Qutbuddin - Light in the Heavens

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In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate

God be praised! He is one, powerful and wise, the eternal and generous creator. He sent Muammad as a prophet, fortified with profound words and marvelous sayings, making him a bringer of glad tidings and a warner

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The prophets words and his divinely inspired directions for refined behavior burnish the hearts of those who know God and cure the diseases of those who fear him. For they come from one whom God has protected from error, who has been singled out to receive clear exposition and wisdom, who calls to right guidance, makes the blind see, and never speaks from a whim.

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In this book, I have collected one thousand wise sayings from the sayings of the messenger of Godincluding testaments, directions for refined behavior, counsels, and maximswhose forms and meanings are free of artifice and discord. Inspired by God, they are superior to the expressive discourse of the masters of expression. Distinguished by the guidance of prophecy, they are loftier than the sayings of the masters of eloquence. I have arranged these sayings uninterruptedly, one following the other, omitting the chains of transmission. For simplified access and ease of memorization, I have divided them into chapters based on similarity of lexical pattern. I have subsequently added two hundred more sayings, to make twelve hundred in all.

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I ask Godthrough his might and powerto let my efforts be directed to winning his acceptance, and to seeking his merciful gaze.

1.1Acts are only worth the intentions that accompany them.

1.2Keep what is said at gatherings private.

1.3Advice is sought in trust.

1.4A promise to give is binding.

1.5A promise is a debt.

1.6Warfare entails cunning.

1.7Regret is a form of repentance.

1.8Unity is mercy, dissent punishment.

1.9Integrity is a form of wealth.

1.10True faith is giving good counsel.

1.11Virtue is wealth, magnanimity piety.

1.12Goodness is habitual, wickedness obstinacy.

1.13Leniency brings dividends, harshness deficits.

1.14Prudence is to expect the worst.

1.15Offspring cause stinginess and timidity.

1.16Obscenities offend.

1.17The Quran is the real cure.

1.18Supplication is the best form of worship.

1.19Debt disfigures devotion.

1.20Half of living well is planning well.

1.21Half of discernment is affection.

1.22Worry causes aging.

1.23The fewer children you have, the more affluent you will be.

1.24Half of learning is asking good questions.

1.25Greet before conversing.

1.26Ones nature is influenced by the milk one has suckled.

1.27Elders bring blessings.

1.28The outcome is the essence of a deed.

1.29Honor the book by reading it in full.

1.30Faith is bolstered by scrupulosity.

1.31The pinnacle of wisdom is fear of God, and the prince of deeds scrupulosity.

1.32The wealthy oppress when they delay payment and court hellfire when they beg.

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1.33To speak of favors received is to show gratitude.

1.34Awaiting succor with fortitude is the best form of worship.

1.35Fasting gives protection.

1.36A chieftain is a guarantor for his tribe.

1.37Gentleness is the pinnacle of wisdom.

1.38The sage should seek out wise words wherever they may roam.

1.39Goodness is beauty of character.

1.40Youth is a time of madness.

1.41Women are Satans snares.

1.42All sins converge in wine.

1.43Wine is the mother of all abominations.

1.44Embezzlement burns with a fire from hell.

1.45Wailing for the dead is a practice from the dark ages.

1.46Fornication bequeaths poverty.

1.47To ogle is to fornicate with the eyes.

1.48Fever is a scout sent by death.

1.49Fever is a blaze from the inferno.

1.50Fever is the believers share of hellfire.

1.51Contentment is wealth that is never used up.

1.52Integrity brings sustenance, fraud brings poverty.

1.53Late risers earn no pay.

1.54An Arabs turban is his crown.

1.55All good things converge in modesty.

1.56Modesty brings nothing but good.

1.57The mosque is where the pious live.

1.58Forgetfulness is the bane of learning.

1.59Falsehood is the bane of conversation.

1.60Foolhardiness is the bane of prudence.

1.61Indolence is the bane of worship.

1.62Injustice is the bane of bravery.

1.63Keeping tally is the bane of generosity.

1.64Conceit is the bane of beauty.

1.65Waste is the bane of liberality.

1.66Arrogance is the bane of a good pedigree.

1.67Bragging is the bane of refinement.

1.68Caprice is the bane of faith.

1.69The fortunate are those who have learned from others, the wretched have been wretched since the womb.

1.70Repentance makes for atonement.

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1.71The Friday prayer is the hajj of the poor.

1.72Hajj is the jihad of the frail.

1.73Being a good wife is a womans jihad.

1.74Making an honest living is a form of jihad.

1.75Dying in a foreign land is a form of martyrdom.

1.76Knowledge must not be withheld.

1.77Those present see what the absent do not.

1.78Those who prompt others to do good are rewarded in like measure.

1.79The water carrier is the last to drink.

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1.80Charity is any generous act.

1.81Charity is kindness to others.

1.82Charity is a kind word.

1.83Protecting ones honor counts as charity.

1.84Charity to family counts twice: as charity and as nurture.

1.85Charity protects against a bad death.

1.86Charity in secret assuages the lords wrath.

1.87Nurturing relatives brings long life.

1.88Generosity protects against a horrible death.

1.89A man can enjoy the shade of his charity till he sits in judgment.

1.90Charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire.

1.91Charity to the undeserving is like refusing to give at all.

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1.92Penitence is as good as not sinning.

1.93Judgment day will be ominously dark for the tyrant.

1.94Too much hilarity kills the spirit.

1.95Compassionate hearts will be rewarded.

1.96God charges the learned to look after his creatures.

1.97The pinnacle of wisdom is fear of God.

1.98Paradise will be home to the generous.

1.99Paradise is shaded by righteous swords.

1.100Paradise lies beneath your mothers feet.

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1.101Supplications made between the call and summons to prayer are never rebuffed.

1.102An honest living is an obligation second only to worship.

1.103A good woman makes few demands.

1.104Believers are mirrors for each other.

1.105Believers are brothers to each other.

1.106Believers do not ask for much.

1.107Believers are intelligent, astute, and cautious.

1.108Believers are friendly and approachable.

1.109Believers can be trusted with life and property.

1.110Believers are generous and guileless, libertines are depraved and shameless.

1.111Believers buttress and support each other.

1.112The true believer among the faithful is like the head to the body.

1.113Believers will be shaded by their charity on judgment day.

1.114One mouthful is enough for the believer; the unbeliever craves seven.