bread may fill an empty stomach, but the produce of the whole globe cannot satisfy a greedy eye.
Take heed, O brother in affliction! and be not disheartened, for God has in store many hidden mercies.--Sit not down soured at the revolutions of the times, for patience is bitter, yet it will yield sweet fruit.
The treasure of patience was the choice of Lucman. Whoever has no patience has no wisdom.
Al-Ghazali: The Alchemy of Happiness
In The Alchemy of Happiness, al-Ghazali argues that knowing yourself is the way to knowing God, and that the heart, like a mirror, must be polished to reflect the divine light. Claud Field’s translation keeps the book’s clear, teaching tone, with its images of the guest at a table and the sun whose light is sometimes eclipsed.
Man was not created in jest or at random, but marvellously made and for some great end.
Although he is not from everlasting, yet he lives for ever; and though his body is mean and earthly, yet his spirit is lofty and divine.
Now nothing is nearer to thee than thyself, and if thou knowest not thyself how canst thou know anything else?
The aim of moral discipline is to purify the heart from the rust of passion and resentment, till, like a clear mirror, it reflects the light of God.
Just as iron, by sufficient polishing, can be made into a mirror, so any mind by due discipline can be rendered receptive of such impressions.
The wise guest eats as much as is sufficient for him, smells the perfumes, thanks his host, and departs.
Love is the seed of happiness, and love to God is fostered and developed by worship.
The law does not tell us to uproot these passions, but to restrain them within due limits, so that, by avoiding the greater sins, we may obtain forgiveness of the smaller ones.
Man acquires here, by the use of his bodily senses, some knowledge of the works of God, and, through them, of God Himself.
Treat this day as if thy life had been already spent, and this were an extra day granted thee by the special favour of the Almighty.
Whatever we love in any one we love because it is a reflection of Him.
The highest function of the soul of man is the perception of truth; in this accordingly it finds its special delight.
God is like the sun, which is always shining, but sometimes for us His light is eclipsed by some object which intervenes between us and Him.
Human perfection resides in this, that the love of God should conquer a man’s heart and possess it wholly.
The world is like a table spread for successive relays of guests who come and go.
Al-Ghazali’s Confessions and Attar’s Bird Parliament
In his Confessions, al-Ghazali tells how a crisis of doubt led him to the Sufis, and how he found certainty not in arguments but in a light God casts into the heart. Two passages from Attar’s Conference of the Birds, in Edward FitzGerald’s rhymed version, close the page.
I owed my deliverance, not to a concatenation of proofs and arguments, but to the light which God caused to penetrate into my heart—the light which illuminates the threshold of all knowledge.
To suppose that certitude can be only based upon formal arguments is to limit the boundless mercy of God.
As by His mercy this light descends from time to time among men, we must ceaselessly be on the watch for it.
To purge the heart of all that does not belong to God is the first step in their cathartic method.
With the Sufis, repose and movement, exterior or interior, are illumined with the light which proceeds from the Central Radiance of Inspiration.
Each one must do his best and all endure, And all endeavour, hoping but not sure. Heav’n its own Umpire is; its Bidding do, And Thou perchance shalt be Sulayman’s too.
Yourselves would know that, though you see him not, He is with you this Moment, on this Spot, Your Lord through all Forgetfulness and Crime, Here, There, and Everywhere, and through all Time.
How to read these Sufi quotes
Nicholson translated Rumi literally, in prose, with parentheses for words he added; his Rumi is less polished than the popular versions, but closer to the Persian. Read a couplet slowly, then reread it without the parentheses. Saadi’s maxims work well as a thought for the day, especially the ones on patience and generosity.
Al-Ghazali is a teacher: each passage of The Alchemy of Happiness unfolds an argument, so read the sentence before and after if you can. FitzGerald’s Attar is rhymed and free, closer to an English poem inspired by the Persian than to a translation line by line.
In the Selfia app, the Islam path (Settings › Spirituality) offers Quran verses and a few of these Sufi texts in a separate section.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real Rumi quotes?
Yes. The ten Rumi quotes on this page come from Book I of the Masnavi in Reynold A. Nicholson’s translation (1926), checked word for word against three scans of the printed book. Many sayings attributed to Rumi online come from loose modern adaptations, or from no text at all. Nicholson’s translation is less lyrical, but it follows the Persian closely.
What is the Masnavi?
The Masnavi (or Mathnawi) is Rumi’s great poem in Persian, about 25,000 rhyming couplets in six books, written in the last years of his life. It mixes stories, fables, Quranic references and teaching on the spiritual path. It opens with the Song of the Reed, a lament of separation from the source.
What is Sufism?
Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam. Sufis seek a direct, inward knowledge of God through remembrance (dhikr), prayer, love and the discipline of the self, often under the guidance of a master and within an order. Persian poets such as Rumi, Attar and Saadi gave it some of its most famous texts.