M Farooq

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books.”
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

“To Fatimah he said: “Thou art the highest of the women of the people of Paradise, excepting only the Virgin Mary, daughter of ‘Imran.” In prediction of the great part to be played by ‘Ali as one of the chief transmitters of his wisdom to future generations, he said: “I am the city of knowledge, and ‘Ali is its gate”; and he said in general: “My Companions are even as the stars: whichsoever of them ye follow, ye shall be rightly guided.”
― Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

“But work was in danger of invading the Prophet’s whole life, because no voice in all Medina could compare with his for solving a problem or answering a question or settling a dispute. Even those who did not believe him to be a Prophet would seek his help if need be, unless they were too proud...Those who were with him were always loathe to leave him. Nor could they have been blamed if they stayed, for when he spoke to anyone he would turn to him so fully and make him so amply the object of his attention that the man might well imagine himself to be privileged enough for liberties which others dared not take; and when he took a man’s hand he was never the first to relinquish his hold.”
― Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

“There was no question of ‘Umar’s keeping his Islam secret. He wished to tell everyone, in particular those who were most hostile to the Prophet. In after years he used to say “When I entered Islam that night, I thought to myself: Which of the people in Mecca is the most violent in enmity against God’s Messenger, that I may go to him and tell him I have become a Muslim? My answer was: Abu Jahl. So the next morning I went and knocked at his door, and Abu Jahl came out and said: “The best of welcomes to my sister’s son! What hath brought thee here?” I answered: “I came to tell thee that I believe in God and in His Messenger Muhammad; and I testify to the truth of that which he hath brought.” “God curse thee!” he said, “and may His curse be on the tidings thou hast brought!” Then he slammed the door in my face.”
― Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources