Diversity
Remember that Turkish and Persian were once languages of the non-Muslims, and English, too, may become an Islamic language.
—Sayyid Muḥammad ʿAlī Mongīrī, founder of the renowned Nadwatu’l-ʿUlamā seminary, defending the teaching of English at the institution more than a century ago
لا تحتقروا أنفسكم لحداثة أسنانكم؛ فإن عمر بن الخطاب كان إذا نزل به الأمر المعضل دعا الفتيان فاستشارهم يتبع حدة عقولهم
Do not think too little of yourselves because you are young, for when ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was faced with a difficult problem, he would call the young people and seek their advice, relying on the sharpness of their minds.
—Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī [d. 124H/741CE] to his young students
from Dr. ‘Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, ‘Umar: His Life and Times. International Islamic Publishing House. 2002.
الرأي الفرد كالخيط السحيل، والرأيان كالخيطين، والثلاثة الآراء كالثلاثة لا تكاد تنقطع
An individual opinion is like a single thread, while two opinions are like two interwoven threads, and three can never be broken.
—‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb [d. 23H/644CE]
from Dr. ‘Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, ‘Umar: His Life and Times. International Islamic Publishing House. 2002.