Sleeplessness of the eye but for Thy sake is vain, Their crying but for Thy loss inane.
"The modern Westerner, persuaded that he has a right to "think for himself" and imagining that he exercises this right, is unwilling to acknowledge that his every thought has been shaped by cultural and historical influences and that his opinions fit, like pieces of jigsaw puzzle, into a pattern which has nothing random about it." --- Gai Eaton, Islam and the Destiny of Man
"So persevere in patience; for the Promise of Allah is true: and whether We show thee (in this life) some part of what We promise them, or We take thy soul (to Our Mercy) (before that), (in any case) it is to Us that they shall (all) return." --- The Holy Qur'an [40:77]
"So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilisation as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence and, indirectly, support the Western assertion that Islam is a "spent force"." --- Leopold Weiss (later known as Muhammad Asad)
'Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works."' --- The Holy Qur'an, 18:103-104
سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom." --- The Holy Qur'an (2:32)
Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
Shakespeare, 'As You Like It'
Translation: "(Oh Allah!) Show us the straight way - the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray." Ameen. Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments: "The straight Way is often the narrow Way, or the steep way, which many people shun. By the world's perversity the straight Way is sometimes stigmatized and the crooked Way praised. [...] Note that the words relating to Grace are connected actively with Allah; those relating to Wrath are impersonal. In the one case Allah's mercy encompasses us beyond our deserts. In the other case our own actions are responsible for the Wrath - the negative of Grace, Peace or Harmony." (Image text: The Holy Qur'an [1:6-7])