1,355 Quotes by Idries Shah

Almost every day I am reminded of Saadi’s reflection that there is no senseless tyranny like that of subordinates.

It is not important to have said a thing first, or best – or even most interestingly. What is important is to say it on the right occasion.

Things which are seemingly opposed may in fact be working together.

None should say: ‘I can trust’ or ‘I cannot trust’ until he is a master of the option, of trusting or not trusting.

The Sufi way of thinking is particularly appropriate in a world of mass communication, when every effort is directed towards making people believe that they want or need certain things; that they should believe certain things; that they should as a consequence do certain things that their manipulators want them to do.

Tu deber es hacer lo mejor que puedas. Sin embargo, no por haber nacido tienes derecho a prevalecer.

There is a saying that, according to what a person’s mentality is, even an angel may seem to him to have a devil’s face.

Much smoke has been seen, and caused great fear of fire – even when no fire ensued.

One of the tragedies of modern times is that people have come to believe that something said by someone in the past, perhaps for illustrative or provocation purposes, actually represents that person’s beliefs at the time.