If you persevere in adversity and depend on God, then know that He will remove your afflictions and bestow vast blessings upon you. For in His Book God promises, "Those who depend upon Allah, Allah bestows His bounty upon them and provides for them from means unknown." Therefore follow the road of patience and rejoice in His infinite bounty.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani

Prophet Muhammad (God's peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Take advantage of five before five: You're youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you become occupied, and your life before your death."

Hidden from my eyes in the midst of this lifeless wilderness of valleys and hills, lies the Plain of Arafat, on which all the pilgrims who come to Mecca assemble on one day of the year as a reminder of the Last Assembly, when man will have to answer to his Creator for all he has done in life.... My brethren on the right and my brethren on the left, all of them unknown to me but none a stranger: in the tumultuous joy of our chase, we are one body in pursuit of one goal. Wide is the world before us, and in our hearts glimmers a spark of that flame that burned in the hearts of the Prophet’s companions. They know, my brethren on the right and my brethren on the left, that they have fallen short of what was expected of them, and that in the flight of centuries their hearts have grown small: and yet, the promise of fulfillment has not been taken from them, from us.

—Muhammad Asad, in "The Road to Mecca"

Had We caused this Quran to descend upon a mountain, you would see it humbled, torn asunder out of awe of God. Such are the examples We set forth to people, so that they may reflect. HE IS GOD besides whom there is no god: Knower of the Unseen and the Seen. He is the All-Merciful, the Compassionate. HE IS GOD besides whom there is no god: the King, the Holy, the Peace, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Proud! Glory be to God, is He above what they associate . HE IS GOD, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise. (Quran, 59:21-24)

There is a sense in which the whole practice of Islam is, in one form or another, dhikr: the remembrance of God. There are reasons for believing, too, that this unceasing invocation on the part of the Muslim community provides all humanity with benefits which are incomparably preferable to those of "progress" or "development," and which, should it ever be silenced, would in all probability signal the destruction of the world.

—Roger Du Pasquier in "Unveiling Islam"

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Ramadan is a blessed month that has come to you, during which Allah has made it obligatory for you to Fast. During the month,?the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of Hellfire are locked, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of its good has indeed suffered deprivation.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

It might be said that the environmental crisis, as well as the psychological unbalance of so many men and women in the modern world, the ugliness of the urban environment and the like, are the results of the attempt of man to live by bread alone and announce his independence from Heaven. But man cannot escape the effect of his actions, which are themselves the fruit of his present state of being.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr in "Islam and the Plight of Modern Man"

"La ilaha illa'llah" (no god but God): A phrase sublime in its meaning, brief in its construction, vast in its effect, noble in its rank, brilliant in its light, and unique in its merit. It comprises four words upon which the Faith is founded. This is the phrase that was given in every Book sent down by God to every one of His noble Messengers, and through which one is rescued from the Fire and wins eternal happiness in the Garden.

-- From the book, “Key to the Garden”

A skeptic came to Imam al-Shafi'i (God have mercy on him) and asked, "What is your proof for the existence of God?" The Imam replied, "The Mulberry leaf has a single taste, a single color, a single fragrance and a single shape. However, when the silk worm eats it, she produces silk. When the bee eats it, he produces honey. When the ewe eats it, she becomes plump and her milk becomes abundant. When the gazelle eats it, it nourishes him and mixes with his blood producing musk. Who is the one who has made these various processes and products from a single food? Surely it is God?” (As related and translated by Imam Zaid Shakir.)

O you who believe, fear God and speak uprightly. He will set aright for you your works and will forgive you your sins. He who obeys God and His Messenger has attained supreme triumph. (Quran, 33:70-71)

And tell My servants that they should speak only what is good, for Satan stirs discord between them. Indeed, Satan is to man a manifest enemy. (Quran, 17:53)

And when you speak, be just, even though it may be against a kinsman; and fulfill the pact of God. This He enjoins upon you that you may remember. (Quran, 6:152)

"Our indebtedness to Muslim culture is extraordinary. Try doing your finances using Roman instead of Arabic numerals, and you'll get the idea. Have you had your coffee? The attempt 400 years ago to prohibit Christians from drinking coffee because it was a Muslim drink obviously has failed. Thomas Aquinas, for centuries the pre-eminent Christian theologian, was influenced by Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Renaissance art, music and poetry, out of which today's world developed, were stimulated by encounters with Muslim thinkers."

Vern Barnet, columnist for The Kansas City Star

"When intelligence is complete, then speech becomes rare" -- Ali Ibn Abi Talib

"When a person's intelligence is complete, his speech becomes infrequent. Be sure of the stupidity of a man if he speaks too much....Speech is a necessary evil, but silence is salvation. So when you have to talk, do not be prolific. You will never once repent of your silence, but oftentimes you will repent of your speech". -- Imam al-Zarnuji

"Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not bow to the sun and the moon, but bow to God who created them, if you truly worship Him. If they show arrogance, those who are in God's presence glorify Him night and day, and never are they wearied. And among His signs is that you see the earth still. Then when We shower down water on it, it stirs and swells . Surely He who gives it life will resurrect the dead. He has power over all things". Quran, 41:37-39