Sufi Path Quotes

“[T]he song of the Sufis, once it starts, never ends.

There is a traditional saying that you should never waste your time trying to find real Sufis because they are the ones who will find you. And this turned out to be perfectly true.”
― Peter Kingsley, A Book of Life

“My Beloved, don‘t be heartless with me.
Your Presence is my only cure.
How can I be left with neither a heart,
nor my Beloved?
Either return my heart, or do not deny me
Your Presence.”
― Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Nobody Son of Nobody

“In certain ancient civilizations and indigenous cultures there was often a process of initiation that young people would go through before they became adults. In some Native American traditions, for example, the initiate would be put out into the wilderness without any food or any other provisions for survival. He would have to rely on the Universe and his own soul. During the experience, the initiate would fast. He would experience himself confronting the Universe alone. He would be out there for a number of days. This would open up the initiate to a direct experience of something beyond the usual egoic mind and all of its concerns. The initiate would be thrust into an experience that would take him beyond his small, limited self. Such a process existed in our own Tradition going back to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. What was Muhammad doing in a cave when the first revelations of the Qur‘an began if not going through what Native Americans would call a „Vision Quest“? He received direct revelation and inspiration through this practice. (p. 12)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Coherence comes from a deep center, which is the heart. Ultimately it‘s the heart of the human being connected to Infinite Spirit. When the self is connected to the heart, and the heart is connected to God, you have coherence. It‘s really that simple. The practice we call „the remembrance of God“ is the channel to that coherence. (p. 14)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“In our tradition, God says, „The heavens and the earth cannot contain Me.“ We know there are billions of stars and galaxies. Yet the Divine is saying, „No, all of that cannot contain Me. Only the heart of my faithful servant, the knower, is expansive enough to contain Me.“ It‘s a very high truth. (p. 80)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“A drop that knows itself, knows the Ocean. (p. 80)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“One of our teachers in the early days of our Path said that one of the things not allowed of the dervish is fear. We cannot afford to be defeated by our fears. We may experience some really rough times so that we can come to know this. The rough times are a gift too. Everything can become a good. Sin can lead to virtue and fear can lead to something beyond fear. The truth is that everything ultimately is a mercy. (p. 9)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“All life is one and everything that lives is holy. Holiness is Reality. (p. 80)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“The messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, „If anyone travels a path in search of knowledge, God will conduct him through one of the paths of paradise. The angels will lower their wings, delighted with the one who seeks knowledge. And the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and the fish in the depths of the water will seek forgiveness for him. The higher station of the gnostic over the worshipper is like the position of the full moon among the stars.“ The hadith is not talking about the sect of Gnostics, but rather the knowers of God. The knowers of God are the heirs of the Prophet. (p. 90)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“The word for paradise is actually „garden“ or jannah in Arabic. Paradise is not just something that comes after this earthly life. The Qur‘an says, The Garden will be brought near to all those who are in a state of Godconsciousness (Surah ash-Shu‘ara 26:90). To all those who deepen in their remembrance, deepen in presence, The Garden will be brought near. (p. 101)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Love makes us speak; love makes us moan; love makes us die; love brings us to life; love makes us drunk and bewildered; it sometimes makes one a king. Love and the lover have no rigid doctrine. Whichever direction the lover takes he turns toward his beloved. Wherever he may be, he is with his beloved. Wherever he goes, he goes with his beloved. He cannot do anything, cannot survive for one moment even, without his beloved. He constantly recalls his beloved, as his beloved remembers him. Lover and beloved, rememberer and remembered, are ever in each other’s company, always together.”
― Muzaffer Ozak, The Unveiling of Love: Sufism and the Remembrance of God

“The sum total of our life is a breath
spent in the company of the Beloved.”
― Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Nobody Son of Nobody

“If Today I die I won't regret it,
Jewel of faith I have received now death I won't regret it,

I don't need any path when I have found my destination now death I won't it,

I don't have any expectations nor hope with anything or anyone when I have got LOVE now death I won't regret it,

My search for drunk yard has ended I have found a perfect spiritual master now death I won't regret it,

Now I don't search God in the books when I am drinking from the eyes now death I won't regret it,

To know LOVE I setout myself in the world when I am under the blaze of LOVE now death I won't regret it,

What is the need for any external decoration and beautifying things when you are in my HEART now death I won't regret it,

Don't ask Aiyaz what is LOVE! Who's LOVER I am He is inside my HEART now death I won't regret it.”
― Aiyaz Uddin, The Inward Journey

“Don‘t put it off, don‘t wait too long. When we truly commit ourselves to a spiritual path and practice, something in Reality rises up to support us. The destiny of what we‘re designed to be becomes real, and the fate of unconscious behaviors is avoided. Or, even if not avoided, our mistakes become learning experiences, blessed by some invisible Mercy. As Yunus Emre said, „Ever since the glance of the mature fell upon me, nothing has been a misfortune.“ (p. 5)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“In our Tradition, we use the body to experience the presence of God. We can teach the body what it feels like to surrender to the Divine as our forehead touches the ground during prayer. This is something the body needs to tangibly experience. (p. 6)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Whatever any moment may bring, there is that unconditioned Reality, the Infinitely Compassionate, ar-Rahman, the Infinitely Merciful, the ar-Raheem. (p. 10)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Our first murshid (spiritual guide), Suleyman Dede, never claimed to do anything himself. When Suleyman Dede visited the United States, he said, „God brought me to this country, and He has taken me to all these different places, and He has arranged for these meetings to occur, for people to come, and He has made me say certain things. It is really amazing because I am not doing anything.“ (p. 10)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Love brings coherence when a person has a strong heart, a quality of unconditional love, and when the person themselves becomes a source of love rather than looking for objects of love. That‘s also evidence of having attained a deep coherence. Yet another way to talk about this, is that there‘s a channel between your heart and the Infinite. The Infinite is itself the power of unity and coherence. It has the power to come into your heart and so transform your heart. When your heart has been touched by even a little bit of this spiritual energy, the heart is transformed. When the heart is transformed, your very self is transformed. (p. 15)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Silence is not a lack of words. Silence is presence itself. (p. 26)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“It's said in our Tradition that the human heart is a treshold between two worlds. The treshold is between the limited material world and the infinite spiritual reality. The heart is the treshold. We should be on that treshold all the time, bridging these two worlds. When we live in that reality and are aware of that presence, we are in remembrance. It changes everything. We can realize that we are not just the content of our experience. We're also this beautiful context, which is divine and purposeful, guiding us stage by stage to deeper and deeper truth. Every stage of our life, if we're seekers, leads to a greater richness of meaning in our lives. Then we can be grateful even for the thorns because we know it has come from the Beloved. (p. 26-27)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“All the heart wants is expanding friendship. It is not the kind of friendship that is a social satisfaction and can even lead to dependency and attachment. Rather, it is the friendship of other conscious hearts, who are in that state of remembrance and in that state of coherence and resonance. That's what lifts and heals us. That‘s why Sufis have their dergahs and communities. Sufism is not arranged as an individual tutorial. It‘s not a path for hermits. There may be periods when one benefits from solitude. However, there‘s transformation in friendship. The transformation results from knowing one another and accepting the truth that everything is purposeful. Whoever walks through the door of the Sufi dergah has been invited. We‘re all friends of the Friend. Community is part of the mechanism of transformation. Because Western society is so individualistic, we find ways of avoiding relationship and seek transformation that will occur at our own convenience or according to our own preferences. Sometimes people reach the stage where they say, „I might be better off alone. I think I‘m getting enough of this spiritual stuff that I could do it myself.“ They give up the friction of relationship and the challenge of it, and retreat into their own world. It‘s not usually a healthy sign. However, everyone is free. On this Path, no one is coerced. It‘s not a cult. There‘s no group pressure. If somebody walks away from a Sufi circle, nobody chases after them, except perhaps out of friendship. Sufis don‘t interfere with anybody‘s will. We all have free will. We are happy to find friends who share a common yearning. We are helped and healed by that yearning. We are healed by each other. (p. 27)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“The Prophet Muhammad said, „Die before you die.“ We are being told to know the after-death state now, while we are alive. The mystics say that just as the embryo fears being born from the womb into this world, we fear our next birth. We fear being born from the womb of this material existence. The embryo can‘t imagine there is anything better than the warmth, comfort, and easy life it experiences in the womb. When it uncomfortably emerges into the expanded world outside the womb, it finds beautiful colors, fragrances, sensory experiences, and relationships. As human beings, we may similarly fear emerging into the expansive world that is beyond the boundaries of our egoistic existence. It‘s a goal of this spiritual path to be living in two worlds at once. By doing so, we can bring heaven to earth. (p. 33)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Consider the Sun in its radiant brightness. And the Moon as she reflects. Consider the day as it reveals the world and the night as it veils it darkly. Consider the sky and its wondrous structure and the earth and all its expanse. Consider the sky and its wondrous structure and the earth and all its expanse. Consider the human soul and the order and proportion given to it and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God. Truly, the one who purifies it shall reach a happy state and the one who corrupts it shall truly be lost.
[Surah ash-Shams 91:1-10]”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“The eye of wahdat looks out at the world with no judgments. Sufis in a state of wahdat look outwards and have no complaints against God. They see the perfection of everything as it is. It does not mean they see saint and sinner as well as justice and injustice as equal. They see the differences and contradictions, but also see their perfection and usefulness in the beautiful state of wahdat. If there is an injustice, the dervish will try to make it right while still seeing the perfection of the Oneness. (p. 75)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“There is no true justice without mercy. Mercy precedes everything, and it is why we are here. Mercy created us and is what is being revealed. The dervish dispenses, communicates, and shares that mercy. Sometimes wrath may be mixed in, but it is always in the service of mercy. God said to the Prophet, „We sent you only as a mercy to the Worlds.“ The dervish is one who is merciful. In Konya, over the entryway to the dergah where Mevlana (Rumi) is buried, is an inscription which says, „This is the Kaaba of the Lovers. Those who entered here became complete.“ The dervish walks the Path of completion. A Sufi has complete integration with life while remembering God with every breath. The great majority of Sufis have lived a family life, held a job, and contributed to society, while reaching extraordinary attainments of integrating the finite and the Infinite. They lived in a state of wahdat. (p. 76)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Suleyman Dede was someone who spoke from a place of deep knowing, a place much greater than himself. Suleyman Dede was not just an individual while speaking. He was representing something Infinite. The love, acceptance, and belonging you felt from him made you want to be with him for the rest of your life. It made you want to never leave his side. Some said that in Suleyman Dede‘s embrace you felt as though you were in your mother‘s arms. You felt a real sense of being in a state beyond comparing, free from like or dislike. Suleyman Dede spoke with the genuine voice of the Prophet Muhammad. The love he gave came from a deep center within his heart. His heart was connected to Mevlana Rumi, and the Prophet. He was part of something that was intricately and carefully balanced. Suleyman Dede said chance did not play a role in the people he met. He knew that wherever he was, it was the right place, right time, and that he had been called for a specific service. He was awake to that. Dede said that we are never separated from God. He invited us to enter into the experience described by Surah al-Hadid: He is with you wherever you are. (p. 78-79)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“Worship is taking time from the momentum of our lives to stop and stand before the Face of God for a few minutes. The prostrations in the ritual prayer that are the regular practice of the Islamic tradition, and which Sufis also do, include four to eight cycles of standing, bowing, and prostrating. At most, the ritual prayer takes between five and ten minutes. It‘s a deep and mindful encounter with the Infinite Face of God, not performing a ritual with rote recitations. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, „If your ritual prayer is not done with presence, it‘s not worship.“ Presence is absolutely essential to the ritual prayer. The whole normative practice of Islam, its basic practices and rituals, are a spiritual training system when properly understood […] One of our friends, a great Sufi teacher, recently said, „Everything is in the prostration.“ When our foreheads touch the ground we enter into that Divine Oblivion. It is oblivion, in the sense that we are so present with the Divine that everything else just disappears. We‘re completely there in the consciousness of the Divine, forehead to the ground, for that moment. It‘s a kind of bliss. (p. 103)”
― Kabir Helminski, In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

“The Messenger said, „Love is fire. When it befalls the heart it burns away all but the Beloved.“ (p. 117)”
― Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Mingled Waters : Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions

“The flame of the mystic‘s heart is love of God and compassion for all of God‘s creatures […] the gnostic‘s love for humanity engulfs the entire world. Distinctions are of no account in this love. The gnostic invokes God‘s mercy equally on sinners and saints, men and women, and people of all races, nations and religions. (p. 199)”
― Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Mingled Waters : Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions

“The Sufi path is marked by a number of different stages or stations (maqdm/maqdmdt) which the Sufi traveller (sdlik) passes through as he advances on the path. On his way the Sufi also experiences various psychological and emotional states (hdl/ahwdf). [...] The Sufi’s progress along the path is hindered by the machinations of the self (nafs), that is, the ego-self or what is called in the Qur’an the self that incites or exhorts to evil {al-tiafs al-ammdrah bi-al-su). In order to maintain his progress along the path to God the Sufi must be able to control the ego-self by disciplining it, and by continually blaming and abasing it.”
― al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, Three Early Sufi Texts: A Treatise on the Heart, Stations of the Righteous, The Stumblings of Those Aspiring