Rabab

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
― Mae West

“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless. These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, "Business as usual." But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.

These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside. They should direct their anger at themselves. For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart. Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defense, not God's, that the self-righteous should rush.”
― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

“ما المرأة إلا الأفق الذي تشرق منه شمس السعادة على هذا الكون فتنير ظلمته ، والبريد الذي يحمل على يده نعمة الخالق إلى المخلوق ، والهواء المتردد الذي يهب الإنسان حياته وقوّته ، والمعراج الذي تعرج عليه النفوس من الملأ الأدنى إلى الملأ الأعلى ، والرسول الإلهي الذي يطالع المؤمن في وجهه جمال الله وجلاله ”
― مصطفى لطفي المنفلوطي, ماجدولين

“أفهامُ الخلائقِ لاتتعلَّق بالحقيقة ، والحقيقة لاتتعلَّق بالخليقة . الخواطرُ علائقُ ، وعلائقُ الخلائقِ لاتصل إلى الحقائق . والإدراك إلى علم الحقيقة صعبٌ ، فكيف إلى حَقِّ الحقيقة؟”
― الحلاج, ديوان الحلاج: أخبار الحلاج - كتاب الطواسين