Islamic Philosophy Quotes

“While various popular translations of the Qur’an exist, readers should be aware that there is no definitive scholarly consensus on accurate translation. Translators understandably struggle to capture the Qur’an’s sophisticated and layered nuances in a foreign language, and renderings can often sound bland or abstruse.”
― Mohamad Jebara, The Life of the Qur'an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy

“The greatest iftar is
to break the fast of apathy,
with the feast of affection.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Ramadan isn't fulfilled by feasting on some tasty beef, the greatest of feast is haram if others go hungry.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“Qatar & The West (The Sonnet)

All of a sudden the entire west is peeved at Qatar,
Because only the west has exclusive rights to exposure.
All of a sudden we care about the migrant workers,
The Afghans, Palestinians and Kashmiris no longer matter.
Human rights issue here is, we don't care about human rights,
We only care about filling the air with hypocrisy and mania.
Our poster boy just dumped half his new workforce as garbage,
We buy Oscar, ditch Batgirl, and we diss Qatar for buying FIFA!
We are just peeved that the Arabs are showing off for a change,
Sure it's unacceptable, since showing off is a western tradition.
Yes, it's true that the Middle East reeks with human rights issues,
But it is also teeming with passion beyond western comprehension.
If you really care about human rights stick to a cause for more than a fortnight.
Otherwise keep your trap shut, lest you open and be proved a privileged white.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

“Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison When the door is so wide open?”
― Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi

“Here he found that European learning, like Oriental bookkeeping, had its useless intricacies designed to keep outsiders where they belonged.”
― Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

“For twelve hundred years Mullahs have been writing proofs of the existence of God. Believe me, I've taught theology for a long time - none of them is real proof. The only real proof can come through illumination.”
― Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

“Willingness to conform to Islamic law, even in the face of doubt, spiritual aridity, and dark nights of the soul, is the mark of a serious Muslim.”
― Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

“Nowhere is the case for external obedience put more eloquently than in the writings of al-Ghazzali, the lawyer, theologian, and Sufi who is, perhaps, the greatest moral thinker of the Islamic tradition. [...] [Al-Ghazzali] entered a crisis of doubt that led him to question not only the possibility of certain knowledge of any kind, even certain knowledge of the soundness of one's own senses: "The disease was baffling, and lasted almost two months, during which I was a skeptic in fact though not in theory or outward expression.”
― Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

“Yet even for al-Ghazzali the law is the indispensable beginning; and when completely internalized, the law also becomes an integral part of the end toward which the spiritual quest is directed. Ghazzali writes: "Know that the beginning of guidance is outward piety and the end of guidance is inward piety.”
― Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

“Understandingly, this book tells about Islam in its peaceful beginning, about the birth and life of the Prophet, the geographical location of Arabia, the challenges faced by the Prophet in propagating Islam, how he is being persecuted by his kinsmen and was forced out of his hometown face to face with death."- Origin and Spread of ISLAM and the Middle East Conflict”
― Owoade Ibrahim

“Yes, I am a muslim poet (sufi), I am also humankind's pinnacle of peace and reason. I have done more for integration and humanitarianism than most writers, scholars, and philosophers in history. Now tell me - what were you saying about, all muslims are terrorists!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“Ramadan Sonnet

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim doesn't mean,
God is merciful only to the muslim.
The spirit of godliness that we hold within,
is meant to light up the world as our kin.
Fasting and feasting all turn mere futile choir,
If, for whatever reason, life is distant from life.
Celebration of Ramadan is celebration of rahmat*,
Ramadan without *compassion is Ramadan without life.
Ramadan is not a muslim festival,
Ramadan is a human festival.
Ramadan is a reminder to rekindle our light,
Ramadan is the end of all feelings uncharitable.
None of us will have faith till we wish for
our neighbor as we wish for ourselves (Hadith 13).
The reward for goodness is goodness itself (Q55:60).”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“Celebration of Ramadan is celebration of rahmat (compassion).”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“Remember, in our tradition, a mother’s scarf is passed on to her daughter.”
― Soroosh Shahrivar, Tajrish

“Ramadan is not a muslim festival,
Ramadan is a human festival.
Ramadan is a reminder to rekindle our light,
Ramadan is the end of all feelings uncharitable.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Ramadan is resurrection of a promise divine,
Festival of one people is festival of humankind.
Ramadan is the end of all feelings unkind,
Ramadan is a human being a human's lifeline.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Rahmat is an act of azan,
Rahmat is what makes us holy.
When Rahmat and Azan manifest as one,
That's the beginning of Ramazan,
Christmas and Deepavali.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Fasting and feasting all turn mere futile choir,
If, for whatever reason, life is distant from life.
Celebration of Ramadan is celebration of rahmat*,
Ramadan without *compassion is Ramadan without life.

Ramadan is not a muslim festival,
Ramadan is a human festival.
Ramadan is a reminder to rekindle our light,
Ramadan is the end of all feelings uncharitable.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“For one who lives with kindness, everyday is Ramadan.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“For one who lives with kindness, every day is Ramadan.”
― Abhijit Naskar, L'humain Impossible: Cent Sonnets pour Ma Famille Mondiale

“A hundred hajj won't make you holy, if your heart is ever cold and dead.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Pluralisme adalah konsekuensi logis dari kehadiran sekularisme. Karena bagaimana pun kehadiran agama tidak dapat diindahkan begitu saja, maka sekularisme tidak mematikan semua agama, namun secara sistematis 'memandulkan' agama-agama itu melalui pluralisme.”
― Akmal Sjafril, Islam Liberal 101

“30 Days of Ramadan (Sufi Sonnet)

On the 1st day of Ramadan I say to thee,
celebration of Ramadan is celebration of rahmat.
On the 2nd day of Ramadan I say to thee,
the greatest iftar is to lift up another.

On the 3rd day of Ramadan I say to thee,
kindness makes moments holy, not date and time.
On the 4th day I say to thee, till we renounce
apathy, refusing 'interest' counts for nothing.

On the 5th day of Ramadan I say to thee,
helping a human is worth a hundred Hajj.
On the 6th day of Ramadan I say to thee,
service to humanity is service to Allah/God.

On 7th I say, true mercy waits for no month.
On 8th I say, mercy exclusive to month is fake mercy.
9. There is nothing uglier than happiness hoarded.
10. Light shared, is amplified, when hoarded, it's lost.
11. Breaking fast while the world starves, is no holy.

12. Dua without deeds is dua (prayer) of the dead.
13. Only kafir is the one who lacks kindness.
14. Real divinity knows no distinction of faith.
15. The opposite of sacredness is prejudice.

16. Heart is the first and final mosque.
17. Heart set on prejudice tantamount to Quran set on fire.
18. Abandon fundamentalism, and adopt tolerance.
19. What's fanatic is dead, what's tolerant is alive.
20. Tolerance is the awakening of divine desire.

21. Condemn none, convert none, for all are equal.
22. All streams spring from the human heart.
23. Reflections though vary, the sun is the same.
24. Tolerate no more bigotry to poison the world.

25. Surpass all fear, and share a date.
26. Date shared is bloodshed spared.
27. Dogma deserted is harmony harvested.
28. Ramadan is the end of fear and hatred.

On the eve of Eid, I bear reminder - for one
who lives with kindness, everyday is Ramadan.
On Eid al-Fitr, I stand as a promise -
in celebrating each other we rise human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The God Sonnets: Naskar Art of Theology

“Where there is no muslim, non-muslim - where there is no believer, non-believer - where all distances are conquered by heart, outgrowing myths one emerges Merhem-e Manavta.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The God Sonnets: Naskar Art of Theology

“Eid ul-Adha is not only about sacrificing an animal. Before we sacrifice the animal, we must first put a knife to our pride, our selfishness, and our ego. We must slaughter the animals living inside our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, and our personalities, so we can attain the true meaning of Eid ul-Adha. May Allah accept all our good deeds and prayers.”
― Mohammed Zaki Ansari, "Zaki's Gift Of Love"

“I am a muslim poet, yet I refuse to hate my brother from another mother - like many streams finally meet in the sea, we are all born of nature and ultimately disperse into nature.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sonnets From The Mountaintop

“I am a muslim poet, yet I refuse to hate my brother from another mother.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sonnets From The Mountaintop

“Arabic is one of the rarest soulful languages spoken by the human race, yet in the hands of eurocentric propaganda apes are conditioned like pavlov's dogs into believing it to be the most sinister.”
― Abhijit Naskar, With Love From A Blue Rock

“Tawhid doesn't mean all other gods are false, tawhid means it's all one god.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Hazrat-e Humanity: The Uncultured Polyglot