Sayings of Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri: Sufi quotations
Contents
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri (d. 859), the Egyptian, is one of the first to have expounded the doctrine of ma’rifa (inner knowledge); the theologians sometimes viewed him with suspicion, while the Sufis made him a master.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri: making one’s relations with God good
If someone makes his relations with God good, God will make them good with others too. If someone sets the affairs of his future life in good order, God will set those of his temporal life in good order as well.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri: awakening people to God
The sages have always held to three principles: watching over the relief of everything endowed with life, distributing the blessings of God in the places where people gather to mention Him (dhikr), and awakening people to God through words of wisdom.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri: may our hearts fear You
May our hearts fear You to the point of being seized with awe in the midst of deserts and solitudes.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri: it is earth, my son
To a young man who was glancing at a woman on the sly, Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri put his hand on his head, obliged him to turn it, and said to him: “It is earth, my son.”
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri: at the moment of falling into poverty
Patience is keeping away from acts of disobedience, calming oneself at the moment of swallowing torments, and showing contentment at the moment of falling into poverty.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri
Asceticism consists in lightening oneself of three burdens: the passions, material goods and social ties. Beyond the passions lies serenity. In detachment, one grows rich. Not counting on one’s ties makes them place themselves at one’s service.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri
I turn my prayer towards You and seek in You my last refuge. To You rises my muffled lament. You haunt my thought in its secret.
Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri
Do not trust the attachment of someone who loves you only so long as he imagines you faultless.