Quotes from The Sufis

“It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The sufis believe that they can experience something more complete.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Deep in the sea are riches beyond compare. But if you seek safety, it is on the shore.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Sufism, the "secret tradition," is not available on the basis of assumptions which belong to another world, the world of intellect.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Like the bat, the Sufi is asleep to 'things of the day' - the familiar struggle for existence which the ordinary man finds all-important - and vigilant while others are asleep. In other words, he keeps awake the spiritual attention dormant in others. That 'mankind sleeps in a nightmare of unfulfillment' is a commonplace of Sufi literature”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The function of a nutrient is to become transmuted, not to leave unaltered traces.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“among roses, be a rose, among thorns, be a thorn”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Scholars of the East and West have heroically consecrated their whole working lives to making available, by means of their own disciplines, Sufi literary and philosophical material to the world at large. In many cases they have faithfully recorded the Sufis' own reiteration that the Way of the Sufis cannot be understood by means of the intellect or by ordinary book learning.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“إن المتصوفة انتقلوا بالحضور الأنثوي للمرأة، روحيا وجسديا إلى الفضاء الجمالي، وأصبحت المرأة هي المجلى الأكمل للجمال الإلهي المطلق.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“It is axiomatic that the attempt to become a Sufi through a desire for personal power as normally understood will not succeed.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“If you will not reprove yourself,’ Saadi says, ‘you will not welcome reproof from another.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The Way of the Sufis cannot be understood by means of the intellect or by ordinary book learning.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The secret protects itself. It is found only in the spirit and practice of the Work.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The basic urge toward mysticism is never, in the unaltered man, clear enough to be recognized for what it is.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Lo Aparente es el Puente hacia lo Real’.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Practise your knowledge, for knowledge without practice is a body without life”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Take the wheat, not the measure in which it is contained”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Es necesario notar – dice Rumi – que cosas antagónicas trabajan juntas, aunque nominalmente sean opuestas.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Sufism is known by means of itself.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“When you are still fragmentated, lacking certainty — what difference does it make what your decisions are?”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“El camino de los sufis no puede ser comprendido valiéndose del intelecto o mediante el común aprendizaje a través de libros.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“He who is fortunately enlightened [the Sufi]
Knows that sophistry is from the devil and love from Adam.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The totality of life cannot be understood, so runs Sufi teaching, if it is studied only through the methods which we use in everyday living.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Aquel que es afortunadamente iluminado (el Sufi)
Sabe que la sofistería procede del diablo, y el amor de Adán.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“Según la enseñanza Sufi, no es posible entender la vida en su totalidad si se la analiza según los métodos utilizados en nuestra cotidianidad.”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

“The Apparent is the Bridge to the Real”
― Idries Shah, quote from The Sufis

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Popular quotes

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“Godverdomme,' zei hij, 'gooi iemand anders wat op zijn poten.”
― Gerard Reve, quote from De avonden

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― Toni Morrison, quote from Paradise

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.