---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never follow any impulse to teach…"
description: "\"“Never follow any impulse to teach, however strong it might be. The command to teach is not felt as an impulsion.”\" — Idries Shah"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/idries-shah-450_bahaudin_never-follow-any-impulse-to-teach-howeve_1166338.jpg"
---

#  Never follow any impulse to teach, however strong it might…

![“Never follow any impulse to teach, however strong it might be. The command to teach is not felt as an impulsion.” quote by Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/idries-shah-450_bahaudin_never-follow-any-impulse-to-teach-howeve_1166338.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/idries-shah-450_bahaudin_never-follow-any-impulse-to-teach-howeve_1166338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/idries-shah-450_bahaudin_never-follow-any-impulse-to-teach-howeve_1166338.jpg)

> ““Never follow any impulse to teach, however strong it might be. The command to teach is not felt as an impulsion.””

[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.

Teaching should be a deliberate, disciplined choice rather than a fleeting urge; true instruction arises from purpose, not impulse.

**In simple terms:** Teach with intention, not impulse.

Key Takeaway

Choose teaching wisely.

Themes

discipline education intentionality

Mood

thoughtful reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- classroom planning
- mentor meetings
- curriculum design
- personal study sessions

Key Concepts

Sufism pedagogy self‑control

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you differentiate between inspiration and impulse?
- When should you pause before teaching?

A Different Perspective

Impulses can be valuable for creativity, but may lack depth without reflection.

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[Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Sufis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufis/) [Sufism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufism/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/)

## Related quotes

> [“Whoever might perfume a scorpion Will not thereby escape its sting. Bahaudin Naqshband”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/whoever-might-perfume-a-scorpion-will-not-thereby-escape-its-sting/)

[Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/)

> [“Counsels of Bahaudin You want to be filled. But something which is full has first to be emptied. Empty yourself so that you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/counsels-of-bahaudin-you-want-to-be-filled-but-something-which-is/)

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> [It is easier for a tutor to command than to teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/it-is-easier-for-a-tutor-to-command-than-to-teach/)

[John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/)

> [I have a strong command of what's going on in the company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-flannery/i-have-a-strong-command-of-what-s-going-on-in-the-company/)

[John L. Flannery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-flannery/)

> [If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how wrong it seems, follow the impulse. It might be something and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/if-you-get-an-impulse-in-a-scene-no-matter-how-wrong-it-seems-follow/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [Some deeper part of me wants to write comical dialogue; I'd be foolish to not follow that impulse. Now I recognize that if there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/some-deeper-part-of-me-wants-to-write-comical-dialogue-i-d-be-foolish/)

[Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/)

## 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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [“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 Bahaudin quotes

> [“Whoever might perfume a scorpion Will not thereby escape its sting. Bahaudin Naqshband”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/whoever-might-perfume-a-scorpion-will-not-thereby-escape-its-sting/)

[Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/)

Browse all 2 Bahaudin quotes

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