The Art of Silence
Silence is an art that many struggle to master. Those who excel in silence often become eloquent in their speech as well. It is a misconception to believe that silence denotes ignorance or fear of confrontation. In truth, silence is the cornerstone of wisdom and knowledge. Many esteemed writers have praised silence while condemning excessive talk. In this article, we will explore some profound quotes and wisdom regarding the value of silence.
Beautiful Quotes About Silence
- When you speak a word, it possesses you; if you remain silent, you possess it.
- It is easier to refute what was left unsaid than what has been spoken.
- Your chest is broader for your secrets.
- Silence is a stutter between elements that do not master speech.
- Silence enhances a woman’s allure.
- Our hearts do not conspire when they grow weary; they retreat into silence.
- A stumble of the foot is safer than a stumble of the tongue.
- If we attuned our ears to the sound of silence, our speech would lessen.
- In silence, there is concealment of vice, but it is a true reflection of a person to speak.
- I understand the hardship of writing when there is a lack of desire, just as I comprehend the difficulty of being silent when yearning for conversation.
- Indeed, sometimes silence speaks louder than words.
- Sometimes a single word can incite wars.
- I have grown accustomed to silence; it has become the only language that comforts me amid work and fear.
- Sometimes a word wishes to be left alone.
- Words cannot ease the burdens one carries; only silence can achieve that.
- I admire the eloquence of silence when speech is not suitable.
- Do not speak of what you do not comprehend.
- In tranquility, there is bliss; in silence, there is life, and between the two lie details that remain unnoticed by many.
- Silence is a sign of contentment.
Reflections on Silence
First Reflection:
They speak to me of solitude, and I smile; no one has been broken by solitude as I have. They talk of silence, and I smile again; no one has loved silence and become addicted to it like I have. When they mention the cold, I smile; no one has allowed the cold to silence them and cause shivers in their bones quite like I have. But when they speak of you, I cry; no one has loved you like I do. When we write, it is not ink that flows from our pens but the blood of our hearts. If wounds appear on the pages, please excuse them. I have grown weary and content with silence, preferring the language of the eyes. I will remain silent, yes, I will let the ink speak for me, for we have mastered the art of silence and carry the weight of intentions.
Second Reflection:
I remain silent as the pages of my confessions stay blank, unfilled by the trivialities I whisper to myself. Those pages hold only the tears shed from suffering, lines that groan without making sounds, screaming in anguish without a cry. I am silent when words require letters unlike those I am accustomed to, words that differ from those I have heard, meanings deeper than I can grasp. I am silent because it is the only solution; it is the cave I seek refuge in from the turmoil of expressions and their noise. I am silent to escape the confinement of language, to rebel against the shackles of speech, and to enter vast realms of silence where there are no boundaries or constraints. I am silent when a word feels like a step into the unknown, a truth that has become a myth. I cannot free myself from it, nor can I deny the weight it carries within. I am silent because silence is a protest against oppression that cannot be countered. I am silent because I have been let down, as flowers bloomed from dreams were torn away, as cups filled with hopes were shattered before my eyes, and as the lamps of hope were extinguished, revealing the light of despair. I am silent because words are prisoners in a cell of relevance; it is futile to shout in an ear that cannot hear or to invoke the lips of a mute. I am silent because there are those who can read the pages of silence and hear the whispers of stillness. I am silent because others refuse to listen, fearing the pain that words may bring, avoiding the sting of reproach and the sharpness of blame. Yet, it is time for them to escape the whip of conscience that may awaken one day. I am silent because silence is wisdom.
Poems on Silence
Learning to Guard Against the Tongue
Abdel Ghani Al-Nabulsi, a notable poet well-versed in literature and religion, was born and raised in Damascus. He traveled through several countries, including Baghdad, Egypt, Hijaz, Lebanon, and Palestine, before returning to Damascus, where he spent the rest of his life and eventually passed away. His many works include “Necklaces of Corals on the Faith of Believers,” “The Presence of the Beloved in the Holy Journey,” “The Anthology of Anthologies,” “The Fragrance of Humanity in the Interpretation of Dreams,” and “Treasures of Inheritance Showing the Locations of Traditions.” In one of his poems, he expresses:
Learn to guard against the evils of the tongue,
To attain safety and fulfillment.
And take this as seventy matters,
Told in a structure of pearl-like strings.
Kufr (disbelief) and mistakes with the fear of kufr,
Lying then cursing in disgrace.
And the gruesome, backbiting, and gossip with
Debate, argument, and cruel attack.
Mockery and innuendo, curses,
Weeping and indulging in songs.
Quarreling and revealing a secret,
Engaging in confusion and allure.
Asking for wealth and worldly affairs is hypocrisy,
With words, and talk during prayers.
Asking about fallacies and the populace,
Concerning complex meanings.
Harsh words and a despicable instruction,
And forbidding the ordinary with the tongue’s mistake.
Inquiring about the faults of people,
For a two-faced man in fleeting matters.
Your speech is like a recitation of the Quran,
After a dawn revealing the seen.
And like a sermon in a mosque,
When entering, share a need that aches.
And in prayer, in congregation,
Open the conversation before those of great significance.
With labels, gossip, and familiarity,
Dripping or other than that.
Frightening a believer, and excessive talk,
And many oaths without delay.
Without praying for those oppressed,
Without reform at all times.
Asking for authority and guardianship,
While you send to a dwelling or a store.
Returning speech to a follower, and cutting
The words of another, like a poet with contempt.
Whispering to two, with praise in mood,
And speaking what is not entirely sincere.
To self-pray and return an excuse,
Bringing forth the understanding of the Quran.
Inquiring about what is permissible or pure,
Inappropriately intending a test.
And prose and eloquence with peace,
Over the infidels and the wicked.
Thus, being dire or in need
Of foreign speech in a place.
And guiding towards a bad path,
And granting permissions in sins,
And the harms of worship that are
Numerous and those who fell short.
So many harms in transactions,
And harms of silence without clarity.
And they have been completed with God’s help,
So devote your prayer to them in paradise.
The Roar of Silence
The poem “The Roar of Silence” is by Mahmoud Darwish, a renowned Palestinian poet. Darwish was born in the village of al-Birwa in 1942, then fled to Lebanon at the age of seven, where he remained for a year. He later returned to Palestine, completed his education in the village of Deir Assad, and finished high school in Kafr Yasif. Darwish contributed to the liberation of Al-Fajr newspaper and wrote articles and poetry for various journals. In his poem, he articulates:
I listen to silence. Is there silence?
If we forgot its name, and listened closely to what it
Contains, we would hear the voices of wandering souls
In space, the cries that traveled to
The original caves. Silence is a sound that evaporated and hid
In the wind, and echoes shattered, kept in
Cosmic jars. If we tuned our ears, we would hear
The sound of an apple hitting a stone in God’s orchard,
And Abel’s fearful cry over his first blood,
We would listen to Yunus’s contemplation inside the whale,
And the secret negotiations
Between ancient deities. If we listened closely
To what lies behind the curtain of silence, we would discover
The conversations of night among prophets and their wives,
And the first rhythms of poetry, and the
Complaint of emperors about boredom, and the hooves
Of horses in a war of unknown time and place, and
The music accompanying sacred prostitution,
And the weeping of Gilgamesh over his friend Enkidu,
And the confusion of the monkey when he jumped from the tree
To the throne of the tribe, and the exchanged insults
Between Sarah and Hagar; if we listened closely
To the voice of silence… our words would become fewer!
Words About Silence and the Tongue
- The tongue has no bones, yet it can kill.
- The tongue is a lethal weapon.
- It is better for a person to stumble with their feet rather than with their tongue.
- The tongue is a double-edged sword.
- God created man with one tongue and two ears to listen more than he speaks.
- Within the tongue lurks a dragon that does not shed blood, yet still kills.
- The tongue says to the limbs every morning and evening: How are you? They respond: Well, if you leave us be.
- In the tongue lies the downfall of man.
- Better bites from teeth than bites from the tongue.
- If you cannot manage your tongue, you will regret it.
- The tongue is a sharp sword with boundaries that are not to be trusted, while words are arrows that are difficult to retrieve.
- The head said to the tongue: As long as you are my companion, I will never know peace in my life.
- Beware that your tongue does not outrun your thoughts.
- A tamed tongue is a rare bird.
- A man’s demise lies between his jaws.
- The sword has two edges, whereas the tongue has a hundred.
- Nothing is sweeter than a tongue when kind, but nothing is meaner than it when it is wicked.