Pearls of wisdom....344

1. The words of the Qur'an have both an outer and
    an inner meaning, the latter overpowering. Do
    not regard the surface alone, for the devil never
    regarded Adam as mere clay. The surface
    meaning of the Qur'an is like a human torso,
    features visible, but the spirit hidden.

2. Little by little God takes the beauty away.
    Little by little life's luster decays.
    Listen to the passage, "To whom We
   grant a long life, those We cause to decline."
   Seek the essence and not the structure.
   The beauty of heart shall forever abide, for it
   is enriched with the water of life.

3. Every prophet to the world came alone,
    within him carrying a hundred unseen worlds.
    The cosmos was charmed by his depth
    and folded itself into his modest frame,
    The foolish thought he was lonely and weak.
    With the King as his companion,
    how is he weak?

4. We honored man by the gift of free will.
    Half of him is honeybee, the other half snake.
   True believers are stores of honey.
   Stores of poison are those who do not believe.

5. Many prayers are declined because of the
    rank odor of a corrupt heart rising through the
    beautiful words. Let the words be wrong, but
    the meaning right. That flawed utterance is
    dearer to God.  [Mawlana Rumi]