Desires make slaves out of kings and patience makes kings out of slaves.
Al-GhazaliRead
The soul should take care of the body, just as the pilgrim on his way to Makkah takes care of his camel; but if the pilgrim spends his whole time in feeding and adorning his camel, the caravan will leave him behind, and he will perish in the desert.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the need for balance between spiritual and physical well-being.
Al-Ghazali compares the care of the soul and body to a pilgrim's responsibility toward his camel. While it's important to tend to the physical body, neglecting spiritual growth can lead to one's downfall, much like a pilgrim who focuses solely on his camel may miss the caravan and become lost. This metaphor highlights the necessity of prioritizing spiritual development alongside physical needs.
Themes
SoulBodyPilgrimCareBalance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about holistic health, you could use this quote to illustrate the importance of nurturing both body and spirit.
More from Al-Ghazali
All quotes →The happiness of the drop is to die in the river.
Al-GhazaliRead
To completely trust in Allah is to be like a child who knows deeply that even if he does not call for the mother, the mother is totally aware of his condition and is looking after him.
Al-GhazaliRead
Do not fix hopes on your health, and do not laugh away life. Remember how they walked and now all their joints lie separately, and the tongue with which they talked lightly is eaten away by the worms
Al-GhazaliRead
A man of bad character punishes his own soul.
Al-GhazaliRead
The mere physical man is like the ant crawling on the paper, who observes black lettering and attributes its production to the pen and nothing more.
Al-GhazaliRead
Similar quotes
True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.
William PennRead
Novels can change attitudes. Maybe we should speak quietly otherwise politicians will use novels as propaganda.
Olga TokarczukRead
I lost my sleep, and this is the greatest tragedy that can befall someone. It is much worse than sitting in prison.
Emil CioranRead
If the Word of God is living and powerful, and if the Lord does all things whatsoever he wills; if he said, "Let there be light", and it happened; if he said, "let there be a firmament", and it happened; ...if finally the Word of God himself willingly became man and made flesh for himself out of the most pure and undefiled blood of the holy and ever Virgin, why should he not be capable of making bread his Body and wine and water his Blood?... God said, "This is my Body", and "This is my Blood."
John Of DamascusRead
I use both the 'I' and the 'we.' For on many, many matters, I am not simply expressing ideas that have happened to occur to Joseph Ratzinger, but I am speaking out of the common life of the Church's communion.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Let every man of whatsoever craft or occupation he be of... serve his brethren.
William TyndaleRead