1. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Piety, concealment of the good actions, steadfastness against disasters, and suppression of the misfortunes are within the treasures of Paradise.
2. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The best friend is good mannerism. It is the title of the believers’ record books.
3. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The true abstinent in this world is he whose tolerance is not overcome by the ill-gotten matters and whose gratitude is not engaged by the legal gotten matters.
4. Maulana Ali (‘as) wrote to Abdullah Ibn Abbas: So then, a man becomes delighted if he catches up the things that he would never miss and becomes unhappy if he misses the things that he would never catch up. You should be delighted only for the things of the next life that you have caught up, and should be sorry only for the things of the next life that you have missed. Do not be excessively happy for gaining a worldly pleasure and do not be excessively unhappy for missing it. All your concern should be for that which will occur to you after death.
5. Maulana Ali (‘as) said about the censure of this world:
It begins with hardship and ends with decline. Judgment will be set for its legally gotten things and punishment will be sentenced for its ill-gotten things. If somebody is healthy in it, he will feel secure, and if he becomes ill, he will be sorrowful. If he becomes wealthy, he will be seditious and if he becomes poor, he will be sad. He whoever runs for it will miss it, and he whoever disregards it will gain it. It will blind him whoever gazes at it and will teach him whoever looks at it properly.
6. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
When you cherish someone, you should cherish him moderately for he may be your enemy someday, and when you hate someone, you should hate him moderately for he may be your friend someday.
7. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
No wealth like intelligence and no poverty harsher than ignorance.
8. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The value of a man is what he does expertly.
9. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Fear is attached to disappointment, and pudency is attached to deprivation. Wisdom is the lost property of the believer who should seek it even if it is found with the evil ones.
10. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Had the scholars carried knowledge properly, God and the angels as well as all people of obedience would have cherished them. Unfortunately, they carried knowledge for seeking worldly pleasures; therefore, God abominated them and people disgraced them.
11. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Tolerance, silence, and expecting the Relief are the best of worship.
12. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Each crisis has an end at which it will definitely fade away. If you are encountering a crisis, you should submit and be patient until it passes away. Any attempt to find a solution will not solve the problem. It will make it worse.
13. Maulana Ali (‘as) said to Malik al-Ashtar:
O Malik, retain and understand the following wording: O Malik, the owners of weak conviction are disregarding their personality. He whoever takes greed as his slogan is disgracing himself. He whoever publicizes his problem is satisfied with humility. He whoever shows others his secrets is disrespecting himself. He whoever makes his tongue as his leader is perishing himself. Greed is the butcher of the personality. He who intrudes himself in various sorts of acts will surely be disappointed by his desire. Stinginess is dishonor. Cowardice is shortcoming. Piety is a shelter. Thankfulness is fortune. Patience is bravery. The poor is strange in his homeland. Poverty pre-vents the intelligent from providing his arguments. Satisfaction is the best comrade. Good manners are new garments. The rank of a man is his mind. A man’s chest is the store of his secrets. Verification is prudence. Thinking is a fine mirror. Forbearance is a virtuous character. Almsgiving is an effective medicine. The current actions will be in front of their doers later on. Learning examples is a good warner. Good humor is the trap of amiability.
14. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The rank of patience to faith is as same as the rank of the head to the body. Hence, the impatient are faithless.
15. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
You are in respite followed by a deadline. With you there is the hope that precludes you from acting good deeds. Seize the opportunity of respite, take the initiative to the deadline, distrust the hope, and do as much as possible. Is there an opportunity of avoidance, escape, getaway, shelter, or refuge or not? How are you then turned away?
16. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
I command you to adhere to God-fearing because it is surely the delight of the suppliant seeker of God’s mercy and favors and the confidence of the homeless seeker of asylum. Betake God-fearing as a hidden slogan and mention God so purely that you will have the best life and will be led to the courses of safety. Look at this world with the eye of the abstinent that is about to leave it, because it surely dislodges the relaxed resident and distresses the secure luxurious. Whatever passes away from it is no longer expected and whatever is to come is not realized so that it will be awaited. Its comfort is connected to its trouble and its survival is connected to its bereavement. Its pleasure is mixed with grief and its survival is mixed with weakness and feebleness.
17. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Vanity comes from tyranny. Tyranny comes from arrogance. Arrogance comes from conceit. The Shaytan is a present enemy who promises falsely. Muslims are brothers. Do not disappoint each other and do not impute dishonor to each other. The canons of the religion are the same and its courses are clear. He who embraces these courses will catch up, he who departs them will surely fall behind, and he who leaves them will surely apostatize. A Muslim should never say untruth when he speaks, never breach when he promises, and never betray when something is deposited with him.
18. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Intelligence is the intimate friend of the believer, clemency is his supporter, clemency is his father, and lenience is his brother. The intelligent must enjoy three characters—he must think of his affairs, control his tongue (against saying bad wording), and realizes the nature of the time he is living in. Certainly, poverty is a branch of misfortune. Illness of bodies is harsher than poverty. Ill-heartedness is harsher than illness of body. Certainly, financial prosperity is one of the graces. Physical soundness is better than financial prosperity. The true God-fearing is better than physical soundness.
19. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A believer should divide his time into three parts—he should supplicate to his Lord secretly in one, settle an account with himself in the second, and permit himself to enjoy the good and legal pleasures in the third. The intelligent should not be attentive except in three manners—when he tries to improve his livelihood, when he tries to step forward for the life to come, and when he tries to gain a lawful pleasure.
20. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Many are those whom are tempted by receiving graces, many are those whom are trapped by the concealment of their flaws, and many are those whom are cheated by wording of praise. God has never used a means of test more infelicitous than respite. God the Majestic says:
We only give them time to let them increase their sins. (3:178).
21. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
You should gather in your heart the need for people and the dispensing with them. You may have the need for people through showing good wording and good humor with them, and you may have the dispensing with them through the candor of your honor and the continuity of your power.
22. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do not be angry and do not enrage others. Exchange greetings and use good wording.
23. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The generous becomes lenient when his clemency is beseeched, but the mean becomes more severe when he is treated kindly.
24. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
May I tell you of the true scholar? He is that who does not permit people to act disobediently to God and does not make them despair of His mercy, does not make them feel secure from God’s retribution and does not substitute anything for the Qur’an. Adoration without comprehension, knowledge without pondering (over things), and recitation without understanding—all these are valueless.
25. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
When God will gather people, for judgment, a caller will declare: O people, today, the most favorable to God will be the most fearful of Him. The most preferable to God will be the best doers of good acts. The closest to God will be the most desirous for gaining what He has in possession through acting. The most honorable to God will be the most God-fearing.
26. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
I wonder at those who protect themselves against having harmful food, how do they not protect themselves from committing sins so that they will be saved from Hell? I wonder at those who purchase slaves with their money, why do they not purchase the free through doing favors to them? Good and evil cannot be recognized with any means other than people. If you want to recognize good, you should do it so as to know its people, and if you want to recognize evil, you should do it so as to know its people.
27. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
For you, I am only afraid of two things—prolonged hope and pursuance of passions. The pro-longed hope makes you forget the life to come, and the pursuance of passions precludes you from the right.
28. A man from Basra asked Maulana Ali (‘as) about the qualifications of friends. He answered:
There are two kinds of friends—friends of confidence and friends of grimace. The friends of confidence are the refuge, the wing, the folks, and the wealth. If you confide in your friend, you should provide your wealth and help to him. You should also befriend him who befriends him and antagonize him who antagonizes him. You should keep his secrets and defects and publicize his good conducts. You should know, O asker, that the friends of confidence are as scanty as red sulfur. Regarding the friends of grimace, you gain from them only your pleasure; therefore, you should not deprive them of your pleasure. Do not ask them for any further thing. Give them happy mien and good wording as long as they give you their happy mien and good wording.
29. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do not befriend the enemy of your friend lest you become the enemy of your friend.
30. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do not desert your friend due to suspicion and do not leave him before you blame him.
31. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A Muslim should avoid befriending three categories of people: the sinful, the foolish, and the liars. The sinful shows you his evildoings as good deeds, wants you to be like him, and does not help you in the affairs of your religion and your life to come. It is rude and tough to befriend such an individual whose visit to you brings you dishonor. The foolish does not advise you of good and is not expected to save you from any problem even if he does his best. Moreover, he may harm you as he intends to benefit you. His death is better than his life, his silence is better than his words, and his remoteness is better than his closeness. The liar will deprive you of any pleasant life with him. He tells others of your conducts and relates to you the others’ conducts. Whenever he finishes from telling a lie, he invents another to the degree that even his true sayings cannot be believed. He sows enmity between people to plant malice in their hearts. Fear God and consider for yourselves.
32. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do not care when you associate with the intelligent even if you are deprived of his generosity. You may benefit by his intelligence, but be cautions of his ill manners. Do not neglect associating with the generous even if you are deprived of benefiting by his intelligence. You may benefit by his generosity for your mind. Escape as remote as possible from the mean foolish individuals.
33. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Steadfastness is of three sorts—steadfastness against misfortunes, steadfastness in (performing) the acts of obedience to God, and steadfastness by the avoidance of the acts of disobedience to Him.
34. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
It will be quite worthy for those who are able to prevent themselves from enjoying the following four characters to be saved from encountering any detestable matter. These four characters are rashness, disputation, self-conceit, and indolence.
35.Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Deeds are either obligatory, recommendable, or acts of disobedience. Regarding the obligatory deeds, the servants of God practice them under God’s order, will, satisfaction, knowledge, and arrangement. Hence, they save themselves from God’s punishment through carrying out such obligatory deeds. The recommendable deeds are not God’s order, yet they are done under His will, satisfaction, knowledge, and arrangement. As the servants act such deeds, they are rewarded for them. Regarding the acts of disobedience (to God), they are done not for God’s order, will, and satisfaction. Yet, they are done under His knowledge and arrangement. He arranges their times but the servants commit them optionally; therefore, God punishes them for committing such acts of disobedience. This is because God has warned the servants against them, but they did not obey.
36. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O people, God enjoys a right (that is incumbent upon you) in every favor He bestows. He will increase them who thank Him (for that favor), while those who do not show gratitude are risking the removal of these favors and dragging God’s punishment nearer to them. You should show God that you are fearful of the removal of the favors and terrible for committing sins.
37. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who encounters poverty and does not believe that such a situation has been God’s favor to him is surely wasting an expected errand. He who is given wealth but does not believe that it has been a means of test is feeling secure from an alarmed matter.
38. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O people, supplicate to God to provide you with conviction and beseech to Him to grant you good health. Good health is surely the best of graces, and Conviction is the best thing that perpetuates in the heart. The true wronged is that who wrongs his religion. The true happy is that whose conviction is proper.
39. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
No one can find the true taste of faith before he believes that whatever befalls him would never miss him and whatever missed him would never befall him.
40. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The harshest misfortunes that a believer may suffer are the deprivation of three things—the con-solation with wealth, self-equity, and very much reference to God. I do not mean that you mention God by phrases such as ‘Praise to God’ and ‘Glory to God’, but you should refer to Him by adhering to the halal and refraining from the haram.
41. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who satisfies himself with only what suffices him from the worldly affairs will be sufficed with the least of it, but whoever is dissatisfied with what suffices him nothing at all will suffice him.
42. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Death is preferred to meanness and endurance is preferred to anxiety. This life consists of two days—one for you and one against you. On the day that is for you, you should not behave vainly, and on the day that is against you, you should not be grieved because both days are tests for you.
43. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do favor to whomever you want and he will be your prisoner.
44. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Flattery and envy are not within the characters of a believer except when they are used for seeking studies.
45. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The supports of atheism are four. They are desire for the worldly pleasures, fear from missing any worldly pleasure, dissatisfaction with the acts of God, and anger.
46. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Patience is the key to the achievement, and success is the end result of the patient. For every seeker of a matter there is a definite time that is controlled by the destiny.
47. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Tongue is a measure that is lowered by ignorance and outweighed by mind.
48. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
For those who avenge themselves improperly, God will inflict humility upon them. Certainly, God is the enemy of whatever He detests.
49. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who seeks good will never feel perplexed and he who seeks others ’consult will never feel sorry.
50. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Countries were constructed because of patriotism.
51. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who observes the following three matters will be happy: You should thank God for every grace that you gain, you should seek God’s forgiveness whenever your earnings fail to reach you, and you should say, ‘All power and might belong to God’39 whenever a misfortune inflicts you.
52. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Sciences are three—jurisprudence for the knowledge of religions, medicine for the cure of the bodies, and grammar for the correction of the language.
53. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
God’s rights (that are incumbent upon His servants) in difficulty are satisfaction and patience, and His rights in ease are praise and gratitude.
54. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Avoidance of sins is easier than seeking (the acceptance of) repentance. Often a one-hour passion may bring about a time-consuming grief. Death is the sign of the scandal and valueless of this world. It did not leave any moment of happiness for the intelligent and did not leave any moment of pleasure for the attentive.
55. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Knowledge is the leader, act is the driver, and the soul is balky.
56. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
You should hope for the unexpected more than the expected. As he went for fetching a kindle of fire for his family, Moses (‘as) was back with prophecy after God had spoken with him. As she went out, the queen of Sheba converted to Islam with Solomon the prophet (‘as). Similarly, the sorcerers of the Pharaoh went for supporting the king, but they went back with faith.
57. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
People’s similarity to their rulers is more than their similarity to their fathers.
58. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O people, you should know that he who is upset because of a false wording that is said about him is not intelligent, and whoever is satisfied with the praise of the ignorant is not wise. People are the sons of what they do expertly. The value of every man is what he does expertly. Discuss matters of knowledge so that your posts will be recognized.
59. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
God’s mercy be upon him who observes his Lord, abstains from committing sins, challenges his passions, distrusts his expectations, ties himself to God-fearing with reins, and binds himself to the fear of the Lord with bridles to lead it to the obedience with its reins and prevents it from committing acts of disobedience with its bridle. He raises his sight to the world to come, expects death in any moment, thinks ceaselessly, stays up for nights, abstains from the worldly pleasures, works hard for the life to come, and betakes patience as the pack animal of his safety and God-fearing as the provisions of his death and the remedy of his malady. As he pondered and measured, he knew the reality of this world and people. He learns for understanding and opting for straightforwardness. His heart is pierced by the mention of the world to come; therefore, he folded his bed and deserted his pillow. His desire for what is there with God is so great, and his fear from God is so intense. He shows less than what he conceals and suffices with less than what he knows. Such individuals are surely God’s deposits on the earth and the means by whom He saves the servants from misfortunes. They fulfill their pledges with God so perfectly. The last of their prayer is ‘All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds.’
60. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Earnings are given the authority on foolishness, deprivation is bound to mind, and misfortune is bound to patience.
61. As a consolation for the death of Abdurrahman, Al-Ash’ath’s brother, Maulana Ali (‘as) said to him:
If you show impatience, then you are fulfilling the right of Abdurrahman (that is incumbent upon you). But if you show patience then you are fulfilling the right of God. Nevertheless, if you show patience, you will suffer the matter while you are praised, and if you show impatience, you will suffer it while you are dispraised.
Al-Ash’ath said: We are Allah’s and to Him we will return. Maulana Ali (‘as) asked: Do you know the interpretation of your saying? Al- Ash’ath replied: You are surely the utmost and best of knowledge. The Imam (‘as) said:
Your saying, ‘We are Allah’s,’ is a confession of God’s possession of everything, while your saying, ‘To Him we will return,’ is a confession of death.
62. One day, Maulana Ali (‘as) rode a pack animal and some people walked with him. As he noticed so, he said:
Do you not know that walking with the rider ruins the manners of the rider and humiliate the walker? Leave me now.
63. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Matters are of three kinds: a matter the guidance of which is clear; hence, you should follow it, a matter the misguidance of which is clear; hence, you should avoid it, or a matter that is confused; hence, you should refer to those who can solve its confusion.
64. One day, Jabir asked Maulana Ali (‘as): “How was your morning, Amir al-Mu’minin?” He answered:
We began this morning with the innumerable graces of our Lord while we have innumerable acts of disobedience to Him. We do not know whether we should first thank Him for the nice graces that He is dispersing on us or for our bad deeds that He is covering up.
65. As he consoled Abdullah Ibn Abbas for the death of one of his babies, Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A misfortune that inflicts someone other than you while its reward is yours is better for me than a misfortune that inflicts you while its reward is another’s. Hence, the reward is yours not by you, and the consolation is said to you not because of you, and God may recompense you in the same way that He recompensed from you.
66. As he was asked about pure repentance, Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A pure repentance is feeling of sorrow in the heart, seeking forgiveness with the tongue (by utterance), and the intention not to do so ever again.
67. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
You have been created by ability and you have (been under the power of) the Lord compulsorily. You will inevitably lean in graves, become debris, be resurrected individually, and be condemned in judgment. God’s mercy be upon the servant who confesses of his commitment (of sins), acts due to his fear (of God), watches out and takes the initiative (in doing good deeds), notices the examples and learns lessons from them, listens to the warning and abstains (from doing evil), responds and returns (to God), seeks guidance and patterns (after the example), searches by means of seeking, escapes by means of running away, takes supplies, has relaxed conscience, readies for the day to come, equips himself for the day of his departure, direction of his course, manner of his need, and place of his poverty, and supplies himself with what he will need for his eternal abode. Arrange for yourselves. The people of the youth’s opulence should not wait for anything other than the bending of senility; people of good health should wait for nothing other than the mishaps of ailment, and people of survival should not wait for anything other than the surprise of termination, nearness of the deadline, and the imminence of doom.
68. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Fear God like the fear of him who disrobes everything and prepares himself for it, strives distinctively, shrinks leisurely, worries fearfully, and regards the unavoidable turn, the end result, and the consequence of the deeds. God is surely sufficient punisher and supporter, Paradise is sufficient reward and attainment, Hell is definite punishment and example, and God’s Book is sufficient arguer and adversary.
69. As a man asked Maulana Ali (‘as) about Sunna, heresy, discrepancy, and congruity, he answered:
The Sunna is the traditions of the Rasulullah (SAW). Heresy is whatsoever opposes the Sunna. Discrepancy is the wrong party regardless of their great numbers. Congruity is the right party regardless of their little number. A servant of God should not hope for anything other than his Lord and should not fear anything other than his guilt. Scholars should not be embarrassed by saying, ‘God is the most knowledgeable,’ when they cannot find an answer for the question that is addressed to him. The rank of patience for faith is as same as the rank of the head for the body.
70. As a man asked him for an advice, Maulana Ali (‘as) said to him:
I advise you not to state a limit for the numerousness of deeds of charity and not to state a limit for the scantiness of acts of disobedience to God.
71. As a man asked him for an advice, Maulana Ali (‘as) said to him:
Do not think of poverty and longevity.
72. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The religious people enjoy certain distinctive features: truthfulness, custody of deposits, fulfillment of pledges, regard of the relatives, merciful treatment for the weak, lack of copulation with their wives, doing favors, good mannerism, broad-mindedness, and pursuance of knowledge as well as whatever brings near to God. They will receive abundant blessings and the best eternal dwelling.
73. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Long hope will unavoidably lead to the negligence of acting good deeds.
74. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The most similar thing to son of Adam (man) is the scales, since people are either imperfect due to ignorance or outbalancing due to knowledge.
75. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
To revile at the believers is defection, to fight them is atheism, and their wealth is as sacred as their blood (soul).
76. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Offer your soul and wealth to your friend, offer your equity and fairness for your enemy, and offer your courtesy and charity for people. Greet people so that they will greet you.
77. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
In this world, the masters of people are the openhanded, while in the world to come the God-fearing will be the masters.
78. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Definitely, I encounter one of two things. One is not mine. It was not given to me in the past and I will not hope for it in the future. The other thing is mine. I will never obtain it in other than its proper time even if I use the entire power of the heavens and the earth. Then, why should I cause my life to fade away for any of these two matters?
79. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The true believer is that who learns lessons from what he sees, ponders over things when he is silent, mentions God when he speaks, thanks (God) when he is rich, and becomes patient when a trouble befalls him. He is near to satisfaction and far from discontent. He is pleased with the few gifts of God and does not show frustration for the many troubles. His good intentions are too many to be applied. He intends a lot of good but can do only a part of them and sighs for the good deeds that he missed. The hypocrite, on the other hand, is that who plays when he sees, omits when he is silent, talks nonsense when he speaks, exceeds the bonds when he is rich, and wails when a misfortune befalls him. He is near to discontent and far from satisfaction. He is displeased when he receives few gifts from God and is not satisfied with the much. He intends many evildoings but he can do only a part of them and sighs for the ill deeds that he missed.
80. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
This world and the next world are two hostile antagonists and two opposing courses. He whoever loves and accedes to this world will hate and antagonize the world to come. They are like east and west. He whoever walks between them will be remoter and remoter from one of them when he draws near to the other.
81. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who fears the threat of God will see the remote as close to him. He who is not satiated with the food of this world will not be sufficient with whatever he collects. He who runs after this world will surely miss it and whoever leaves it will surely catch it. This world is just like a shad-ow that is extended to a limited time. God’s mercy be upon the servant who comprehends the wording of wisdom that he listens to, draws near to the guidance to which he is called, clings to the neck of a true guide to save himself, provides well-intended deeds, acts good deeds, supplies for himself, avoids the inconvenience, hits the target, gains a remuneration, challenges his passion, distrusts his hope, takes patience as the pack animal of his safety and God-fearing as the equipment of his death, adheres to the venerable course and the clear way, seizes the opportunity, prepares or the time to come, and supplies himself with as much as possible deeds.
82. Maulana Ali (‘as) asked a man about his manner. The man answered, “We hope and fear.” The Imam (‘as) spoke:
He who hopes for something should seek it, and whoever fears something should escape it. I do not know the reality of the fear of a man who does not neglect the passion that he faces and I do not know the reality of the hope of a man who does not show steadfastness against a misfortune that befalls him for the sake of obtaining what he hopes for.
83. Abaya Ibn Rab’i asked Maulana Ali (‘as) about the ability by which we can stand erect, sit, and do things. The Imam (‘as) answered, “You asked about the ability. Do you possess it with or without God?” Abaya could not find any answer. The Imam then said, “If you claim you possess it without God, I will kill you. And if you claim you possess it with God, I will kill you, too.” “What should I say, then?” asked Abaya. The Imam said:
You possess it by the way of God who possesses it exclusively. If He gives you a part of it, then He is bestowing upon you, and if He seizes it from you, that will be a kind of His test. He is the possessor of the ability that He gives to you and He is the prevailing on the matters that you can do.
84. Al-Asbagh Ibn Nubata said: I heard Amir al-Mu’minin (‘as) saying, “I will speak of the wording that every Muslim should comprehend.” He then approached us and said:
Allah is too generous and glorious to punish anew the believer that He punishes in this world. Likewise, He is too generous and glorious to cancel the forgiveness that He provides for a believer in this world when He covers up his defect. God may strike a misfortune in the body, wealth, or family member.
He then recited God’s saying:
Whatever hardship befalls you is the result of your own deeds. God pardons many of your sins. (42:30).
Before he recited the last statement, Maulana Ali (‘as) contained his hands and repeated the statement three times.
85. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Shutting the mouth is the first stage of rupture of relations. Never feel sorry for the bored. The ugliest reward is the bad turn.
86. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The first of self-conceitedness is the ruin of the mind. He who can control his tongue will be safe from the problems that it originates. He who cannot amend his manners will suffer many defects. He whose manners are ill will be detested by his family members. A single word often spoils the grace. Thanks, is a shelter against sedition. Dignity is the head of personality. Submission is the interceder of the guilty. The origin of determination is the avoidance of going into suspicious matters. The treasures of provisions lie in the broadness of mannerism.
87. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Misfortunes are distributed among the creatures equally. Do not despair because of your sin while the portals of repentance are open. Right guidance lies in the opposition of passions. Death is the history of hope. Looking at the stingy causes hard-heartedness. Looking at the foolish darkens the eye. Generosity is intelligence and meanness is inadvertence.
88. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Poverty is the grand death. Fewness of the dependents is one of the two facilities. It is the half of the livelihood. Care is the half of senility. The moderate will never be needy and the seeker of others’ consult will never fail. Favors are worthless unless they are done to the highborn or the religious. The very happy is that who learns lessons from others. The wronged is neither praised nor rewarded. Piety is everlasting and the sin will not be overlooked.
89. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Do favors and you will gain admiration. Carry gratefulness as slogan and the intelligent will perceive you. Avoid curiosity and the foolish will leave you. Respect your sitters and your sessions will be full (of attendants). Protect the foreigner and your neighborhood will be desirable. Treat people fairly and you will be trusted. Adhere to the high traits because they are exaltation. Be-ware of the mean manners because they humiliate the masters and ruin the glory.
90. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Satisfy yourself and you will gain dignity.
91. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Patience is a shelter against poverty. Care is the sign of destitute. Moderation is the avoidance of indigence. Admonition is the haven of him who seeks its refuge.
92. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He whose dress is chosen by knowledge will have his defects screened from people.
93. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The envious cannot enjoy nice life. The bored cannot be given amiability. The liars are lacking personality.
94. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Keep your dignity up by means of loneliness.
95. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Every powerful that is under God’s control is humble.
96. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
People perish due to two things—fear of poverty and seeking of pride.
97. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O people, beware of fondness of this world, because it is the head of every sin, the door to every misfortune, the companion of every sedition, and the caller to every disaster.
98. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The whole good is gathered in three characters—consideration, silence, and wording. Every consideration that lacks learning lessons is inattention, every silence that lacks thinking is inadvertence, and every wording that lacks the mention of God is nonsense. Blessed are those whose consideration teaches them lessons, whose silence causes them to think, whose wording is mention of God, who weep for their sins, and save people from their evil.
99. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
How strange is this man! He becomes happy when he gains that which would never miss him, and becomes sad when he misses that which he would never catch. Had he thought, he would have realized that everything is planned and his earnings are predestined. He would have also sufficed with the available and would not have gone into the hard.
100. As he passed by marts, Maulana Ali Amir al-Mu’minin (‘as) used to say:
O tradesmen, seek good from God before doing anything else, seek blessing by dealing with people leniently, come near to the purchasers, adorn yourselves with clemency, avoid swearing, avoid telling lies, be away from oppression, be fair with the oppressed, do not approach usury, give a full measure, weigh (things) with a right balance, do not wrong men of their things, and do not act corruptly in the earth, making mischief.
101. As he was asked about the best and the worst creations of God, Maulana Ali (‘as) answered:
Wording is the best and the worst thing that God created. By means of wording, some faces be-come white and by means of wording, some faces become black.
102. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Say good wording and it will be your distinctive feature. Do good deeds and you will be reckoned with its people.
103. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
When a misfortune befalls you, sacrifice your wealth for your souls. When a disaster befalls you, sacrifice your souls for your religion. You should realize that the very perishing one is that who causes his religion to spoil and the very usurped one is that whose religion is stolen from him. It is surely there will be no poverty after Paradise and no prosperity after Hell.
104. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
No one will find the true taste of faith before he neglects telling lies whether seriously or jokingly.
105. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A Muslim should avoid associating with the liars, because the liars will not be believed even when they tell truths.
106. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The gravest sin is to seize the wealth of a Muslim wrongly.
107. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who fears retaliation will abstain from oppressing people.
108. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
I have never seen like the wrong envious who is most similar to the wronged.
109. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The wrongdoer, his supporter, and the one who desires for wrongdoing are three partners of the same evil.
110. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Steadfastness is of two forms: steadfastness against misfortunes. It is good and fair. Steadfast-ness that is better and fairer is the ability to avoid what God has forbidden for you. Similarly, the reference to God is of two forms. There is the mention of God when a misfortune befalls. It is surely good and fair. The mention of God that is better and fairer is to mention Him before matters that He has forbidden you to do. Therein, the mention of God will screen you from commit-ting such deeds.
111. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O Allah, do not cause me to need any of the evils. When I need, make my need with the best humored, the most generous, the most eloquent, and the less referrer to the favor that he has done to me.
112. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Blessed are those who exchange intimate terms with people for the sake of obedience to God.
113. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A form of the true faith is that a servant should prefer honesty until he stops telling lies totally even in situations when lie is helpful. A man should not say anything with which he does not have full knowledge.
114. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Keep the deposits even if their owners were the murderers of the Rasulullahs’ sons.
115. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
God-fearing is the origin of faith.
116. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The humiliation of obedience to God is more favorable than the honor of the disobedience to God.
117. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Wealth and sons are the harvest of this world, and the good deed is the harvest of the world to come. God has given some people both.
118. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
On a page of the Torah, the following words are inscribed:
He who begins his day with grief for a worldly affair is surely dissatisfied with God’s act. Any believer who complains a misfortune that befalls him to a person of another belief is surely com-plaining against his Lord to the enemies. Two thirds of the religion of him who behaves humbly before a rich man so as to get his prize. The dead reciters of the Qur’an whom are sent to Hell are certainly those who mock the Verses of God.
On another page (of the Torah), the following words are inscribed:
He who does not seek the advice of others will surely be sorry. He who prefers money to every-thing else is destroying himself. Poverty is the grand death.
119. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The core of a man is his tongue, his mind is his religion, and his personality is the situation that he chooses for himself. Earnings are distributed. Days are changeable. To Adam, all people return equally.
120. Maulana Ali (‘as) said to Kumayl Ibn Ziyad:
Slow down and you will not suffer scandals. Hide your personality and you will not be mentioned. Learn and you will know. Keep silent and you will be safe. When God guides you to the religion, you should not care whether people know you or you know them.
121. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who does not humor those who he has to humor is not wise.
122. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
You should hope for no one other than the Lord, not fear anything other than your guilt, not be embarrassed to say, ‘I do not know’ when you do not know, and you should not feel too haughty to learn what you do not know. These four matters are so great that it is so easy for you to ride for long time so as to get them.
123. Maulana Ali (‘as) wrote to Abdullah Ibn Al-Abbas:
So then, seek only what concerns you and leave what does not concern you. Through leaving what does not concern you, you will get what concerns you. You will be tried for what you have done, not what you have left behind you. Opt for the deeds by the results of which you will benefit in the morrow. Peace be upon you.
124. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The best things that cause people love each other and remove hatred from the hearts of the enemies are showing good humor in meetings, asking about them when they are absent, and receiving them with happy miens when they are present.
125. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
No one can find the true taste of faith before he believes that whatever befalls him would never miss him and whatever missed him would never befall him.
126. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O Lord, how unlucky is he whose eye and heart do not consider the greatness of Your royalty and power beside the greatness of Your royalty and power that his eye and heart did not see! The unluckier is surely that whose eye and heart do not belittle Your royalty and power that he saw and did not see beside Your greatness and glory. Lord, You are the Only God Whom I glorify. I have certainly done wrong to myself.
127. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
This world is only termination, suffering, raids, and lessons. As a form of its termination is that you see that the bows of time are strung, its arrows are put to use, its spears are not missing the target, and its wounds are incurable. It hits the healthy with ailment and hits the alive with death. As a form of the suffering of this world is that man gathers while he will not have what he gathers and builds but he will not reside in what he builds. Then he leaves to God without being able to carry the wealth or use his building. As a form of the raids of this world is that you imminently see the lucky change into unlucky and the unlucky change into lucky. Between the two, there is nothing more than the luxury that vanished and the misery that befell. As a form of the lessons of this world is that a man becomes very near to achieve his expectation but suddenly death captures him. Thus, neither the expectation is achievable nor the hopeful is left free. Glory be to God! Its pleasure is so cheating, its satiation is so thirsting, and its shade is so unattainable, as if whatever is in it did not exist, and whatever will occur in it had already occurred. However, the life to come is the abode of the eternal residence and settlement where there is Paradise and Hell. Due to patience, the disciples of God will obtain their rewards and will achieve their hopes through their good deeds.
128. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The most favorable way to God is two doses: the dose of ire that is refuted by clemency and the dose of grief that is refuted by patience. The most favorable way to God is two drops: a drop of tear in midnight and a drop of blood (that is offered) for God’s sake. The most favorable way to God is two steps: a step of the Muslim towards strengthening the rows of the fighters for God’s sake and a step to regard the relatives. This step is preferred to the first.
129. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A true friend is that who regards in misfortunes, absence, and after death.
130. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The hearts of the ignorant are stirred up by greed, captured by hopes, and locked up by trickeries.
131. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
I will pardon him who enjoys a good character, but I will not pardon those who lose their mind or religion. This is because the loss of religion means the loss of security. Life with fear is worth-less. Likewise, loss of mind means loss of life. Hence, the losers of life are compared only to the dead.
132. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
He who puts himself in situations of accusation should not blame those who doubt him. He who conceals his secrets will have his decisions in the hand.
133. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
God will punish the Arabs for their extremism, the lords for their arrogance, the rulers for their inequity, the scholars for their envy, the tradesmen for their fraud, and the villagers for their ignorance.
134. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O people, fear God. The steadfastness in God-fearing is surely more acceptable than God’s punishment.
135. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The ascesis in this world is to neglect expectation, thank (God) for every grace, and refrain from whatever God has forbidden.
136. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
When things were combined, indolence and incapacity combined and produced poverty.
137. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Days are surely three. One passed and you do not hope for it, the second is present and you will unavoidably meet it, and the third is the day to come and you cannot trust it. Yesterday was ad-monition, today is a good opportunity, and tomorrow is unknown who will live for it. Yesterday was an accepted witness, today is faithful keeper, and tomorrow will leave you as soon as you catch it. Its absence will be long. It will come to you and you will not go to it.
O people, survival will certainly come after termination. It is just we have inherited those who preceded us and we will be inherited by the coming ones. By means of that which you will surely leave, reform that which you will surely come to encounter. Take the courses of good and do not feel lonely because of the fewness of the people who take such courses. Remember God’s good companionship in such courses. The loans should be given today so that the prizes will be gained tomorrow. We are only the branches of those origins that departed. How can the branches continue after their origins?
O people, if you prefer this world to the life to come you will take quick steps towards responding to the lowermost vanities, and the mounts of your hopes will take you to the endless point to water you from these springs which cause you sorrow and make you suffer the same pains of the past nations and the bygone ages who underwent the changes of manners and the punishments.
138. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Prayer is the offertory of the pious. Hajj is the jihad of the weak. Everything has its tax, and the tax of bodies is fasting. The best deed of a man is the expectation of the Relief. The instructors who do not apply their instructions to themselves are like those who try to shoot without having a string. He who is certain of the reward will give generously. Seek earnings through almsgiving. Protect your wealth by defraying the zakat. The moderate will never suffer neediness. Moderation is half of livelihood. Amicability is the half of intelligence. Care is the half of senility.
Fewness of dependents is one of the two facilities. To depress the parents is impiety to them. As for those who beat the hand on the thigh in misfortunes, their rewards will be cancelled. Favors are worthless unless they are done to the highborn or the religious. God endows with patience inasmuch as the (measure of) misfortune. God will endow the moderate with earnings and will deprive the squanderer of them. Keeping of the trusts brings about earnings and treachery brings about poverty. If God wants the good of an ant, He will not create a wing for it.
139. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
The pleasures of this world are trash and its heritage is only a jumble. Subsistence in this world is better than amassment. To neglect it is safer than to feel secure of it. Poverty is the sentence of those who seek excessive pleasures from it. Rest is the result of those who desert it. It will cause blindness to anyone who is admired by its beauty, and will fill in the heart of anyone who feels fond of it with griefs that dance on the core of his heart like the dancing of butter on the edges of a water skin. He will suffer a grief that saddens him and another that engages him until he loses forbearance and the aortas of his heart are incised. Then he will be laid on the ground and it is surely easy for God to catch his soul and for the pious to find him a place of burial. The believer should look at this world with the eye of learning lessons, have from its food like the obliged, and lend it the ear of hatred.
140. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Show clemency, for it is the intimate friend and the supporter of the believer. Likewise, knowledge is his guide, lenience is his brother, intelligence is his comrade, and patience is the commander of his troops.
141. As he noticed a man who exceeded the limits of asceticism, Maulana Ali (‘as) said to him:
O you, have not heard God’s saying:
And proclaim the bounties of your Lord? (93:11).
By God I swear, to thank God’s favors by means of deeds is certainly better than thanking them by means of words.
142. Maulana Ali said to his son Al-Hasan (peace be upon them):
I command you to fear God, offer the prayers in their proper time, and defray the zakat in their proper forms. I also command you to pardon the wrong, control your anger, regard your relatives, possess yourself before the ignorant, learn the religious affairs, verify (matters), lean to the Qur’an, opt for good neighborhood, bid good, forbid evil, and avoid all the evildoings and the acts of disobedience to God.
143. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
This world rests upon four supports: a scholar who applies his knowledge (to himself), a rich man who does favors generously, an ignorant who is not too arrogant to learn, and a poor man who does not vend his life to come with others’ worldly pleasures. Woe are the scholars who suspend acting upon their knowledge, the rich men who withhold giving, the ignorant who feel arrogant against learning, and the poor men who vend their lives to come with others’ worldly pleasures.
144. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
It will be quite worthy for those who are able to prevent themselves from enjoying the following four characters to be saved from suffering any detestable matter. These four characters are rash-ness, disputation, self-conceit, and indolence.
145. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
O servants of God, you should know that God-fearing is a well-fortified garrison while wicked-ness is an unprotected garrison that is too short to defend its people or save anyone who seeks its succor. Through God-fearing, the stings of sins are healed, through steadfastness in the obedience to God, His rewards are attained, and through conviction, the furthest target is hit. O servants of God, as He attracted the attentions of His disciples to the ways of salvation, God has not banned them from attaining such ways. Likewise, He has not made them despair of His mercy for their commitment of acts of disobedience to Him if they show repentance to Him.
146. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Silence is wisdom, abstinence from speaking is safety, and concealment is a part of happiness.
147. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
All matters are submissive to the predestined until defect occurs to the management.
148. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
A man’s personality is imperfect before he learns the religious questions, manages the affairs of his livelihood moderately, tolerates the misfortunes that befall him, and finds sweet the bitterness of his friends.
149. As he was asked about personality, Maulana Ali (‘as) said: Personality is to avoid doing a matter secretly if you feel embarrassed to do it openly.
150. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Seeking God’s forgiveness along with the insistence on committing the sin from which you seek forgiveness are additional sins.
151. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Settle the acknowledgement of what you worship in yourselves so that the movements of your organs will benefit you in the worship of what you acknowledge.
152. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
For him who dedicates his religion to the obtainment of his worldly pleasures, his reward will be only that which he has benefited through his religion.
153. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Faith is accepted saying, applied action, and acknowledgement in the minds.
154. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Faith stands on four supports: they are dependence upon God, entrustment with God, submission to the decision of God, and satisfaction with the acts of God.
Disbelief stands on four supports: they are the desire for the worldly pleasures, fear from missing any worldly pleasure, anger, and passion.
155. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
As for those who abstain from receiving the worldly pleasures, show steadfastness against the worldly humiliation, and do not compete with others on the worldly reputation, God will guide them without the mediation of anybody, instruct them directly, fix wisdom in their hearts, and make them speak of wisdom.
156. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
There are the servants of God who acted with their Lord purely secretly; therefore, He thanked their efforts purely appreciatively. On the Day of Resurrection, the records of those groups will pass empty. Then they stand before God, He will fill in them with what they acted with Him purely secretly.40
157. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Master your manners by the high traits, drive them into the nobilities of character, familiarize them with clemency, be steadfast against preferring others to your selves in the things that you most like, do not doubt people while you deal with them, raise your personalities by means of negligence of the mean affairs, keep the weak barely alive by the means of your positions and your support if you are unable to supply them with what they hope from you, do not investigate the hidden lest many people will investigate what is hidden from your affairs, keep yourselves away from lying for it is the meanest manner. It is also a sort of evil and a form of meanness. Elevate yourselves against analyzing matters that do not concern you.
158. Maulana Ali (‘as) said:
Term of death is certainly a sufficient protector. For every human being, God has assigned some angels to keep him so that he will not fall in a well, a wall will not fall on him, or a beast will not raven him. When his term of death falls, the keeping angels will leave him.