the essence of generosity

"taking pains to remove the pains of others is the essence of generosity" -Abu Bakr RA

universal

"Whether one believes in a religion or not and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion." - 14th Dalai Lama

the mirror of hatred

"if you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesnt disturb us" - Herman Hesse "People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

full of faults

"We find fault with the world, while the faults lie in our own selves. The world is not full of fault, except that we are full of flaws. A wolf does not eat the flesh of another of its kind but we eat the flesh of each other knowingly We have worn the sheep's clothing to deceive the people but woe unto the wild animal if it strays by us! We have reduced religion to mere show and formalities and thus, we deceive those who look at us." -Imam Shafi (RA)

those who love you

"those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused." - Alan Cohen

fear of poverty

Sufyan said "Satan has no weapon like the fear of poverty, and if man accepts this from him he undertakes vain deeds, withholding the right, talking passionately, and supposing evil of his Lord." - Ihya, Book 2

after all this time

“And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky.”

in good company

"Without doubt, whenever you sit with someone and are with him, you will take on his disposition. On whom have you been gazing that tightness should have come into you? If you look at green herbs and flowers, freshness will come. The sitting companion pulls you into his own world. That is why reciting the Quran purifies the heart, for you remember the prophets and their states. The form of the prophets comes together in your spirit and becomes its sitting companion.” - Shams-e-Tabrizi (RA) "Only take as your companions those who have these four qualities: generosity even when they have little, willingness to pardon an offense committed against them, patient endurance in times of affliction, and contentment with God's decree for them." -Shaykh Abul Hasan Shadili

learning silence

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers." -Kahlil Gibran

reminder to myself to stop judging others

“Keep in mind constantly that any fault you see in another is either manifest in you explicitly or concealed like fire hidden in flint” – Imam Muhammad b. Nasir al-DarÏ in Prayer of the Oppressed.

drive out darkness

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

women

"When she is a daughter, she opens a door of Jannah for her father. When she is a wife, she completes half of the deen of her husband. When she is a mother, Jannah lies under her feet. If everyone knew the true status of a Muslim woman in Islam, even the men would want to be women" - Sheikh Akram Nadawi

Lincoln's wisdom

"To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own" - Abraham Lincoln

on patience

The Prophet (SAWS) said in the sahih hadith: "Whoever abstains from asking others, Allah will make him contented, and whoever tries to make himself self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient. And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. No one has ever been given a bestowal better and more extensive than patience." (Related by alBukhari (3/265)