Excerpts from Al-Manfaluti's Book "An-Nazarat"

"I have never seen in my life a nation that benefits from its division and is harmed by its unity, except for the nation of mosquitoes."

"It is a mark of weakness for a person to belittle themselves, giving no weight to their own worth, and to gaze upon those above them as a mute animal looks upon a speaking one. In my view, it is better to err in overestimating one’s value than to err in underestimating it. For when a man sees himself as insignificant, he limits his actions and behaviors to what aligns with this diminished self-image. You will find him small in his knowledge, small in his manners, small in his dignity and ambition, small in his inclinations and desires, and small in all aspects of his affairs. But when a man’s soul grows great in his own eyes, everything that was once diminutive beside the small soul grows grand alongside the great one."

"None among mankind is more in need of lofty ambition than the seeker of knowledge, for the nation’s need for his excellence surpasses its need for the excellence of craftsmen and artisans. Are not the craftsmen and artisans themselves but a reflection of his virtues and an extension of his influence?"

"O seeker of knowledge, Be of lofty aspiration., and let not your gaze upon the annals of illustrious men instill fear and awe in your heart, causing you to shrink and diminish, as the faint-hearted coward does when he hears a tale of war."

"O seeker of knowledge, you do not require a nature different from your own, an environment unlike yours, a sky or earth other than your own, nor a mind or tools beyond those already at your disposal to attain the heights reached by the greats before you. What you need is a soul as lofty as theirs, an ambition as elevated as theirs, and a hope vast enough to encompass the breadth of the earth."

"Educate the woman to transform her into a school where your children learn before they ever step into a classroom, and instill in her refinement so that in her nurturing embrace, the grand future of a noble nation may be raised."

"You see a man whose brow gleams like a star in the serene depth of a cool night, and whose smile radiates with light, as blossoms unveil themselves from their buds. You envy his fortune and happiness, wishing Allah had granted you the same ease and abundance. Yet, if you knew the turmoil within him, the despair creeping through his heart like the inevitability of death in life, and the sorrow that sears his soul—sorrow so profound that, were he to offer it for sale in the marketplace of grief, he would find no one willing to buy it, not even at the lowest price."

"Were it not for the veils Allah has cast over the secrets of hearts, the earth would have been replaced by another, the heavens by others, the cosmos would follow a different order, and history would bear pages entirely unlike those we know."

"It is truly astonishing that an unlettered craftsman comprehends the purpose of knowledge as a means to action—where the carpenter learns solely to craft doors and chests, and the blacksmith to forge locks and keys—while the educated individual remains oblivious to this essential principle, concerning himself only with amassing facts and rules, yet failing to apply or benefit from them when the need arises."

"The nation is but the individual replicated and unified in essence; you are the nation, and the nation is you!"

"If your ascent is monumental, your fall must be equally profound."

"You will scarcely find an example cherished by scholars, one they proudly present as a testament to their wisdom and a mark of their philosophy, without discovering its counterpart reflected in the sayings and proverbs of the common folk. Similarly, no principle of wisdom or ethical truth, which we regard as the treasures of books and the gems of thought, exists without being scattered at the feet of the populace and humbled in the hands of the unlearned. I believe that were it not for the inability of the masses to articulate the thoughts that stir within their minds and the truths that echo in their souls in a coherent and organized form, they would not imagine the words of the learned to be astonishing or their meanings to be extraordinary."

"You often encounter among the unlearned those whose uprightness inspires admiration, while among the learned, there are those whose crookedness leaves you astounded. If it is true, as they say, that true knowledge is that which benefits its possessor, then many of the ignorant are, in essence, more knowledgeable than many of the learned."

"Intelligence is not synonymous with wisdom (reason). Thieves, swindlers, forgers, liars, sinners, and hypocrites may possess sharp intellects, yet not a single one of them can be deemed wise (reason) for they lead themselves to ruin and destruction in ways their cleverness cannot avert."

"The ignorant are the diseased., and the scholars are the healers. It is unbecoming of a physician to shy away from performing surgery simply to avoid disturbing the patient, fearing their cries or the bitterness of their reproach, for in the end, the physician will become their truest friend and the most beloved to them."

"Titles often reveal more about their contradictions than about their true meanings, and they are more closely aligned with their opposites than with their literal interpretations. The grand title often belies the modest book, and the noble book is sometimes concealed beneath a humble title."

"Between the excess of praise and the excess of censure, the truth dies a death from which it shall never revive, until the Day of Resurrection."

"The triviality of a thing leads to its seriousness."

"Courage, when misplaced, becomes folly."

"False happiness is more bitter to the taste than true misery."

"Man may endure perpetual suffering, yet he is incapable of bearing happiness that is intermittent."

"This wretched and limited nation neither sees its great men nor recognizes their place, nor feels their greatness, except when they are on their way to their graves; where the bond between them and the nation is severed. Its plight mirrors that of the owner of a house who remains unaware of the hidden treasure beneath his land, only to weep in sorrow and despair once the house is sold to someone who uncovers that treasure, sitting in the shadow of its walls, mourning his lost fortune."

"The meaning of existence is not for one to carve out a tunnel for oneself, its entrance linked to the cradle and its exit to the tomb, sliding through it unnoticed, unseen by the eye nor heard by the ear, until it reaches its end, as do the insects, pests, and creeping creatures of the earth. Existence, rather, is a striking of the ears, a drawing of gazes, a stirring of hearts, an awakening of silent tongues, and a stirring of dormant pens. The greatest of men live the longest, even if their lives are brief, and they are the most fortunate in existence, even if their time upon the earth is short."

"Be the speaker whose voice the wind carries to the eastern and western horizons, and not the wind that reaches the ears of people with the voices of speakers, unnoticed and unknown."

"Be the leader of people, if you can; if not, be the leader of yourself. Do not seek greatness by aligning yourself with the mighty or clinging to them, nor by opposing them and standing against them. For in doing so, you would remain the submissive follower, while they remain the true leaders and dignitaries."

"The ignorance of the unlearned does not prevent him from forming a sound opinion on the merit or demerit of speech. In fact, his sense of what is eloquent and what is vile—if he is blessed with a measure of refined taste and sound understanding—may be more accurate than that of the cultivated, who, in his effort to criticize, overcomplicates his analysis and delves too deeply into the virtues and flaws of speech, often losing sight of both."

"Truth is an immutable presence, impervious to falsehood. It may, at times, conceal itself, disguise its form, or appear in a guise that is not its own, yet it never fades nor disappears."

"How many pearls have the hands of the diver failed to discover, remaining hidden between their shells! How many fragrant flowers, just on the verge of blooming, were struck by the scorching winds of the desert, wilting before their time! How many brilliant diamonds were beyond the reach of the miners, their light extinguished in the dark coal mine! And how many brilliant minds, unrefined by knowledge and experience, have lived neglected and unpolished, their sparks fading away; had they been cultivated, they could have transformed the world and reshaped the earth itself."

"The mother weeps for her last-born, as she would for the loss of her last ten children, and the friend mourns the departure of his companion, even if surrounded by many friends in every corner of the world. The wife weeps for her husband, even if under every window of her home, suitors eagerly await her. And the wretched soul, who lives in this world as if in the narrowest of burrows, burdened with hardship and misery, guards his life with utmost care, fearing its end, even when he knows he will transcend it to a paradise vast as the heavens and the earth."

"Hearing is the very substance of speech, from which it derives its strength and vitality. He who cannot hear cannot speak well, and he who does not speak cannot think clearly."

"The writer is like the artist; both are conveyors, both are narrators. However, the former conveys the emotions of the soul to the soul, while the latter transmits the images of the senses to the senses. Just as the measure of excellence in painting lies in the likeness of the image to the original, so too does the measure of excellence in writing lie in the written word being a reflection of the concealed thoughts within the soul."

"Forgiveness is a bitter moment, followed by eternal bliss, while vengeance is a fleeting pleasure, succeeded by endless, unyielding misery."

"A word trembles only when its meaning falters within the speaker's soul, and it remains unclear only when its significance is obscure within the speaker’s mind. It is impossible for the understanding one to fail in conveying understanding, for the moved one to fail in moving, or for the convinced one to fail in convincing."

"The character of a young woman is not formed in the days of her childhood or in the twilight of her old age, but in the prime of her youth; for if this period is preserved, all the subsequent stages of her life shall be safeguarded."

"The early period of Jahiliyya (the pre-Islamic era) was marked by the division of tribes and nations, while our modern Jahiliyya is divided into homes, households, and even individuals. There is no compassion, no connection, no recognition, and no sympathy, even between a brother and his sibling, a father and his children."

"I do not call the generous one generous until both the charity of secrecy and the charity of public display are equal in his heart. Nor do I call the chaste one chaste until he refrains in times of security as steadfastly as in times of fear. Nor do I deem the truthful one truthful until his actions reflect the same truth as his words. Nor do I call the compassionate one compassionate until his heart weeps before his eyes. Nor do I call the humble one humble until his own opinion of himself is less than the opinion others hold of him."

"Our forefathers were ignorant of more than we know, yet their ignorance did not harm them as much as our knowledge has harmed us."

"Nations do not find happiness in the knowledge of good and evil; rather, their happiness lies in the understanding of the best of the good and the worst of the evil."

"How much does one need, when transitioning from the torment of poverty to the bliss of wealth, to reconnect with the friends of his early days, to sit with them from time to time, and discuss the past and present, feeling the pleasure of moving from one state to another, and realizing, upon reflection, the immense favor of Allah upon him."

"If you wish to be everything in an ignorant nation, claim everything for yourself. In a short time, you will achieve by your words what others cannot accomplish through their actions over a long period. For the liar continues to lie until the people believe him, and then he continues to lie until he himself believes it."

"He who has no goodness in his faith (who does not uphold the values of his religion) has no goodness in his homeland, for if he breaks the pact of patriotism with treachery and immorality, he is even more treacherous and corrupt in violating his covenant with Allah. Virtue is the truest homeland for a man, and one who does not cherish it is far less likely to care for a homeland of mere roofs and walls."

"The cause of human misery lies in his perpetual disregard for the happiness of the present day, as he is preoccupied with the elusive joy of tomorrow. Yet, when tomorrow arrives, he deems yesterday to have been better than today, thus remaining trapped in sorrow, both in the present and the past."