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When the preacher himself has no light or life,
How can his words yield leaves and fruit?
He impudently preaches to others to walk aright,
While himself he is unsteady as a reed shaken by wind.
Thus though his preaching is very eloquent,
It hides within it unsteadiness in the faith.

— Rumi Attributed A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (1911)

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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.

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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.