Sheikh Sharafuddin Yahya Maneri, a prominent 14th-century Indian Sufi saint and scholar, hailed from Bihar, India, and belonged to the Chishti Sufi order. Influenced deeply by his father, Shaykh Alauddin Maneri, Sharafuddin Maneri is renowned for his spiritual treatise “Maktubat-i Sadi” (The Hundred Letters). These Persian letters, addressed to his disciples, impart profound insights into Sufi thought, stressing spiritual discipline, inner purification, and devotion to God.
His teachings attracted a large following, and his tomb in Bihar Sharif, India, stands as a revered pilgrimage site for Sufi devotees. Sharafuddin Maneri’s spiritual legacy continues to inspire seekers across diverse backgrounds, embodying the core Sufi principles of love, compassion, and devotion. Through his writings and teachings, he played a significant role in shaping the spiritual landscape of his time, leaving a lasting impact on the Sufi tradition in the Indian subcontinent.
Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri Quotes
01. “May you have long life and victory over your lower soul! The seeker of God has no station to stop nor does he rest anywhere along the mystic path. He is forbidden to rest contentedly anywhere in either of the two worlds—as it has been said: ‘Rest is forbidden for the hearts of God’s friends!’ It is not possible to find the Desired One in this world or the next in such a way that the heart is freed from the pain of seeking Him.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
02. “Spiritual Guide should be perfect, well versed in the vicissitude of the mystic path, and firmly established in his high state. He should be a man who has experienced both the horror of God’s Majesty and the delight of His beauty.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
03. “O Brother! Sin for the servant is great calamity, May God protect us from such things! Sin in the beginning hardens the heart, which ultimately leads to unbelief and wretchedness. Don’t forget the wiles of Satan and the fate of Balaam Baour.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
04. “The sign of a sincere disciple would be that he chooses what is not easy, what is little known, the life of solitude, the occupation of a dervish, and takes pride in these things! The Lord of Universe (PBUH) despite having attained the highest exalted rank and degree, besought the Lord of Glory saying: ‘O God, grant us poverty in both life and death, and on the Day of Resurrection, raise us up in the condition of the poor.'”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
05. “The kings of this world, when they want to honor their servants, confer a turban and a robe of honor upon them as well as estate. When God honors anyone, He begins by removing his turban and robe of honor. Then He makes him hungry and strips him naked. And this is the tradition of this path: ‘There is no return for anyone who has turned toward Him till he is slain.'”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
06. “The wayfarer of the spiritual path has to face fear and hope many thousands of times, and thousands of descents and ascents, torments and griefs and many other such like things to undergo. If a spiritual master comes upon the scene, he will have a particular remedy at hand for all the various causes of trouble; he will know the serum for every sickness. His arrival makes the way easy.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
07. “O Brother! We have become fuel of the hell, joining the company of Nimrod and Pharaoh. We have fallen asleep dreaming foolishly about ourselves. The effect of heedlessness on the hearts of man is greater than that of hell on the unbeliever.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
08. “O Brothers! Mystical knowledge (Marifat) is the seed of love. Everyone who would penetrate further into the world of mystical knowledge will become more inflamed by the fire of love and will receive great delight and preeminence from the face of the Beloved and from the sight of the Desired One.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
09. “The existence of the lover in the pavilion of the Beloved is a sin beyond comparison to any other.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
10. “There is a tradition current about this: ‘O worldly people, you receive wealth, delight, and recompense! O the dear friends! (Auliya Allah) For you are afflictions and toil. Reward and comfort are available to all, but effort and calamities are not these are for the elect.'”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
11. “Righteousness is God’s sword upon the earth. Whatever it touches, it cuts to pieces. Sidq means to see the Causer (Agent) and not to affirm the cause. The present world is the abode of calamity; the next of pleasure. I would not spend a grain of barley to acquire either! Mischief is for this world, honor for the next: I am free of both, belonging to neither!”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
12. “It is said that a disciple should be like the earth so that his Guide may be like the sky. Sometimes he might shower rain over it and another throw warmth of the sun on it. Sometime, like a cloud, keep him under his shadow. Sometime fragrant breeze of his compassion and bounty refreshed him making his soil fertile and wealthy. The purpose of all this is to bring the disciple to perfection. He who is blessed, all sorts of arrangements i.e., divine favor and grace descends on him. But he who is wretched in destiny, no soul in the world can take him to the elevated rank.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
13. “O Brother! There are thousands upon thousands who have been martyred and slain on the Divine way. Many other thousands are wounded and thrown prostrate. Those well known for their intellect have been perplexed in their search for Him and those famous for their religious knowledge are searching Him at the outskirts of His Glory and Tremendousness, Those, whose eyes are radiant and heart clairvoyant, are submerged in one drop of His ocean of His Majesty or singed like sparks from the fire of His Glory.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
14. “Saintliness (wiliyat) is one of the divine secrets. It is not born from self-discipline and austerities. Only a saint can recognize another saint. If this mystery (nur-e-wilayat) could be made plain (open) to all reasonable men, it would then be possible to distinguish the friend from foe or the spiritual adept (wali) from the careless worldling. God willed things in such a way that the pearl of friendship (wilayat) was placed inside a shell of popular contempt and be cast into the sea of affliction, so that the seeker of this pearl dive into the bottom of this ocean of death where he will either win his desire or make an end of his life.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
15. “I asked: ‘What is my sin?’ He said: ‘Your being in front of My Being is the greatest sin.’ O Brother! you should repent for your sins. The gnostics say one must repent for his devotion like the sinner over his sins.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
16. “A saint (Wali) is a person who continuously enjoys the divine favor in all his activities and becomes one of those protected by God. Among them are four thousand ‘concealed’ ones who do not recognize one another and who do not know the beauty of their own lofty state. They remain hidden from both themselves and the people. Then there are three hundred saints who are authorized to loose and to bind. They are called Akhyar. And there are forty Abdaal, four Awtaad, and three Nugba and two Najeeb and one Ghaus. All these holy men know each other and run the administration of the world in consultation with each other. A saint does not rest content with what is miraculous, nor does he pride himself with being a miracle worker. The two attitudes are contradictory.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
17. “The mystic way is infested with one’s ego, devils, men, and jinn, thus making it impossible to travel along it without an experienced, holy man as one’s escort. Also, there are many slippery places where it is easy to fall. And one can be plagued with misfortune and dangers from behind.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
18. “O Dear! Live in this world brokenhearted and miserable. When Moses asked God: ‘O Lord where should I search You?’ The answer came: ‘In the heart which is broken by the hand of destiny.'”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
19. “Bliss and misery are two treasures of the Lord. The key to the former is submission, while the key to the latter is sin. The one who is fortunate has been blessed from his mother’s womb. Such a person is given the key to bliss. The one who is unfortunate has been born accursed. Sin is the key to misery.”
— Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
