How long will you ramble on the shore of the ocean, close your eyes to the wonders of the Quran?

How long will you ramble on the shore of the ocean, close your eyes to the wonders of the Quran? Was it not your duty to sail to the midst of the fathomless ocean of these meanings in order to see their wonders, to travel to their islands in order to gather their best produce, and to dive into their depths so that you might become rich by obtaining their jewels? Do you not feel ashamed of being deprived of their pearls and jewels by your persistence in looking at their shores and outward appearances?
[Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali]

Being steadfast

Imam Al-Ghazali said, "If you see Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, holding back this world from you, frequently trying you with adversity and tribulation, know that you hold a great status with Him. Know that He is dealing with you as He does with His Awliya' and chosen elite, and is watching over you, have you not heard His saying, "So wait steadfastly for the judgment of your Lord - you are certainly before Our eyes.[At-Tur 52:48]

The Rose

What Allah said to the Rose

And caused it to laugh in full blown beauty,

He said to my heart

And made it a hundred times more beautiful.

~Rumi~

Love's Call

At every instant and from every side, resounds the call of Love:
We are going to sky, who wants to come with us?
We have gone to heaven, we have been the friends of the angels,
And now we will go back there, for there is our country.
We are higher than heaven, more noble than the angels:
Why not go beyond them? Our goal is the Supreme Majesty.
What has the fine pearl to do with the world of dust?
Why have you come down here? Take your baggage back. What is this place?
Luck is with us, to us is the sacrifice!
Like the birds of the sea, men come from the ocean--the ocean of the soul.
Like the birds of the sea, men come from the ocean--the ocean of the soul.
How could this bird, born from that sea, make his dwelling here?
No, we are the pearls from the bosom of the sea, it is there that we dwell:
Otherwise how could the wave succeed to the wave that comes from the soul?
The wave named 'Am I not your Lord' has come, it has broken the vessel of the body;
And when the vessel is broken, the vision comes back, and the union with Him.
~Rumi~

Imam Ghazali's Last

Imam Ghazali woke up one early morning and as usual offered his prayers and then enquired what day it was, his younger brother, Ahmad Ghazali replied,"Monday." He asked him to bring his white shroud, kissed it, stretched himself full length and saying "Lord, I obey willingly," breathed his last.

And underneath his head rest they found the following verses; composed by him, probably, during the night.

"Say to my friends, when they look upon me, dead
Weeping for me and mourning me in sorrow
Do not believe that this corpse you see is myself
In the name of God, I tell you, it is not I,
I am a spirit, and this is naught but flesh
It was my abode and my garment for a time.
I am a treasure, by a talisman kept hid,
Fashioned of dust, which served me as a shrine,
I am a pearl, which has left it's shell deserted,
I am a bird, and this body was my cage
Whence I have now floron forth and it is left as a token
Praise to God, who hath now set me free
And prepared for me my place in the highest of the heaven,
Until today I was dead, though alive in your midst.
Now I live in truth, with the grave - clothes discarded.
Today I hold converse with the saints above,
With no veil between, I see God face to face.
I look upon "Loh-i-Mahfuz" and there in I read
Whatever was and is and all that is to be.
Let my house fall in ruins, lay my cage in the ground,
Cast away the talisman, it is a token, no more
Lay aside my cloak, it was but my outer garment.
Place them all in the grave, let them be forgotten,
I have passed on my way and you are left behind
Your place of abode was no deweling place for me.
Think not that death is death, nay, it is life,
A life that surpasses all we could dream of here,
While in this world, here we are granted sleep,
Death is but sleep, sleep that shall be prolonged
Be not frightened when death draweth night,
It is but the departure for this blessed home
Think of the mercy and love of your Lord,
Give thanks for His Grace and come without fear.
What I am now, even so shall you be
For I know that you are even as I am
The souls of all men come forth from God
The bodies of all are compounded alike
Good and evil, alike it was ours
I give you now a message of good cheer
May God's peace and joy for evermore be yours."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvtI0YPhTGA

Excerpt: On the Remembrance of Death, and an Encouragement to Remember it Abundantly

Know that the heart of the man who is engrossed in this world
and is given over to its vanities and harbours love for its appetites
must certainly be neglectful of the remembrance of death.
Thus falling to recall it,
when reminded of it he finds it odious and shies away.
Such are the people of whom God has said:
Say: Lo! the death from which ye shrink will surely meet you,
and afterward ye will be returned unto
the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible,
and He will tell you what ye used to do.
’Now, men may be either engrossed [in the world],
penitent beginners, or arrived gnostics.

Life is nothing but an accumulation of many breaths.

Life is nothing but an accumulation of many breaths.
So every breath is just a precious diamond
which cannot be purchased with anything in the world.
It is a priceless jewel which has got no substitute in value.
So in movements and talks, and in sorrows and happiness,
such a priceless breath should not be spent in vain.
To destroy it is to court destruction.
An intelligent man cannot lose it.
When a man gets up at dawn,
he should enter into an agreement with himself
just as a tradesman contracts with his partner.
At that time, he should address his mind thus:
O mind, you have been given no other property
as precious as life.
When it will end, the principal will end
and despondency will come in seeking profit in business.
Today is a new day. Allah has given you time,
that is, He has delayed your death.
He has bestowed upon you innumerable gifts.
Think that you are already dead. So don't waste time.
Every breath is a precious jewel.
Man has got for each day
and night twenty-four treasure houses in twenty-four hours.
Fill up these then find them filled up
with divine sights in the world next.
If they are not filled up with good works,
they will be filled up with intense darkness
where from a bad stench will come out and envelop them all around.
Another treasure house will neither give him happiness nor sorrow.
That is an hour in which he slept, or was careless,
or was engaged in any lawful work of this world.
He will feel grieved for its remaining vacant.

[Taken from al-Ghazali: Meditation and Introspection,
The Book of Constructive Virtues, Ihya Ulum-id-din.]