- English translation
The Sufi way can lead even a rebel back to obedience.
- Literal wording
The path brings the sinner back around.
- Meaning and lesson
At its core, the saying praises the discipline of the Sufi path, the way of spiritual training rather than simply any technique, as a force able to restrain a wayward person and guide them back. Its practices are imagined as firm enough to curb someone who has strayed into wrongdoing.
In wider, figurative use, it points to any reliable means of drawing a misguided person away from error and toward obedience or upright conduct. The weight rests on the power of the chosen remedy to bring about real change.
- When it is used
Say this when pointing to a proven way of reforming someone who has strayed, crediting the method rather than the person's resolve. Because it casts someone as a sinner or rebel, it can sound harsh; take care when that person is present.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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