Literary and Spiritual Excerpts
I am come hither to die, and would willingly speak something…I am a Lancashire man and am brought hither to die not for any crime I have committed against the laws, but for being a …
...upon consideration of the difficulty, or rather impossibility, for mankind to arrive to the assured knowledge of those paths which are necessary for him to walk in to bring him to beatitude, that so his …
This consideration of dust is an excellent remedy to cure vice and an assured rampart against temptation. St. Paulinus saith excellently well, that holy Job was free from all temptations when he was placed upon …
O let thy wretch find that relief Thou didst afford the faithful thief. Please for me, love! Allege and show That faith has farther, here, to go And less to lean on. Because then Though …
Now when by means of such exercises the soul is become well eased from remorse and begins to be moved to the resistance and hatred of sin by the love of God rather than fear …
…8. Though O merciful God has preserved him by thy providence who hath thought of no other thing, but how to violate thy commandments, and to set up the kingdom of sin against thee. 9. …
Think, O my soul, who it is that cryeth my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? He to whom the eternal father said, this is my well beloved son in whom I am …
When, at a propitious moment, the door suddenly opened, there stepped out a noble Chamberlain, one of the courtiers of the Supreme Majesty. He looked them over and saw that out of thousands, only these …
The blessed Black Stone is encased in the corner [of the Kabah] facing east. The depth to which it penetrates it is not known, but it is said to extend two cubits into the wall. …
Whenever I visited Jerusalem I always entered the Aqsa Mosque, beside which stood a small mosque which the Franks had converted into a church. When I used to enter the Asqa Mosque…the Templars would evacuate …
If the world would be produced anew, it must needs have a producer or creator; and if so, why did this creator create the world now and not before? Was it because some motive supervened …
Now God sent to His servants by the mouth of His messenger, in the Koran and traditions, a creed which is the truth and whose contents are the basis of man’s welfare in both religious …
Some men there are whose love becomes true only after long converse, much contemplation, and extended familiarity. Such a one is likely to persist and to be steadfast in his affection, untouched by the passage …
Tread lightly, for a thousand hearts unseen Might now be breathing in this misty green; Here are the herbs that once were pretty cheeks, Here the remains of those that once have been. Afearing whom …
The tale is told that Rustam had at first Such strength bestowed by Him who giveth all That if he walked upon a rock his feet Would sink therein. Such puissance as that Proved an …
Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi I have heard Abu l-Hasan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Farisi say: “The elements of Sufism are ten in number. The first is the isolation of unification; the second is the understanding of audition; …