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" When I read al-Ghazali, I thought, „Oh my God, this is true“. Al Ghazali wrote: „I am on a crumbling bank. My soul is crying „Up, up and away. If not now, when?“ I was about twenty-three years old and I thought, „My God, I am on a crumbling bank! If I don‘t do it – up, up and away – I‘ve blown it! I knew that if I didn‘t do it now, I would have blown it.“ Gray had been looking for a spiritual path all along and was drawn to Sufism. She embraced the religion of Islam and took the name Aisha. (p. 213) "
― , Hearts Turn: Sinners, Seekers, Saints and the Road to Redemption
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" The imagery of intoxication pervades the mystical poetry of Islam, from Attar to Hafiz to Rumi to Ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Farid, to Sidi Ahmed al-Alawi and Ibn al-Habib. „The Tavern“, „Wine“, „the Cup“, „Drunkenness“ are powerful mystical symbols that indicate the deep rapture and illumination experienced by the lovers of God. Those who deny the intoxication that comes from worship and remembrance are those who have never experienced it […] hearts overflowing with remembrance of God, filled with Light. Through worship and self-abnegation, they share a taste of the intoxication experienced by those who have entered the Tavern of the Presence and drunk the wine of Light.
To deny the possibility of spiritual intoxication is to remove a powerful incentive for purification and worship: an intoxication that removes confusion, a drunkenness with no hangover. What a difference between effulgent rapture and the darkness of an alcoholic stupor! (p. 273) "
― , Hearts Turn: Sinners, Seekers, Saints and the Road to Redemption
