Idries Shah, A Perfumed Scorpion

"Whoever might perfume a scorpion Will not thereby escape its sting. Bahaudin Naqshband"

"Rumi himself once said that counterfeit gold is only to be found because there is such a thing as real gold to be copied."

"A Sufi has a right to be served, but he has no right to demand. Maruf Karkhi of Khorasan"

"Sufism is therefore not 'Do as I say and not as I do', or even 'Do as I do', but 'Experience it and you will know'."

"It is a Sufi contention that truth is not discovered or maintained by the mere repetition of teachings. It can only be kept understood by the perpetual experience of it. And it is in the experience of truth that the Sufis have always reposed their trust. Sufism is therefore not 'Do as I say and not as I do', or even 'Do as I do', but 'Experience it and you will know'."

"The Sufi must be able to alternate his thought between the relative and the Absolute, the approximate and the Real."

"There is a succession of experiences which together constitute the educational and developmental ripening of the learner, according to the Sufis. People who think that each gain is the goal itself will freeze at any such stage, and cannot learn through successive and superseding lessons."

"Patience is the food of understanding."

"Knowledge cannot be attained except through humility."

"Knowledge gives nothing to a man until he gives everything to it."