Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

Good Conduct toward Others:

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said, “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
——— Bukhari and Muslim.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “He will not enter Paradise whose neighbour is not secure from his wrongful conduct.“
——— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 15.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet (i.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk).“
——— Narrated by Abu Hurayrah, Sahih Al Bukhari, Vol: 8 Hadith 47.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “There is reward for kindness to every living thing.”
——— Bukhari and Muslim.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “God is kind and likes kindness in all things.“
——— Rihadh us-Saleheen, Volume 1:633.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “Be kind, for whenever kindness becomes part of something, it beautifies it. Whenever it is taken from something, it leaves it tarnished.“
——— Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Manners.

“Those who work for you are your brothers. Allah has made them your assistants.”
——— Bukhari and Tirmidhi.

“There are many doors to goodness. (Saying) ‘glory to God,’ ‘praise be to God,’ ‘there is no deity but God,’ enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf (until you understand them), leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one’s legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the weak with the strength of one’s arms – all of these are (forms of) charity prescribed for you.”
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) in Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 98.

“People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
… Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
… Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
… Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
… Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
… Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
… Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
… Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
… Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.” ——— Mother Theresa.

“Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well and that if they do wrong you will do wrong. But (instead) accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil.”
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported in Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1325.

Good Manners:

When the allurement of this life comes to a person, he borrows the good manners of others. however, when it goes away from him, it strips his good manners from him.
——— Ali (r) as cited in the Book of Wisdom by Ahmad Sakr.

Gratitude and Thankfulness

“And if Allah touches you with affliction, none can remove it but He: But if He bestows upon you a favor, remember that He is the Possessor of every power to do all that He wills.”
——— The Holy Quran, Chapter 6, Verse 17.

Honesty and Fair:

“An adulterer will not commit adultery when he has full faith (in Allah), and a thief will not steal when he has full faith (in Allah)..”
——— Ibn Majah.

Humility

 “The (true) servants of (God) the Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, reply with (words of) peace.”
——— The Holy Quran, 25:63.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “(God) has revealed to me that you should adopt humility so that no one oppresses another.”
——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1589.

The Prophet (s) said, “Shall I inform you about the people of Paradise? They comprise every obscure unimportant humble person, and if he takes Allah’s Oath that he will do that thing, Allah will fulfill his oath (by doing that). Shall I inform you about the people of the Fire? They comprise every cruel, violent, proud and conceited person.”
——— Narrated by Haritha Bin Wahb, in Sahih Al Bukhari, vol 8 hadith 97.

“Maybe I was great in the ring, but outside of boxing, I’m just a brother like other people. I want to live a good life, serve God, help everybody I can. And one more thing. I’m still gonna find out who stole my bike when I was 12 years old in Louisville and I’m gonna whup him. That was a good bike.”
——— Muhammad Ali.

Ihsan – Excellence

Allah loves, when one of you is doing something, that he [or she] does it in the most excellent manner.
——— Muhammad (p) cited in Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf, Dawr Al-Qiyam Wal-Akhlaaq Fi Al-Iqtisaad Al-Islaami. Maktabat Wahbah, 1995.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
——— Aristotle.

“When a man says I cannot, he has made a suggestion to himself. He has weakened his power of accomplishing that which otherwise would have been accomplished.”
——— Muhammad Ali.

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
——— Muhammad Ali.

Integrity

Excellence and competitiveness aren’t incompatible with honesty and integrity.
——— Jack Welch, Former CEO, GE, in his autobiography Jack, p. 282.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. 
——— Thomas Jefferson.

When something weighs on your conscience, give it up.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) in Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 8.

Knowledge

If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Abu Darda in Sunan Abu Dawood, hadith #1631.

The knowledge from which no benefit is derived is like a treasure out of which nothing is spent in the cause of Allah.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Abu Hurayrah, transmitted by Ahmad and Darimi in Al Tirmidhi, hadith #108.

He who issues forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of Allah till he returns from his quest.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Anas Ibn Malik in Al Tirmidhi, hadith #420.

The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim. [...]
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Iman; also reported by Anas Ibn Malik in Al Tirmidhi, hadith #74.

Leader Ship

We need authentic leaders, people of the highest integrity, committed to building enduring organizations. We need leaders who have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values. We need leaders with the courage to build their companies to meet the needs of all their stakeholders, and who recognize the importance of their service to society. 
——— Bill George, Former CEO, Medtronics, Authentic Leadership, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, CA: 2003.

All these boundaries – Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America – are set by men. But you don’t have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man – at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower or are you a leader?”
——— Hakeem Olajuwon.

“The worst of guardians is a cruel ruler. Beware of becoming one of them.”
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 846.

Mercy

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: ““Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to people.”
——— Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, #473.

Moderation The best of all dealings is the one which is moderate.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Baihaqi.

They are the losers, those who make the religion hard and tough. They imperil themselves who enforce tough practices of Islam. They destroy themselves, those who are extremes.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Ibn Masud in Sahih Muslim.

Make things easy and convenient and don’t make them harsh and difficult. Give cheer and glad tidings and do not create hatred.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) in Riyadh us-Saleheen, Volume 1:637.

Parenting

“Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein, and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause shares in its burdens“
——— The Holy Quran, Chapter 4, Verse 85.

Patience

“Be patient (in adversity); for, verily, God will not let the reward of the righteous be wasted.“
——— The Holy Quran, Chapter 11, Verse 115.

“[W]hoever abstains from asking others, Allah will make him contented, and whoever tries to make himself self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient. And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and greater than patience.“
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Abu Said Al Khudri
in Sahih Bukhari, vol 2 hadith 548.

“Verily, the patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.“
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Anas bin Malik in Sahih Bukhari, vol 2 hadith 372.

“If, in spite of intense supplication, there is a delay in the timing of the Gift [al-'ata], let that not be the cause for your despairing. For He has guaranteed you a response in what He chooses for you, not in what you choose for yourself, and at the time He desires, not the time you desire.“
——— The Hikam, Ibn ‘Ata’illah, Chapter 1, 6.

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.“
——— Carlos Castaneda.

Peace

“He who makes peace between people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar.”
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 857.

“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
——— Einstein.

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
——— Gandhi.

“I’m amazed, that how salam (peace) is always the first word to start a meeting. but in prayer it is the end word. Maybe it means the end of prayer is the start of a meeting…”
——— Ali Shahri’ati.

Relaxation

“(Islam) is spacious (and has room for relaxation), and I have been sent with an easy and straightforward religion.”
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported in Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 153.

Serving Others

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Do you know who will go first on the Day of Resurrection to the shade of God…Those who when given what is right accept it, when asked for something give freely and who judge in favor of others as they do for themselves.”
——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1042.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) said, “Do not wish to be like anyone, except in two cases: (1) A man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously. (2) A man whom Allah has given wisdom (knowledge of the Qur’an and the Hadith) and he acts according to it and teaches it to others.”
——— Narrated by Abdullah in Bukhari, vol: 9, hadith 255.

“Think as little as possible about yourself and as much as possible about other people.”
——— Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Service to others is the rent you pay here for your room on earth.”
——— Muhammad Ali.

“We believe that poverty does not belong in a civilized human society. It belongs in museums [...] A poverty-free world might not be perfect, but it would be the best approximation of the ideal.”
——— Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

“Anyone who has property that exceed his needs, let him support someone whose property does not (meet his or her needs), and anyone whose food exceeds his needs, let him share it with someone who does not have food.“
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) in Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 93C.

Silence

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say something good or keep quiet.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Abu Huraira–mutafakkun ghalai.

Strength

A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the one who contains himself when he is angry.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) 

Success

The best place to succeed is where you are with what you’ve got.
——— Charles Schwab.

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.
——— Einstein.

A woman should have the ability to choose her own destiny.
——— —Ranya Al-Baz, Domestic Violence Face of Saudi Arabia.

Trusting In Allah

One of the signs of relying on one’s own deeds is the loss of hope when a downfall occurs.
——— Al The Hikam of Ibn Ibn ‘Ata’illah, chapter 1,1.

Among the signs of success at the end is the turning to Allah at the beginning.
——— Al The Hikam of Ibn Ibn ‘Ata’illah, chapter 2, 26.

The best that you can seek from Him is that which He seeks from you.
——— Al The Hikam of Ibn Ibn ‘Ata’illah, chapter 9, 75.

Truth:

A true action leads to the path of virtue and good deeds, and virtue paves the way of a person to Paradise, and the said person continues to speak the truth till in the sight of Allah he is named Siddiq or Truthful. Lying leads to vice, and vice leads to indecent acts and if a person goes on lying till in the sight of Allah he is named a liar.
——— The Prophet (s) as reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (r) in Bukhari and Muslim.

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.
——— Mark Twain.

Wealth and Success

Wealth is not due to plenty of money, but wealth is the wealth of the self.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as agreed upon–mutafakkun ghalai.

The most valuable things in life) are a tongue which mentions God, a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps a man with his faith.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported in Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 721.

Forsake wordly pleasures, Allah will like you, and forsake what others have, mankind will like you.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as reported by Ibn Majah.

I have a wife who loves me in spite of all my faults. I have four dogs. Two love only me. One loves everybody. One loves no one, but is still very loyal…. I enjoy my business. I love my farm and my home. I have a few close friends, and money has never been my God.
——— Edward D. “Ted” Jones, former CEO of the global investment firm Edward Jones.

Wisdom

Wisdom is a long-cherished wish to the believer. He takes it from wherever he listens to it; and he does not mind from where it came out.
——— Prophet Muhammad (s) as as narrated by Ibn Hibban.

More Inspirational Quotes from Quran and Hadith