Quotes about blessing
page 14

Robert Southey photo
Narendra Modi photo
Flower A. Newhouse photo
Gautama Buddha photo
Max Beckmann photo
Benjamin N. Cardozo photo
Kailash Satyarthi photo
Amir Khusrow photo
George Santayana photo

“Animals are born and bred in litters. Solitude grows blessed and peaceful only in old age.”

George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism

Source: Persons and Places (1944), p. 61

Anna Akhmatova photo

“And the just man trailed God's shining agent,
over a black mountain, in his giant track,
while a restless voice kept harrying his woman:
"It's not too late, you can still look back
at the red towers of your native Sodom,
the square where once you sang, the spinning-shed,
at the empty windows set in the tall house
where sons and daughters blessed your marriage-bed."”

Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) Russian modernist poet

The just man followed then his angel guide
Where he strode on the black highway, hulking and bright;
But a wild grief in his wife's bosom cried,
Look back, it is not too late for a last sight
Of the red towers of your native Sodom, the square
Where once you sang, the gardens you shall mourn,
And the tall house with empty windows where
You loved your husband and your babes were born.
Translator unknown
Lot's Wife

William Wordsworth photo

“How blessings brighten as they take their flight!”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

Occasionally misattributed to Wordsworth, but in fact by Edward Young again. It is from his Night Thoughts, Night II, line 602.
Misattributed

Ismail ibn Musa Menk photo

“Then we have Sūrat al-Sharḥ, also known as al-Inshirāḥ. I need to make mention of this because in it is a lot of comfort for myself and yourselves. We have a problem in life. When we have a problem Allah says, "Don't worry, with that difficulty, there is ease." You will never know what ease is all about unless you've been through difficulty. Those who have a beautiful life, sometimes they are still worried and depressed because they don't know what it is like to have suffered a little bit. So Allah's blessing, he makes us suffer slightly so that when there's a little bit of ease, mashallah. You know, a man who's always driven a Rolls-Royce will never know what it's like to ride a bicycle to work. Two ways of making them ride. One is, the doctor tells you you're about to die, Allahu Akbar, and you need to ride to work. Immediately everything is given up. Why? Because we're worried about dear life. That's why. If you see people – Subhan Allah – I've seen a man who had a carrot, and he was pretending like he's smoking this carrot and nibbling on it. And I told him, I said: "My brother, what made you nibble on this carrot?" He says: "My doctor told me I can't smoke, and a good replacement is a carrot." I said: "Allahu Akbar, you're stuffing your mouth with a carrot because of a doctor, but when Allah told you smoking is bad, then you didn't want to listen…" Allahu Akbar. May Allah make us from amongst those who eat carrots rather than smoking cigarettes. Really. So, my brothers and sisters, it's a reality. Whenever there is a person who has tasted goodness alone, and they don't know what difficulty is about, there comes a time when they do not appreciate what they have. So like I was saying, two ways. One is, Allah snatches it away from you, so you now have nothing. So many people have climbed the peak in terms of materialistic items, and then they've dropped down the mountain. They say it's easier to drop from the top than it is from the bottom. Allahu Akbar. When you arrive at the top, a small movement and you roll down, you're with the avalanche, one time. And when you're at the bottom, they can kick you – if you drop, you stand up again and you're walking – same level, masshalah, it's all about altitude. May Allah protect us. Another thing is, when you drop from the top, greater likelihood of breaking more bones. When you drop from the bottom, "Ah, I might have just hurt my head slightly", just say "Ouch" and carry on. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us and grant us humbleness. So, remember, sometimes Allah wants you to go down, so that you appreciate the bicycle after you had nothing, yet ten years ago you had the Rolls-Royce. May Allah bless us. So Allah says, and I'm sure we know verses, verse number five and six:
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرً
إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
"Indeed, with every difficulty [or, with difficulty] there is ease.
And indeed, with the difficulty there is ease."
[…] May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alleviate the suffering that we are all going through in our own little ways. Remember it's a gift of Allah. To keep you in check sometimes. To keep you calling out to Him. May Allah open our doors.”

Ismail ibn Musa Menk (1975) Muslim cleric and Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe.

" Do you have problems in life? Watch This! by Mufti Menk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgp2zbE9Ofg", YouTube (2013)
Lectures

Muhammad photo

“Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man follows the religion of his close friend, so each of you should be very careful about whom he takes as a close friend."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 3, hadith number 367
Sunni Hadith

George W. Bush photo

“On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband; Lt. Colonel Michael Anderson; Commander Laurel Clark; Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity.
In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket, and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.
All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.
The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.
In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.
May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

2000s, 2003, Remarks after Columbia space shuttle disaster (February 2003)

William Winter photo

“His love was like the liberal air,—
Embracing all, to cheer and bless;
And every grief that mortals share
Found pity in his tenderness.”

William Winter (1836–1917) American writer

I. H. Bromley, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

Percy Bysshe Shelley photo

““What civilization would be complete without a cat?” the Professor went on. “What greater blessing to the home than the kindly yet watchful eye of this tiger of the fireside?””

Lloyd Alexander (1924–2007) American children's writer

Source: Time Cat (1963), Chapter 19 “Parker’s Perpetual Mousetraps” (p. 190)

David Ben-Gurion photo

“We will make a great and awful mistake if we fail to settle Hebron, neighbor and predecessor of Jerusalem, with a large Jewish settlement, constantly growing and expanding, very soon. This will also be a blessing to the Arab neighbors. Hebron is worthy to be Jerusalem's sister.”

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) Israeli politician, Zionist leader, prime minister of Israel

As quoted in "Hebron Is Jerusalem's Sister" http://www.hebron.com/english/article.php?id=223, Sdeh Boker, 18 Shvat 5730 (25 January 1970)

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton photo
Robert Burns photo
Eino Leino photo
Amit Ray photo
Alex Salmond photo
Muhammad photo
Karen Blixen photo

“Life is a mixed blessing, which we vainly try to unmix.”

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist

The Complete Neurotic's Notebook (1981), Unclassified

Dante Gabriel Rossetti photo

“The blessed damozel lean'd out
From the gold bar of Heaven;
Her eyes were deeper than the depth
Of waters still'd at even;
She had three lilies in her hand,
And the stars in her hair were seven.”

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) English poet, illustrator, painter and translator

Stanza 1.
The Blessed Damozel http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/715.html (1850)

Muhammad photo
Neville Chamberlain photo
Henry David Thoreau photo

“Whate'er we leave to God, God does
And blesses us.”

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist

Inspiration, Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900

John Mitchel photo

“Czar, I bless thee. I kiss the hem of thy garment. I drink to thy health and longevity. Give us war in our time, O Lord!”

John Mitchel (1815–1875) Irish politician

From "Jail Journal; or Five Years in British Prisons"

Calvin Coolidge photo
Gregory of Nyssa photo
Muhammad photo

“Anas reported that a Bedouin said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "When will the Hour come?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How have you prepared for it?" He said, "With love of Allah and His Messenger."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

He said, "You will be with the one you love."
Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 3, hadith number 369
Sunni Hadith

Julian of Norwich photo
David Brooks photo

“Britain is blessed with a functioning political culture. It is dominated by people who live in London and who have often known each other since prep school. This makes it gossipy and often incestuous.”

David Brooks (1961) American journalist, commentator and editor

[David, Brooks, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1, Britain Is Working, New York Times, May 23, 2011, May 24, 2011]
2010s

Woody Guthrie photo

“One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people —
As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.”

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) American singer-songwriter and folk musician

Final stanza of manuscript notes for "God Blessed America" which later became "This Land Is Your Land" (23 February 1940)

Muhammad photo

“Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Visit the sick, feed the hungry and set captives free."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 5, hadith number 897
Sunni Hadith

Henry Kissinger photo

“Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.”

Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) United States Secretary of State

The End of the Road (1982), Ch. 25 "Years of Upheaval"
1980s

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Izaak Walton photo
Muhammad photo
Franklin D. Roosevelt photo
Muhammad photo
Clive Staples Lewis photo

“Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.”

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist

Foreword to Joy Davidman's Smoke on the Mountain (1954)

Taylor Caldwell photo
Horatio Nelson photo
Oliver Cowdery photo
Lupe Fiasco photo

“But don't forget the blessing is in the struggle. The Most Forgiving will forgive it if you stay repentant and hustle.”

Lupe Fiasco (1982) rapper

Mixtapes, Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us (2006)

Hillary Clinton photo

“Rich people, God bless us. We deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue to the next generation.”

Hillary Clinton (1947) American politician, senator, Secretary of State, First Lady

FOX News interview http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353759,00.html with Bill O'Reilly, April 30, 2008.
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

Muhammad photo
Muhammad photo

“Abu Hurayra 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Sakhr said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah does not look at your bodies nor your forms but He looks at your hearts and your actions."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 1, hadith number 7
Sunni Hadith

Julian of Norwich photo
Herbert Hoover photo

“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”

Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) 31st President of the United States of America

Address to the Nebraska Republican Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska (16 January 1936)

Muhammad photo

“Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Make things easy for people and do not make them difficult. Give good news to people and do not frighten them away."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 4, hadith number 637
Sunni Hadith

Thomas Fuller photo

“Many favors which God giveth us ravel out for want of hemming, through our own unthankfulness; for though prayer purchaseth blessings, giving praise doth keep the quiet possession of them.”

Thomas Fuller (1608–1661) English churchman and historian

Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 579.

George Mason photo
Calvin Coolidge photo
Robert Louis Stevenson photo
Ignatius Sancho photo
Chuck Palahniuk photo

“I'll go anywhere. To get picked up somewhere will be a blessing”

Javon Ringer (1987) All-American college football player, professional football player, running back

Quoted here http://www.freep.com/article/20090319/SPORTS07/903190389/1055/SPORTS07/Spartans+measure+up+at+NFL+pro+day

John Greenleaf Whittier photo

“God blesses still the generous thought,
And still the fitting word He speeds,
And Truth, at His requiring taught,
He quickens into deeds.”

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery

Channing, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Aurangzeb photo
Ed Harcourt photo
Lupe Fiasco photo

“I love my city really hope that God bless it, have my mind moving faster than that Hog in the Hedges”

Lupe Fiasco (1982) rapper

"I Gotcha"
Albums, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006)

Jane Austen photo
Common (rapper) photo
Thomas Carlyle photo
Chris Hedges photo
Charles Dickens photo

“O let us love our occupations,
Bless the squire and his relations,
Live upon our daily rations,
And always know our proper stations.”

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) English writer and social critic and a Journalist

The Chimes http://infomotions.com/etexts/literature/english/1800-1899/dickens-chimes-379.txt, Second Quarter (1844)

Muhammad photo
Muhammad photo
Isaac Watts photo

“No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.”

Isaac Watts (1674–1748) English hymnwriter, theologian and logician

Stanza 3.
1710s, Psalm 98 "Joy to the World!" (1719)

Frank Borman photo

“"God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth.”

Frank Borman (1928) NASA astronaut

Last lines of the Apollo 8 Genesis reading, and adding his own closing to the message from Apollo 8 crew, as they celebrated becoming the first humans to enter lunar orbit, Christmas Eve (24 December 1968) http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html

Nisargadatta Maharaj photo
G. K. Chesterton photo
David Mushet photo

“Whilst the exploits of the conqueror and the intrigues of the demagogue are faithfully preserved through a succession of ages, the persevering and unobtrusive efforts of genius, developing the best blessings of the Deity to man, are often consigned to oblivion.”

David Mushet (1772–1847) Scottish metallurgist

Cited in: Samuel Smiles (1864) Industrial biography; iron-workers and tool-makers http://books.google.com/books?id=5trBcaXuazgC&pg=PA189, p. 189

Thomas Chalmers photo

“Blessings come from a generous heart. Those who give are the most blessed.”

Jun Hong Lu (1959) Australian Buddhist leader

Sydney, (9 June 2011)[citation needed].

Muhammad photo

“Ka'b ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two hungry wolves loose among sheep do not cause as much damage as that caused to a man's deen by his greed for money and reputation."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 3, hadith number 485
Sunni Hadith

Bhakti Tirtha Swami photo
George Washington Carver photo
Julian of Norwich photo
George W. Bush photo
Muhammad photo
Muhammad photo
Julian of Norwich photo
George Washington Bethune photo
David Lloyd George photo

“The Budget…is introduced not merely for the purpose of raising barren taxes, but taxes that are fertile, taxes that will bring forth fruit—the security of the country which is paramount in the minds of all. The provision for the aged and deserving poor—was it not time something was done? It is rather a shame for a rich country like ours—probably the richest in the world, if not the richest the world has ever seen—should allow those who have toiled all their days to end in penury and possibly starvation. It is rather hard that an old workman should have to find his way to the gates of the tomb, bleeding and footsore, through the brambles and thorns of poverty. We cut a new path for him—an easier one, a pleasanter one, through fields of waving corn. We are raising money to pay for the new road—aye, and to widen it, so that 200,000 paupers shall be able to join in the march. There are so many in the country blessed by Providence with great wealth, and if there are amongst them men who grudge out of their riches a fair contribution towards the less fortunate of their fellow-countrymen they are very shabby rich men.”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech in Limehouse, East London (30 July 1909), quoted in Better Times: Speeches by the Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910), p. 145.
Chancellor of the Exchequer