SAMPLE SAYINGS OF IMAM ALI

ØA Mu'min (a true believer) divides his time into three portions: One portion in which he prays and worships his Lord, the second in which he strives for his livelihood, and the third for venting his lawful desires by obtaining fair and permissible pleasures.

ØThere is no wealth greater than reason, no poverty like ignorance, and no heritage better than noble manners.

ØOh Allah!  I did not worship Thee because I am afraid of hell or out of greed for Thy paradise.  I have worshipped Thee because I found Thou worthy-of-worship.

ØMany a mighty man was ruined by his character and many a humble one rose to honor and glory on account of it.

ØHonesty is a Divine tongue.  To fulfill promises is the highest form of integrity.  Truth means conformity of speech with the Divine mode of working.

ØThe most effective way of achieving Divine blessing is to harbor universal benevolence for all humanity.

ØFor one who is possessed of conceit, do not look forward to his good deeds.

ØHe, whose humility has diminished, his piety has dwindled.

ØThe ultimate wisdom for man is to know himself; and so, the one who knows his own self attains wisdom and the one who disregards it is lost.

ØReligion is a store and knowledge is the route to it.

ØThere is no greater worship than meditation on the handiwork of the Great and Mighty Allah.

ØTo kiss a child is compassion; to kiss a woman is passion; to kiss one's parent is like prayer and to kiss a brother Muslim is a demonstration of faith.

ØExcessive censure and reproach open the door to obstinacy and persistence.

ØDestroy the evil in others by eliminating it from yourself.

ØNo Muslim being of service to brother Muslims without Allah granting him in heaven an equal number of servants.

ØThe servant of Allah will not enjoy belief till he abandons lying in his serious talks or in his wit.

ØNothing except true light can ever purify life.

ØI have never argued with an ignorant fool and won; nor have I argued with a rational person and lost.

ØForgiveness is at its best when you forgive while you have the upper hand.

ØIf you doubt the sincerity of a person, just ask your heart.

ØWork for your temporal world as if you will live forever; and work for the Hereafter as if you will die tomorrow.

ØThe oppressor and the oppressed will both suffer in the Hereafter; the oppressor for his tyranny and the oppressed for accepting it.

ØRighteousness left me alone with no companions.

ØThe weakest of people are those unable to make friends; even weaker are those who lose the friends they have gained.

ØIf you are running away and death is approaching; the encounter will be soon.

ØDo not be too hard, lest you will be broken; Do not be too soft, lest you will be squeezed.

ØThe greatest wealth is in giving up excessive desires.

ØTo prolong hope is ill-doing.

ØBeware the anger of a kind and generous person when in starvation; and the wrath of a mean person when full.

ØWealth in an alien country is a homeland; poverty in your homeland is alienation.

ØContentment is a perpetual treasure.

ØYour friends are many when you count them; but in hardships they become few.

ØPeople are enemies of what they do not know.

ØGreed is eternal slavery.

ØA person who just observes others will die of grief.  Avoid the harm and trouble of someone you have helped.

Ø"O people know that the maturity in religion lies in the pursuit of knowledge and putting it into practice.  Indeed!  The pursuit of knowledge is more incumbent upon you than endeavor for livelihood; for, your livelihood has been apportioned and guaranteed by Allah the Just One and will be provided to you.  Knowledge is stored with its possessors and you have been commanded to acquire it from them."

ØMany quote knowledge and few note it in mind.

ØAllah's most complete gift is life based on knowledge.

ØThe innumerable fools have made the learned very scarce.

ØThe learned men are the living ones in the dead mass of ignorance.

ØKnowledge kills ignorance.

ØKnowledge gives life to the soul.

ØLittle knowledge of Allah damages conduct.

ØTo respect the learned is to respect Allah.  Knowledge creates fear of Allah.

ØPractice makes knowledge perfect.

ØTo teach is to learn.

 ØNoble character is the best companion of man.

ØVerily, Allah singled out and chose his blessed Prophets for nobility of their character.

ØIn good manners is hidden the wealth of good fortune.

ØThe malady of lying is the ugliest of diseases.

ØFalsehood is not good—whether in earnest or in jest.  It is not fit that any of you makes a promise to his child and not fulfill his promise.

ØThere is no evil greater than falsehood.

ØIt is Allah's desire that every man should have goodwill toward the rest of humanity.

ØLack of forgiveness in a man is his greatest shortcoming, and vindictiveness is the worst of transgressions.

ØEnhance your worthiness by overlooking matters of inconsequence.

ØA man's hypocrisy is due to degradation he experiences within himself.

ØVicious people take delight in publishing the vices of others, so that, they might thereby extend the ground of excuses for their own.

ØSelf-esteem exposes one's faults and failings.

ØTo covet praise which one does not deserve is foolishness.

ØBreach of promise incurs the detestation of Allah and man.

ØThe reasonable man is admonished politely and the beasts are upbraided with blows.

ØThe mettle of men is revealed in times of reverse.

ØAspire not for something you do not deserve.

ØEvery kind of excess in praise or blame is due to one's overindulgence and this is folly.

ØThe sense of shame dissuades one from disgraceful acts.

ØThe one who is fond of pleasure, subdued by sensual delights, and the other who is infatuated by gathering of wealth—none of these heed their faith in any matter.  That which comes closest to resemble them are the grazing cattle.

ØGood manners are an evidence of noble descent.

ØWhen a man's origin is noble, both his exterior and interior are honorable.

ØNo one conceals a matter in his heart but gives himself away in slips of the tongue or expressions of the face.

ØThe highest knowledge for man is the knowledge of his own self.

ØGather wisdom even from those who are astray.

ØThe greatest ignorance for man is his ignorance of his own self.

ØKnowledge is the compensation for mental exertion.

ØThe chief aim of knowledge is virtue.

ØFear of Allah is the final result of knowledge.

ØThe sum of excellency is knowledge.

ØWho teaches a letter binds me with a fetter.

ØThe best knowledge is what benefits its possessor.

ØKnowledge is life and health.

ØHumility is the outcome of knowledge.

ØThe learned man is alive though dead.

ØTo be successful, obey knowledge and discard ignorance.

ØThe wise man is the one who puts the right thing in its right place.

ØIt suffices: the wisdom to distinguish the path of guidance from the path of ignorance and sin.

ØTo be sure, the body has six states: health and malady, sleep and wakefulness, life and death; and similarly, the self: doubt is its malady and conviction its health; indifference is its slumber and vigilance its wakefulness; self-knowledge is its life and self-ignorance its death.

ØA wise man relies on his efforts and the fool relies on his hopes.

ØTo flatter and to envy are not in the nature of a Mu'min (a true believer), save, in the course of pursuit of knowledge.

ØThe one who scrutinizes his own self is benefited thereby, and the one who  overlooks it is lost.

ØKumayl ibn Ziyad, a Companion of the Imam, asked "Inform me about myself."  The Imam answered, "O Kumayl, which `self do you want to know about?'  "Master, is there more than one of them?,"  asked Kumayl in surprise.

   "O Kumayl," Imam Ali answered, "there are four: the growing Vegetative self, the perceiving Animal self, the venerable Rational self and the Angelic Divine self."

ØI wonder why people, when at night the dinner is brought for them, take trouble to light a lamp, that they may see what goes into their bellies, but while gorging their spirits, do not take care to light up the doors of their minds that they may eschew the appendages of ignorance and sin from finding a way into their beliefs and actions.

ØGood etiquette is the best inheritance that parents can leave behind for their children.

ØThere is no inheritance like good breeding.

ØOne who does not learn in his early years will not lead in his later ones.

ØNone of you should ever feel embarrassed when asked about something you do not know; just admit your ignorance.

ØOnce, during his reign, when a quantity of honey was brought to the public treasury, Imam Ali, the Prince of the Believers, asked for the orphans to be brought to him; and while he distributed it, himself fed the orphans.  When people expressed wonder at his action, he told them, "The Imam is the father of the orphans and so I feed them like a father would have."

ØInstruct the orphan in the manner you educate your own child; if you punish him, punish him like you would your own child.