Reemaz

“Pain is inevitable, from this perspective, but suffering is an optional extra, resulting from our attachments, which represent our attempt to try to deny the unavoidable truth that everything is impermanent.”
― Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

“إذا استغنى الناس بالدنيا فاستغني انت بالله , وإذا فرحوا بالدنيا فافرح أنت بالله , وإذا أنسوا بأحبابهم , فاجعل انسك بالله , وإذا تعرفوا إلى ملوكهم وكبرائهم , وتقربوا إليهم , لينالوا بهم العزه والرفعه , فتعرف انت إلى الله , وتودد إليه , تنل بذالك غاية العزه والرفعه ..”
― ابن القيم الجوزية

“سأل رجل الشافعي رحمه الله فقال: يا أبا عبد الله، أيُّما أفضل للرجل: أن يمكن أوأن يبتلى؟ فقال الشافعي: لا يمكَّن حتى يبتلى، فإن الله ابتلى نوحاً، وإبراهيم، وموسى، وعيسى، ومحمداً صلوات الله وسلامه عليهم، فلما صبروا مكنهم، فلا يظن أحد أنه يخلص من الألم البتة.”
― ابن قيّم الجوزية, الفوائد

“The many contradictions in our lives – such as being home while feeling homeless, being busy while feeling bored, being popular while feeling lonely, being believers while feeling many doubts – can frustrate, irritate, and even discourage us. They make us feel that we are never fully present. Every door that opens for us makes us see how many more doors are closed.

But there is another response. These same contradictions can bring us into touch with a deeper longing, for the fulfillment of a desire that lives beneath all desires and that only God can satisfy. Contradictions, thus understood, create the friction that can help us move toward God.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith