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Short Sayings By Imam ‘Ali (‘A)

Conceit: Conceit prevents the pursuit of perfection.

Secret: He who withholds his secrets controls the options.

Places of Suspicion: He who frequents the places of suspicion must not complain if he is accused.

Ignorance: People rally as enemies against things of which they are ignorant.

Patience: Anguish destroys him whom patience fails to save.

Character: A man is known by the height and extent of his aspirations. His truthfulness is in measure with his honour; his valour with his dignity; his purity and continence with his self-respect.

Day of Judgement: Blessed is he who remembered the return unto Allah, worked to account for his deeds, remained contented with just sufficient and pleased with his Creator.

Contentment: Contentment is wealth inexhaustible.

Charity: Never feel ashamed to give a little charity for to deny or deprive is lesser still.

Wisdom: There is no wealth like wisdom, no want like ignorance, no legacy like good breeding and no aid like consultation.

Wisdom: Exceeding wisdom has few words.

A Leader: Whoever poses as a leader of the people must begin with self-discipline before educating others, and let his own conduct and bearings teach before his tongue does. And a master of self deserves better reverence.

Miser: A miser surprises me. He runs away from poverty but lives with it, he longs for affluence but misses it. In this world he lives like a poor man, while in the next he will be judged among the rich.

Distribution: O son of Adam, whatever you earn over and above your subsistence, you are its treasurer on behalf of the others.

Worship: There are people who worship Allah with a desire for reward; they are like merchants who trade for profit. And some worship Him with awe and fear; they are like slaves who obey to avoid punishment. And there are others who worship Him to thank Him and express gratitude; that is the way of free men.

God: Where resolute plans fail, well-knit arrangements fritter away, and ambitions and aspirations remain unfulfilled - there I see Allah, the Glorious, and His inscrutible way.

Wealth: Two attendants share everyone’s wealth; the heirs and the eventualities.

Honour: The honour of your countenance is intact, till you abuse it by begging - so watch before whom you stoop so low!

Contentment: Abandon hope for all that lies in the hands of people - and enters the realm of the greatest content.

Sin: The greatest sin is the one considered small by its doer.

Patience: Patience and gentleness is a veil that conceals, and wisdom is a sword that cuts. So cover the defects of your disposition with gentleness and kill your passions with your wisdom.

Backbiting: Backbiting is an effort by the helpless.

Knowledge: Quest of knowledge and coveting this world and all that is in it - are two desires which ever remain insatiable.

Speech: Do not speak on matters you do not know; rather, do not say all that you know - For God has assigned duties to all your limbs and they may bear witness against you on the Day of Judgement.

Knowledge: Every container gets filled up with its content, except the container of Knowledge - it grows and expands with the increase of knowledge.

Conceit: Vanity and conceit make a man jealous of his own reason.

Greatness: To disregard and connive at things one knows is the noblest act of greatness.

Circumstances: The whip and scorn of changing times reveal the essence of men.

Greed: Much of reason is destroyed by bolts of greed.

End of Life: Every man shall have an end; sweet or bitter.

Warning: O Son of Adam! When you see your Lord’s continuous blessings despite your constant disobedience unto Him - there! Be careful.

Faith: Faith is to prefer truth, when it harms you, over Falsehood, when it benefits you; and to watch that your words do not exceed your deeds, and to fear God when you talk about others.

Wealth: A man accumulates wealth with total disregard of Allah - and is then inherited by one who spends it all in the way of Allah. What a disappointment awaits him on the Day of Judgement when the heir enters the heavenly bliss while he himself is condemned to eternal fire!

Praise: To praise someone more than he deserves is to flatter him, and a default may be due to either inability or jealousy.

Wealth: When bereaved of a dear son, man may sleep to end his heartache - but when wealth is lost, he sleeps not a wink!

Fool: Do not remain in a fool’s company for he makes all his foolish acts seem plausible to you and wishes that you be like him.

Authority: A man in authority is like one who rides a lion - people envy his position while he knows his place better.

Warning: When people are engaged in the betterment of their world at the expense of some religious laws, God sets them to encounter that which is worse.

Humility: Blessed is he who is modest and humble, and his attainments all pure. His private life reformed, his nature fair and graceful. The excess in wealth he spends well; the excess in words he withholds, and spares. People fear no injury from him - he is given to the norm of the Prophet (S) and introduces no innovations.

Worth: He is doomed who never knew his own worth.

Love: Weed out evil from the hearts of others by purifying your own heart.

Anger: Anger is a kind of madness - for an angry man must later repent. And if he does not repent, then his madness is firm and well rooted.

Distribution: There are men whom Allah gives countless blessings so that their fellow men may share the benefits. They stay as long as they are so used and spent, but when withheld, life takes them away and entrusts to the others.

Nobility: A man devoid of noble heart prides in vain on his noble ancestry.

Speech: Talk and you will be known. For man is hidden beneath his tongue.

Fault-Finding: One who looks at the faults of others disapprovingly, and excuses oneself for the same faults, it’s indeed a perfect fool.

Arrogance: Greed, arrogance and envy lead unto the dark world of sins.

Sin: One who approves a deed becomes a party to it; and a partisan to an ill-deed commits two sins: sin by act, and sin by approval.

Time: Time withers the bodies but renews and reinforces false desires, then it brings Death closer, and all wishes and hopes grow remote. In the face of Time, both the successful and the loser are tired and spent.

Forgiving: The more powerful ought to be the more forgiving.

Secrets: Slips of tongue and colours of face often give away a well-guarded secret.

Circumstances: When fate is smiling and the world is at your feet, good qualities of others are lent and attributed to you. But when the ever-evasive fate turns its face, then your own qualities are denied.

Peace: In the days of undue strife and dispute act like a calf, it neither has a back for someone to mount, nor udder for anyone to milk.

Justice: For no doubt, in justice there is comfort and relief. And whoever is depressed by Justice shall find injustice more cumbersome and depressing.

Daily Prayer: Say your prayers at the appointed hour. Do not say them before time even if you were free, nor delay because you were busy. You must know that all your acts and accomplishments depend upon your prayers.

Qur’an: And the Qur’an has a beautiful exterior, the interior of it is profound. Its marvels never lost; its wonders never reduced. Darkness is not dispelled but by its penetrating beam.

The Prophet: Allah commissioned Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, as a warner to the people and a guardian of revelation; when you Arabs followed the worst religion at the worst abode. You lived among rough stones and deaf serpents; your drink unclean, your food unhealthy; you engaged in bloodshed and severed all bonds of kinship. Idols were created everywhere around you, and your vices were fanatically guarded.

The Prophet: At last Allah sent Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, as a witness, a warner and bringer of glad tidings. Best of man as a child, noblest of them at maturity, purest in character, most generous in his endowments.

The Prophet: And follow your Prophet, the most congenial and most pure, peace be upon him and on his progeny. In his life there is an example to emulate and a solace for those who seek comfort. The most beloved in the eyes of Allah are those who obey His Prophet (S) and follow in his wake.

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, sat on the ground to eat and sat with all humility - stitched his sandal, and patched his clothes with his own hands, rode on the bare back of a donkey and at times shared a ride.

Allah sent him with a proof that was sufficient, an admonition that restored the spirit and a redeeming call. With these he revealed the unexplored paths, checked the irrational innovations and brought to light the ordinance of Allah.

Ahl ul-Bayt: We are a family of Prophets, receivers of Divine Message; our house a place where Angels frequent. We are the source of knowledge and the fountainhead of Wisdom. Our friends and helpers expect Divine Grace, while our adversaries reckon on worldly power alone.

We are closest to the Prophet. And we are his companions, guardians of his message and doors of access unto him. Houses are not entered but through the doors - and one who intrudes from other than the doorway is normally called a thief.

Day of Judgement: O servants of Allah, weigh your conscience before it is put in balance, and examine it before you are called upon to account for your deeds. Breathe in respite before you are stiffed, and submit before you are driven by force.

Death: When you want to rush into the arms of Evil, remember Death. A sting that destroys all mortal tastes disturbs all pleasures and turns all hope into despair.

Counsel: Listen to my counsel, O Son! The Master of Death is Himself the Master of Life; the Creator Himself causes death. The Destroyer is at the same time the Preserver. He afflicts and He cures. And the affairs of this World - prosperity, affliction, reward hereafter, and such of which you know not but He has willed - all follow His design. When you find yourself baffled base it on your ignorance; for you were created ignorant first, and then were taught. Your ignorance abounds and you are bewildered. Your vision remains blurred till you see the pattern unfold before your eyes.

Amir Al-Mu’minin: Am I content with being addressed as Master of the Faithful, while I do not share with them their grief and pain? Or do not act as a model in their sorrow and strain? I was not created to delight in the delicacies of food like a tied animal that is fattened on fodder; nor like a loose grazing animal wandering here and there, and in nobody’s care. I am not left without responsibilities, nor have I been granted a wasteful respite. How can I lead people unto error or aimlessly tread on a path to confusion?

Orphans and Neighbours: Remember the Orphans! Care for their meals when they are away, and attend to their needs when they are in your presence. And work no ill to your neighbours, for that is the counsel of your Prophet. The Prophet (S) recommended them so very often; till we thought he would grant them a share in our estates.

Amr bil Ma’roof: Do not abandon the practice of exhorting people to do Good and dissuading them from indulging in Evil; else the wicked amongst you will rule over you. Then you will invoke assistance from AIIah, but your prayers will not be answered.

Character: Expect from none but your Lord, the Sustainer; fear nothing but your own evil deeds; do not feel ashamed of admitting your ignorance and saying, “I do not know” when you really do not know, do not fight shy of learning that which you do not know; be patient and forbearing for it is to the Faith what head is to a body. These five habits I strongly recommend, even if acquiring them involves distant travel.