--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone is so afraid of death, but the…" description: "\"Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg" --- # Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just… ![“Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg) > “Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl” [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of death fades when one embraces the divine; external blows cannot harm inner peace. **In simple terms:** Divine love defies death. Key Takeaway Seek inner peace beyond fear. Themes mortality spirituality resilience Mood tranquil hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - grief - coping with loss - spiritual practice Key Concepts Sufism inner peace Questions to Reflect On - What does true inner peace look like? - How to balance spiritual joy with worldly responsibilities? A Different Perspective Spiritual confidence may ignore practical safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-death/) [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Sufi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufi/) ## Related quotes > [There is no shame in being afraid of death, the real shame is being afraid of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-kermis/there-is-no-shame-in-being-afraid-of-death-the-real-shame-is-being/) [Samuel Kermis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-kermis/) > [Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-carradine/why-would-you-be-afraid-of-death-it-would-be-an-inconvenience-i-have/) [David Carradine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-carradine/) > [I'm not afraid of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-not-afraid-of-death/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [Oh, I'm not afraid of death! What have I got to live for after all? I suppose you believe it's very wrong to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/oh-i-m-not-afraid-of-death-what-have-i-got-to-live-for-after-all-i/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“I am not afraid of death , i am afraid of being alive when it happens to you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haritha-velpureddy/i-am-not-afraid-of-death-i-am-afraid-of-being-alive-when-it-happens/) [Haritha Velpureddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haritha-velpureddy/) > [“I am not afraid of death, which after all can't be far away. What does frighten me, though, is the halfway stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/i-am-not-afraid-of-death-which-after-all-can-t-be-far-away-what-does/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“the less a man is acquainted with the sweets of life, the less reason he has to be afraid of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavius-vegetius-renatus/the-less-a-man-is-acquainted-with-the-sweets-of-life-the-less-reason/) [Flavius Vegetius Renatus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavius-vegetius-renatus/) > [Once you are afraid of death you are bound to be afraid of life. That's why I am talking about this Hasidic approach. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-are-afraid-of-death-you-are-bound-to-be-afraid-of-life-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you have any coffee?'...'It stunts my growth, and I'm afraid of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/do-you-have-any-coffee-it-stunts-my-growth-and-i-m-afraid-of-death/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is important that our relationship with farm animals is reciprocal. We owe animals a decent life and a painless death. I have observed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/it-is-important-that-our-relationship-with-farm-animals-is-reciprocal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“I'm not afraid of death…I'm afraid of life without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-i-m-afraid-of-life-without-you/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) > [I am afraid of death, scared by it. I already don't know whether I exist or not. So dying really terrifies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/i-am-afraid-of-death-scared-by-it-i-already-don-t-know-whether-i/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [“I truly believe I am not afraid of death. What I shrink from, I believe, is the shame of dying as stupid and befuddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-truly-believe-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-what-i-shrink-from-i-believe/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [To me, man means awareness of death. I am not saying become afraid of death; that is not awareness. Just be aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-man-means-awareness-of-death-i-am-not-saying-become-afraid-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) ## More by Rumi > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) [Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More Afraid of death quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [To me, man means awareness of death. I am not saying become afraid of death; that is not awareness. Just be aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-man-means-awareness-of-death-i-am-not-saying-become-afraid-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“So long as you believe yourself to be 'only human' you have accepted life in a prison cell whose door remains locked only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-nordby/so-long-as-you-believe-yourself-to-be-only-human-you-have-accepted/) [Jacob Nordby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-nordby/) > [“I truly believe I am not afraid of death. What I shrink from, I believe, is the shame of dying as stupid and befuddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-truly-believe-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-what-i-shrink-from-i-believe/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“As she fell, Esther wasn’t worried about being blown off course and plummeting into the rocks below. She wasn’t worried about hitting the shallows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-sutherland/as-she-fell-esther-wasn-t-worried-about-being-blown-off-course-and/) [Krystal Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-sutherland/) > [I am afraid of death, scared by it. I already don't know whether I exist or not. So dying really terrifies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/i-am-afraid-of-death-scared-by-it-i-already-don-t-know-whether-i/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [“I'm not afraid of death…I'm afraid of life without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-i-m-afraid-of-life-without-you/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) > [Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/atheism-is-a-fairy-story-for-people-afraid-of-the-light/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [ “Dear Mr. Fraser, I write to inform you that I shall not visit Helwater this quarter; official affairs detain me. \[…\] These affairs concern… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/dear-mr-fraser-i-write-to-inform-you-that-i-shall-not-visit-helwater/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [It is important that our relationship with farm animals is reciprocal. We owe animals a decent life and a painless death. I have observed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/it-is-important-that-our-relationship-with-farm-animals-is-reciprocal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Do you have any coffee?'...'It stunts my growth, and I'm afraid of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/do-you-have-any-coffee-it-stunts-my-growth-and-i-m-afraid-of-death/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Once you are afraid of death you are bound to be afraid of life. That's why I am talking about this Hasidic approach. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-are-afraid-of-death-you-are-bound-to-be-afraid-of-life-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the less a man is acquainted with the sweets of life, the less reason he has to be afraid of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavius-vegetius-renatus/the-less-a-man-is-acquainted-with-the-sweets-of-life-the-less-reason/) [Flavius Vegetius Renatus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavius-vegetius-renatus/) > [“I am not afraid of death, which after all can't be far away. What does frighten me, though, is the halfway stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/i-am-not-afraid-of-death-which-after-all-can-t-be-far-away-what-does/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“I am not afraid of death , i am afraid of being alive when it happens to you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haritha-velpureddy/i-am-not-afraid-of-death-i-am-afraid-of-being-alive-when-it-happens/) [Haritha Velpureddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haritha-velpureddy/) [Browse all 185 Afraid of death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-real-sufis-just-laugh-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid of death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-real-sufis-just-laugh-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/rumi-56_afraid-of-death_everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-r_2095973.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes…” — Rumi", "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": "Rumi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everyone is so afraid of death,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-real-sufis-just-laugh-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/everyone-is-so-afraid-of-death-but-the-real-sufis-just-laugh-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```