Zakat
This is the constant striving for the betterment of the self and the world. To do so, you must also strive to make your entire life an act of continuous worship of the Divine. “Perform all acts as worship” (BG 3.9). Consider how your actions affect others and like actions would affect you. We are the most powerful instruments of the Divine, and we should use this power like the Divine.
Quotations
These quotes are meant to inspire and clarify, not define the various traditions. There is no order to the quotations under the specific tradition. While this may make it difficult to search, the scattering is meant to portray a larger concept: there is no order or hierarchy amongst world religions.Similarly, some quotes are not even from sacred or spiritual texts in the traditional sense; inspiration can come from any source.
Our sources are listed at the end along with the ISBN’s of our texts. We encourage all readers to consult the original source (preferably in the original language) for their own spiritual guidance and clarification.
Feel free to add comments with your own favorite quotations.
“[Author's note on zakat, 22:41] Az-zakat means to better, to increase as well as welfare, betterment, growth, etc., as aska means that which as goodness, gives nourishment, as in 18:81, or good, as in 19:19, or nourishes, as in 91:9. Zakat and salat have often been used together in the Qur’an, being the basic elements of the Qur’anic Order. Since Salat…stands for devotion and fulfilling one’s duties and obligations arising from…devotion, service…zakat stands for striving for the welfare and betterment, or growth and development of mankind.”
(Al-Qur’ān, p. 290)
“See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.”
(Tao te Ching, ch. 13)
“The urban activity with which a man receives his money is really marvelous, considering that we so earnestly believe money to be the root of all earthly ills, and that on no account can a monied man enter heaven. Ah! how cheerfully we consign ourselves to perdition!”
(Moby Dick, p. 15)
Jesus speaking: “’Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. As suredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
‘But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing.
‘That your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.’”
(The Bible, Matthew 6:2-4)
“…through this discourse on being born again that I have noted down for you alone to avoid casting it all before the mob but [to give it] to those whom god himself wishes.”
(Hermetica, Corpus Hermeticum XIII, v. 13)
“Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.”
(Tao te Ching, ch. 29)
“Those who have much, need much; and, on the contrary, those who limit their possessions to their natural needs, rather than to their excessive ambitions, need very little.”
(Boethius, p. 32)
“Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
It not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have–and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.”
(Gibran, The Prophet, p. 20)
“If a man keeps dwelling on sense-objects,
attachment to them arises;
from attachment, desire flares up;
from desire, anger is born;
from anger, confusion follows;
from confusion, weakness of memory;
weak memory–weak understanding;
weak understanding–ruin.”
(Bhagavad Gita, p. 58)
“When man and woman become one, Thou are that One!
When their union is dissolved, lo! Thou abidest!”
(God’s Breath, Book of Rumi, p. 187)
“Whatever you do, Arjuna,
do it as an offering to me–
whatever you say or eat
or pray or enjoy or suffer.”
(Bhagavad Gita, p. 118)
“…accept the world is it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.”
(Tao te Ching, ch. 28)
“It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding….”
(Gibran, The Prophet, p. 20)
“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.”
(Tao te Ching, ch. 44)
“Saying a word that is kind, and forgiving
is better than charity that hurts.”
(Al-Qur’ān, 2:263)
“Verily God does not change
the state of a people till they change themselves.”
(Al-Qur’ān, 13:11)
“Though the unwise cling to their actions,
watching for the results, the wise
are free from attachments, and act
for the well-being of the whole world.”
(Bhagavad Gita, p. 66)
“…if you want to be truely free,
perform all actions as worship.
The Lord of Creatures formed worship
together with mankind, and said:
‘By worship you will always be fruitful
and your wishes will be fulfilled.
‘By worship you will nourish the gods
and the gods with nourish you in turn;
by nourishing one another
you assure the well-being of all.”
(Bhagavad Gita, p. 63)
“If you give alms openly, it is well;
but if you do it secretly and give
to the poor, that is better.”
(Al-Qur’ān, 2:271)
“As unnecessary as a well is
to a village on the banks of a river,
so unnecessary are all scritpures
to someone who has seen the truth…
When your understanding has passed
beyond the thicket of delusions,
there is nothing you need to learn
from even the most sacred scripture.”
(Bhagavad Gita, p. 54, 55)
“You often say, ‘I would give, but only to the deserving.’
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.”
(Gibran, The Prophet, p. 21)
“I can of Myself do nothing.”
(The Bible, John 5:30)
Some poor people once asked Hazreti ‘Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet [Muhammad], how they might help others. They had no money or food to spare. He told them to smile at others, to do their best to make other people feel cared for.
(Essential Sufism, p. 18)
“Obligatory charity for the sake of God is due from every single part of your body, even from every root of your hair. In fact, charity is due for every instant of your life.
Charity of the eye means looking with consideration and averting your gaze from desires and things similar to them.
Charity of the ear means listening to the best of sounds, such as wisdom, the Koran, and the benefits of faith contained in warnings and good counsel, and by avoiding lies, slander, and similar things.
Charity of the tongue means to give good advice, to awaken those who are heedless, and to give abundant glorification and remembrance and other, similar things.
Charity of hand means spending money on others, to be generous with God’s blessing to you, to use your hand to write down knowledge and information by means of which others will benefit in obedience to God, and to restrain your hand from evil.
Charity of the foot means to hasten to carry one’s duty to God by visiting virtuous people, attending assemblies of remembrance, putting things right between people, maintaining ties of kinship, engaging in jihad (inner struggle), and doing things that will make your heart sound and your faith correct.
(Al-Sadiq, Essential Sufism, p. 60)
“You will use [great] property, if you give to the [needy] willingly.
Persuade a senseless brother [not to] be senseless; if he is mad, protect him.”
(Nag Hammadi, The Sentences of Sextus, p. 505)
“It is better to serve others than to make others serve you.”
(Nag Hammadi, The Sentences of Sextus, p. 506)
“If you take on the [guardianship of] orphans, you will be [the] father of many children (and) you will be beloved of God.”
(Nag Hammadi, The Sentences of Sextus, p. 506)
“He who takes care of when while praying for all of them—this is the truth of God.”
(Nag Hammadi, The Sentences of Sextus, p. 507)
