Skip to content

I regard not the outside and the words,
I regard the inside and the state of heart;
I look at the heart if it be humble,
Though the words may be the reverse of humble;
Because the heart is substance and words accidents,
Accidents are only a means, substance is the final cause,
How long wilt thou dwell on words and superficialities,
A burning heart is what I want; consort with burning.

— Rumi Attributed A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (1911)

Another quote →

More quotes by Rumi

Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
Every success depends upon focusing the heart.

The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.

The branch might seem like the fruit's origin:
In fact, the branch exists because of the fruit.

If you wish to shine like day, burn up the night of self-existence. Dissolve in the Being who is everything.

God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.

All Rumi quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Rumi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.