--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand…" description: "\"“Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to share what they have got. These two things are not always the same.”\" — Idries Shah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/idries-shah-450_evolution_sufis-are-not-here-to-satisfy-a-demand-t_2627760.jpg" --- # Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to… ![“Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to share what they have got. These two things are not always the same.” quote by Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/idries-shah-450_evolution_sufis-are-not-here-to-satisfy-a-demand-t_2627760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/idries-shah-450_evolution_sufis-are-not-here-to-satisfy-a-demand-t_2627760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/idries-shah-450_evolution_sufis-are-not-here-to-satisfy-a-demand-t_2627760.jpg) > ““Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to share what they have got. These two things are not always the same.”” [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. Sufis share their inner wealth rather than fulfill external demands; sharing and serving differ. **In simple terms:** Sufis give what they have, not what others demand. Key Takeaway Focus on authentic sharing over meeting expectations. Themes spirituality service authenticity Mood reflective inspirational Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - community service - teaching - personal growth Key Concepts sufi philosophy inner wealth altruism Questions to Reflect On - How can you offer genuine gifts without expectation? - What demands conflict with authentic sharing? A Different Perspective Not everyone values intangible gifts equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Hindu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hindu/) [Idries-shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idries-shah/) [Sufis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufis/) [Sufism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufism/) ## Related quotes > [“Sufism is, in operation, pragmatic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-in-operation-pragmatic/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Satisfy your demand for reason but always remember that charity is beyond reason, and God can be known through charity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/satisfy-your-demand-for-reason-but-always-remember-that-charity-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/he-who-sleeps-on-the-road-will-lose-either-his-hat-or-his-head/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Many a “learned” man is destroyed by ignorance and by the learning which is of no use to him’ (Hadrat Ahmed ibn Mahsud, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/many-a-learned-man-is-destroyed-by-ignorance-and-by-the-learning/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Someone says that I haven’t taught him anything that he can remember. He can’t understand yet that that’s precisely what I am aiming at…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/someone-says-that-i-haven-t-taught-him-anything-that-he-can-remember/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Alguien dice que no le he enseñado nada que pueda recordar. Aún no puede comprender que eso es precisamente a lo que estoy apuntando…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/alguien-dice-que-no-le-he-ense-ado-nada-que-pueda-recordar-a-n-no/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“SOVEREIGNTY Sovereignty is a wind of change. (Hariri)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sovereignty-sovereignty-is-a-wind-of-change-hariri/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Imagination blocks you like a bolt on a door. Burn that bar. (Rumi)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/imagination-blocks-you-like-a-bolt-on-a-door-burn-that-bar-rumi/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“If you will not reprove yourself,’ Saadi says, ‘you will not welcome reproof from another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/if-you-will-not-reprove-yourself-saadi-says-you-will-not-welcome/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The worst of sages is a visitor of princes; the best of princes is a visitor of sages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-worst-of-sages-is-a-visitor-of-princes-the-best-of-princes-is-a/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Fettered feet in the presence of friends is better than living in a garden with strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/fettered-feet-in-the-presence-of-friends-is-better-than-living-in-a/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Any society which enjoins its members to adhere to both of these (politeness and truth) is a fraud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/any-society-which-enjoins-its-members-to-adhere-to-both-of-these/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The means through which people may perceive Truth have forms; Truth has no form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-means-through-which-people-may-perceive-truth-have-forms-truth/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The existence of relative truth does not prove the non-existence of universal truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-existence-of-relative-truth-does-not-prove-the-non-existence-of/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Si no te reprochas a ti mismo”, dice Saadi, “no aceptarás el reproche ajeno.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/si-no-te-reprochas-a-ti-mismo-dice-saadi-no-aceptar-s-el-reproche/) [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 Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I'm all about evolution. 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