Pearls of wisdom 313

1. Freedom from lower qualities is an essential qualification required for spiritual progress.

2. If you wish that God should dwell in your heart, purify your heart from all save Him for the king will not enter a house filled with stores and furniture. He will only enter a heart which is empty of all save Himself.

3. Take one step out of yourself that you may arrive at God.

4. God bestows purity of self upon him who earnestly desires it and is eternally nourished by Him through His contemplation.

5. Knowledge of the Unity of God (tawhid) is revealed in the illuminated hearts of the saints.

6. The behavior of a true saint of God towards His creation always remains friendly and affectionate.

7. If men wish to draw near to God, they must seek Him in the hearts of men.

8. To bring joy to a single heart is better than to build many shrines for worship.

9. To enslave one soul by kindness is worth more than the setting free of a thousand slaves.

10. The true believer is he who is pleased with all that God does, in order that God may be pleased with all that he does.

11. The true man of God is that who sits in the midst of his fellow men, eats, drinks, sleeps, buys, sells, who gets married, has social dealings and yet is never for one moment forgetful of God. [Above quotes by Abu Sa'id ibn Abil Khayr]