Desires make slaves out of kings and patience makes kings out of slaves.
Al-GhazaliRead
Do not allow your heart to take pleasure with the praises of people, nor be saddened by their condemnation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Value your own self-worth above external opinions from others.
This quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining inner peace and self-worth regardless of external validation or criticism. Al-Ghazali encourages individuals to focus on their own values and integrity rather than being swayed by the fluctuations of public opinion, which can lead to emotional instability and dependency on others' praise or condemnation.
Themes
Self-WorthOpinionsPraiseCondemnationEmotional Stability
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about self-esteem.
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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.
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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
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A man of bad character punishes his own soul.
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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.
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