--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has truly been said that 'Humility is…" description: "\"“It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a virtue as a necessity, in order to learn.”\" — Idries Shah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg" --- # It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a… ![“It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a virtue as a necessity, in order to learn.” quote by Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg) > ““It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a virtue as a necessity, in order to learn.”” [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humility is essential for learning; without it, knowledge remains shallow. **In simple terms:** Humility is necessary for learning. Key Takeaway Practice humility daily. Themes education humility learning growth wisdom Mood reflective thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying - teaching - skill acquisition - personal development Key Concepts epistemology self-awareness open-mindedness Questions to Reflect On - How does humility affect your learning? - When have you learned more by listening? A Different Perspective Humility can be mistaken for weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Humilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humilty/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sufis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufis/) [Sufism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufism/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Forms have changed through the centuries in obedience to the external world to which all forms belong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/forms-have-changed-through-the-centuries-in-obedience-to-the-external/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“When prayer, rituals and ascetic life are just a means of self-indulgence, they are harmful rather than beneficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/when-prayer-rituals-and-ascetic-life-are-just-a-means-of-self/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Show me a person who really knows what 'good' is, and I will show you that he almost never uses the word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/show-me-a-person-who-really-knows-what-good-is-and-i-will-show-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Why did I do such-and-such a thing?' is all very well. But what about 'How otherwise could I have done it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/why-did-i-do-such-and-such-a-thing-is-all-very-well-but-what-about/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“There is a saying that, according to what a person's mentality is, even an angel may seem to him to have a devil's face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/there-is-a-saying-that-according-to-what-a-person-s-mentality-is-even/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“It is axiomatic that the attempt to become a Sufi through a desire for personal power as normally understood will not succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-axiomatic-that-the-attempt-to-become-a-sufi-through-a-desire/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ “Saadi: Be a true renouncer, (zahid) and \[you can even\] ware satin.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/saadi-be-a-true-renouncer-zahid-and-you-can-even-ware-satin/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“You may be able to get the bone down your throat But if it reaches your stomach it will tear your navel. (Gulistan)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/you-may-be-able-to-get-the-bone-down-your-throat-but-if-it-reaches/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-the-message-not-the-man-which-is-important-to-the-sufis/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Yes, the world is an illusion. But Truth is always being shown there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/yes-the-world-is-an-illusion-but-truth-is-always-being-shown-there/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-those-who-have-expunged-from-their-minds-the-human/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Do not tell your secrets to everyone in this headquarters, Earth. We have surveyed it well. There was nobody to whom to entrust secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/do-not-tell-your-secrets-to-everyone-in-this-headquarters-earth-we/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufism is transmitted by means of the human exemplar, the teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-transmitted-by-means-of-the-human-exemplar-the-teacher/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Study institutions may become visible when the head is more emptied of imaginings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/study-institutions-may-become-visible-when-the-head-is-more-emptied/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## More by Idries Shah > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/teach-honesty-by-all-means-you-do-know-what-it-is-don-t-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufism is transmitted by means of the human exemplar, the teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-transmitted-by-means-of-the-human-exemplar-the-teacher/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“No existe práctica en aislamiento.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/no-existe-pr-ctica-en-aislamiento/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [A king who feared wasps once decreed that they were abolished. As it happened, they did him no harm. But he was eventually stung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/a-king-who-feared-wasps-once-decreed-that-they-were-abolished-as-it/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Do not tell your secrets to everyone in this headquarters, Earth. We have surveyed it well. There was nobody to whom to entrust secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/do-not-tell-your-secrets-to-everyone-in-this-headquarters-earth-we/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-those-who-have-expunged-from-their-minds-the-human/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Yes, the world is an illusion. But Truth is always being shown there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/yes-the-world-is-an-illusion-but-truth-is-always-being-shown-there/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-the-message-not-the-man-which-is-important-to-the-sufis/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The human being, whether he realises it or not, is trusting someone or something every moment of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-human-being-whether-he-realises-it-or-not-is-trusting-someone-or/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Who is the wrong person to criticise? You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/who-is-the-wrong-person-to-criticise-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“You may be able to get the bone down your throat But if it reaches your stomach it will tear your navel. (Gulistan)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/you-may-be-able-to-get-the-bone-down-your-throat-but-if-it-reaches/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“People are always trying to understand. There is only one way to do that. It is to discover < + i + >why< +…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-are-always-trying-to-understand-there-is-only-one-way-to-do/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [We view Sufism not as an ideology that molds people to the right way of belief or action, but as an art or science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/we-view-sufism-not-as-an-ideology-that-molds-people-to-the-right-way/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) [Explore all 365 Idries Shah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a virtue as a necessity, in order to learn.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Idries Shah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is-not-so-much-a-virtue-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is-not-so-much-a-virtue-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/idries-shah-450_character_it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is_2726821.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It has truly been said that 'Humility is not so much a virtue as a necessity, in order to learn.” — Idries Shah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Idries Shah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It has truly been said that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is-not-so-much-a-virtue-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-has-truly-been-said-that-humility-is-not-so-much-a-virtue-as-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```