It is not enough that there is a collection of people with the common aim of working in unison towards an objective... Aspiration and desire only are not enough.

A man who believes the word of a donkey in preference to my word does not deserve to be lent anything.

Like the bat, the Sufi is asleep to 'things of the day' - the familiar struggle for existence which the ordinary man finds all-important - and vigilant while others are asleep. In other words, he keeps awake the spiritual attention dormant in others. That 'mankind sleeps in a nightmare of unfulfillment' is a commonplace of Sufi literature

One can give or withhold in a manner far more effective, sophisticated, useful, which is quite invisible to people who think that giving or withholding is done by external assessment. If you seek some mark of favour or 'promotion', know that you are not ready for it. Progress comes through capacity to learn, and is irresistible. Nobody can stand between you and knowledge if you are fit for it.

You must empty out the dirty water before you fill the pitcher with clean.

Better to be safe than to be sorry' is a remark of value only when these are the actual alternatives.

Materialism, attachment to things of the world, includes pride. Many religious people suffer from pride: taking pleasure or even delight in being good, or religious.