Top 100 Ibn Quotes
#1. Ibn Taymiyyah lived poorly. He was imprisoned and threatened. But I have never seen anyone as happy as him.
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
#2. In 1352, Ibn Batuta, the greatest Arab-language traveler of the Middle Ages, who had journeyed overland across Africa, Europe, and Asia, reported visiting the city of Taghaza, which, he said, was entirely built of salt, including an elaborate mosque.
Mark Kurlansky
#3. You are ridiculous, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. I am just one girl. You are the Caliph of Khorasan, and you have a responsibility to a kingdom."
"If you are just one girl, I am just one boy.
Renee Ahdieh
#4. My father decided that he was such a admirer of Ibn Rushd's philosophy, thinking that he changed the family name to Rushdie. I realized why my father was so interested in him, because he was really an incredibly modernizing voice inside our Islamic culture.
Salman Rushdie
#5. I never revolted in vain, as a rebel or as a tyrant, but I rose seeking reformation for the nation of my grandfather Mohammad. I intend to enjoin good and forbid evil, to act according to the traditions of my grandfather, and my father Ali Ibn Abi-Talib.
Husayn Ibn Ali
#6. The twelfth-century poet Abraham ibn Ezra, whom you encountered in high school as Browning's Rabbi ben Ezra (may his tribe increase), limpidly described the shlimazl's lot when he wrote: If I sold lamps, The sun, In spite, Would shine at night.
Leo Rosten
#7. The sight of God in woman is the most perfect of all. Ibn Arabi.
Idries Shah
#8. One of the reasons my name is Rushdie is that my father was an admirer of Ibn Rush'd, the 12th century Arab philosopher known as Averroes in the West. In his time, he was making the non-literalist case for interpreting the Koran.
Salman Rushdie
#9. Ibn Firnas was a polymath: a physician, a rather bad poet, the first to make glass from stones (quartz), a student of music, and inventor of some sort of metronome.
Lynn Townsend White Jr.
#10. Faith is the cure that heals all troubles. Without faith there is no hope and no love. Faith comes before hope, and before love. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihama)
Paul Torday
#11. Whoever treads a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise.
(reported by Ibn Majah and others, fulfilling the conditions of Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim)
Anonymous
#12. And when I was born, I drew in common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature; and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do."
by Solomon Ibn Gabirol
Steven J. Jacobson
#13. In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that it was very difficult to speak about God, because when we confront the ultimate, we are at the end of what words or thoughts can do.
Karen Armstrong
#14. From Hunayn ibn-Ishak (Diogenes,8), we learn about his view of women and education: when he saw a man teaching a girl how to read and write, he advised him not to make a bad thing even worse.
Luis E. Navia
#15. Here Ibn Hawqal, about 970, found some 300 mosques, and 300 schoolteachers who were highly regarded by the inhabitants "in spite of the fact," says the geographer, "that schoolteachers are notorious for their mental deficiency and light brains.
Will Durant
#16. Ka'b ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two hungry wolves loose among sheep do not cause as much damage as that caused to a man's deen by his greed for money and reputation.
Muhammad Al-Tirmidhi
#17. Why take the time to convince me? If I disagree you could simply kill me, take Fadwa, and do whatever you like." Ibn Malik raised an eyebrow. "True. But I prefer reason and agreement. Allies are much more useful than bodies.
Helene Wecker
#18. If you think you're too far from Allah to return, and your 'past' continues to own you, just remember that Malik ibn Dinar (RA) was an alcoholic, and Omar (RA) was on his way to assassinate the Prophet (pbuh) before they became two of the greatest souls to walk the earth!
Yasmin Mogahed
#19. Muhammad had close links with three of the leading hanifs of Mecca. 'Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh was his cousin and Waraqah ibn Nawfal was a cousin of Khadijah: both these men became Christians.
Karen Armstrong
#20. You will see, as time goes by", said Ibn Rushd, "that in the end it will be religion that will make men turn away from God. The godly are God's worst advocates.
Salman Rushdie
#21. We liberate our nation's heart inside of Indonesian independence!! Ibn Saud liberated Arabian's heart inside of Saudi Arabian independence one by one!! Stalin liberated Soviet-Russian's heart inside of Soviet one by one!!
Sukarno
#22. Ibn Mas'ud said that Allah's Messenger said: Abusing a Muslim is sinful and fighting with his tantamount to Kufr. Bukhari Muslim
Ahmad Von Denffer
#23. The hearts of all mystic lovers." Likewise when Ibn Arabi, the distinguished philosopher, writer, and mystic, saw the young Rumi walking behind his father one day, he exclaimed, "Glory be to God, an ocean is
Elif Shafak
#24. As Ibn Arabi says: 'Absolute existence is the source of all existence'.
Idries Shah
#25. The parallels to modern physics [with mysticism] appear not only in the Vedas of Hinduism, in the I Ching, or in the Buddhist sutras, but also in the fragments of Heraclitus, in the Sufism of Ibn Arabi, or in the teachings of the Yaqui sorcerer Don Juan.
Fritjof Capra
#26. Some things do not have to be said. You didn't have to tell me you were in love with Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. And I didn't have to tell you I cried myself to sleep for weeks after you left. Love speaks for itself.
Renee Ahdieh
#27. Ibn Bassani, a Sufi mystic, all his life prayed, asking God to make his body the size of hell and send him there in the place of the world. I see my Lord Christ having done that for humanity.
Paul-Gordon Chandler
#28. How did I find myself here? Me - the man who wanted to walk around the world? On foot, no less. I wanted to be Passepartout, a traveller with little luggage, hopping from one train to another, a Thomas Cook, an Ibn Battuta. Where is Xanadu?
Fadia Faqir
#29. Ibn El-Arabi wrote, 'The Teacher is he who hears you, then unveils you to yourself
Idries Shah
#30. Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, a thirteenth century scholar, said that it is possible for anyone to have sincerity in what one does and in what one believes, irrespective of creed.
Hamza Yusuf
#31. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you who is unlawful for the Fire - or the one for whom the Fire is unlawful? It is unlawful for everyone who is easy, flexible, modest and uncomplicated.
Muhammad Al-Tirmidhi
#32. Those who are conquered," wrote the philosopher Ibn Khaldun in the fourteenth century, "always want to imitate the conqueror in his main characteristics - in his clothing, his crafts, and in all his distinctive traits and customs.
Adam Hochschild
#33. Historically the first philosopher to enquire deeply into the nature of corruption in society was Ibn Khaldun (1322-1406), whose wandering life was largely spent in the northern littoral of Africa at a time when kingdoms and sultanates were crumbling.
Robert Payne
#34. The West has given us the liberal miracle of individual rights, individual responsibility, merit, and human satisfaction.
Ibn Warraq
#35. The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#36. The Sage was asked to define good manners? to which he replied, To bear patiently the rude ones.
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
#37. Make tawba not just for sins you've committed, but also for obligations you haven't fulfilled.
Ibn Taymiyyah
#38. I have a sickness doctors can't cure,
Inexorably pulling me to the well of my destruction,
Consented to be a sacrifice, killed for her love,
Eager, like the drunk gulping wine mixed with poison,
Shameless were those my nights,
Yet my soul loved them beyond all passion.
Ibn Hazm
#39. Verily, the word of Allah teaches us, and we implicitly believe it, that for a Muslim to kill a Jew, or for him to be killed by a Jew, ensures him immediate entry into Heaven and into the august presence of Allah.
Ibn Saud
#40. The West has given the world the symphony, and the novel.
Ibn Warraq
#41. It may well be that you are in a bad state, but to keep company with someone worse than you would allow to see good in yourself.
Ibn Ata Allah
#43. If knowledge had no other merit than to make the ignorant fear and respect you, and scholars love and honour you, this would be good enough reason to seek after it. Let alone all its other merits in this world and the next.
Hakim Ibn Hizam
#44. A slave stands infront of Allah on two occasions. The first during salah, and secondly on the Day of Judgment. Whoseover stands correctly in the first, the second standing will be made easier for him. And whosoever, disregards the first standing, the second standing will be extremely difficult.
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
#45. If the hearts are pure, they will never have enough from reciting Allah's words (the Qur'an).
Uthman Ibn Affan
#46. If one is cruel to himself, how can we expect him to be compassionate with others?
Hasdai Ibn Shaprut
#47. Sorrow shatters my heart; And men distress it with blame, Because it follows love.
Moses Ibn Ezra
#48. What man-made machine will ever achieve the complete perfection of even the goose's wing?
Abbas Ibn Firnas
#50. Sins cause harm and repentance removes the cause
Ibn Taymiyyah
#52. Therefore, the Negro nation are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because [Negroes] have little [that is essentially] human and have attributes that are quite similar to those of dumb animals, as we have stated.
Ibn Khaldun
#54. If you do good in secret, Allah will shower His good on you in public.
Ibn Taymiyyah
#55. How can the heart travel to Allah when it is chained by its desires
Ibn Arabi
#57. Be like the flower that gives its fragrance to even the hand that crushes it.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#59. Your souls are precious and can only be equal to the price of Paradise, therefore sell them only at that price
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#60. There are two things that if you do them you will attain the good of this world and the hereafter; [They are] that you bear what you dislike if it is beloved to Allah and you leave what you like if it is disliked by Allah.
Ibn Hazm
#62. If you want a glory that does not vanish, then do not glory in a glory that vanishes
Ibn Ata Allah
#63. The one who is [truly] imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.
Ibn Taymiyyah
#64. Wasting time is worse than death, because death separates you from this world whereas wasting time separates you from Allah
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
#65. One hour of neglect can undo a year of pious effort.
Ibn Hazm
#66. Murderer, monster, madman... Khalid may very well be all of those things. But he's also loved. By me and by my father. But, most of all, by Shazi. With her, he is as fiercely loved as he loves.
Renee Ahdieh
#68. Plan for this world as if you expect to live forever; but plan for the hereafter as if you expect to die tomorrow.
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
#69. Submit to Islam and be safe. Or agree to the payment of the Jizya (tax), and you and your people will be under our protection, else you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences, for I bring the men who desire death as ardently as you desire life.
Khalid Ibn Al-Walid
#70. A proverb has three characteristics: few words, good sense, and a fine image.
Moses Ibn Ezra
#71. Had there not been five bad qualities, all the people would have been righteous. Contentment with ignorance; love for worldly life; miserliness inspite of much wealth; ostentation in (good) deeds; and pride in their own intelligence.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#74. The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Indeed, an ignorant man who is generous is dearer to God than a worshipper who is miserly."
Muhammad Ibn Isa At-Tirmidhi
#75. Extinction is the beginning of the path: it is traveling to God Most High. Guidance comes afterwards. What I mean by guidance is the guidance of God, as described by the Friend of God, Abraham: "Lo! I am going unto my Lord Who will guide me."
Ibn Ata Allah
#78. Perfecting one's intellect causes one to speak less, and those words spoken will be adorned with wisdom.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#79. The origins of the modern West are often seen in the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, but the roots of the Enlightenment can be found in habits of mind cultivated in Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem, and the institutions that grew from them.
Ibn Warraq
#80. And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature; and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do.
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
#81. There are three types of friends: those like food without which you can't live those like medicine which you need occasionally and those like an illness which you never want.
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
#82. Do not share the knowledge with which you have been blessed with everyone in general, as you do with some people in particular; and know that there are some men in whom Allah, may He he glorified, has placed hidden secrets, which they are forbidden to reveal.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#84. Surprisingly one of the forces for secularisation was Christianity itself. As soon as it accepted the idea of a contrary opinion, the moment that European opinion decided for toleration, it decided for eventual free marketing opinion.
Ibn Warraq
#85. Life consists of two days, one for you one against you. So when it's for you don't be proud or reckless, and when it's against you be patient, for both days are test for you.
Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
#86. Doom comes about because of neglecting to evaluate one's self and because of just following one's whims.
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
#87. Monotheism has also been recognized as inherently intolerant.
Ibn Warraq
#88. Knowledge is of two kinds: that which is absorbed and that which is heard. And that which is heard does not profit if it is not absorbed.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#91. Your son at five is your master, at ten your slave, at fifteen your double, and after that, your friend or foe, depending on his bringing up.
Hasdai Ibn Shaprut
#92. Women are one half of society which gives birth to the other half so it is as if they are the entire society.
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
#93. Associate with people in such a manner that they weep for you when you die and long for you if you are alive
Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib
#95. True friends are a single soul divided between different bodies.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
#96. You are not aware of the consequences that would result (if you were granted what you desire) because what you seek might be to your detriment. (O soul) be conscious that your Master is more aware about your well-being than you are.
Abu'l-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzi
#97. There is nothing like marriage, for two who love one another.
Ibn Majah
#98. Our generation delimited the definition & horizon of Love in a box that mainly refers to love between a boy & a girl. Love has a broader & profound meaning beyond this box. Surely, the highest state of love is Love of God, a love between creations & the Creator.
Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb
#100. There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
