Nahj al-Balagha

From Ali (AS): The principal of the property is to be left intact, and one is to spend from its fruit. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 24)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The principal of one's wealth should be preserved, and giving should be from its fruit.

From Ali (AS): And wretchedness be to him whose adversaries before God are the poor, the destitute, the beggars, the repulsed, the debt-ridden, and the wayfarers. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 26)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Woe to him whose accusers before God are the poor and the needy, the destitute, the turned-away beggars, the debtors, and the stranded wayfarers — who demanded their due of him in its day, and he did not give it.

From Ali (AS): And whoever holds the trust in contempt and grazes in the pasture of treachery, and does not keep himself and his religion clear of it, has brought upon himself disgrace and shame in this world, and in the Hereafter he is more disgraced and more shamed. Truly the greatest treachery is treachery against the community, and the most hideous fraud is fraud against its leaders. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 26)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever holds the trust cheap and grazes freely in treachery (is reckless in it) and does not cleanse himself and his religion of it, has brought disgrace upon himself in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be more abased and more disgraced. And the greatest treachery is treachery against one's own people, and the most hideous fraud is fraud against the ruler of one's homeland.

From Ali (AS): Truly the God-fearing have attained the pleasure of renouncing this world while yet in this world, and they are certain that tomorrow, in their Hereafter, they will be the neighbors of God. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 27)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Truly the God-fearing both attain the pleasure of independence from this world, and hold the certainty that tomorrow, in the Hereafter, they will be guests in the neighborhood of God.

We note: that is, renunciation (zuhd) holds a pleasure which one must reach and taste.

From Ali (AS): Death cleaves closer to you than your own shadow; it is fastened to your forelocks, while the world is being rolled up behind you. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 27)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Death is nearer to you than your own shadow, and has settled itself upon your very foreheads; and the world, behind you, is continually being rolled up.

From Ali (AS): And do not anger God to please any of His creatures; for in God there is a substitute for all else, but there is no substitute for God in anything else. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 27)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of buying the wrath of God for the sake of pleasing some person! Seek always the pleasure of God, for once you have gained God's pleasure you need no one else; but the approval of creatures will never suffice you.

From Ali (AS): Every part of your works is subordinate to your prayer. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 27)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: All your deeds follow upon your prayer. We note: that is, if you perform your prayer well and with presence of heart, the rest of your deeds and states will likewise become godly and filled with presence.

From Ali (AS): Leave off speaking of what you do not know, and addressing what you have not been charged with; and hold back from a road when you fear going astray on it — for holding back amid the bewilderment of straying is better than riding out into terrors. (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 31)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not speak of what you do not know, do not enter into what does not concern you, and shun a road whose leading astray you fear. For stopping in a moment of bewilderment is better than undertaking what is perilous.

From Ali (AS): And know, my son, that the dearest part of my counsel for you to take hold of is the fear of God, and confining yourself to what God has made obligatory upon you. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son, the most important of my counsels to you is to keep the fear of God, and to lay aside the things God has not asked of you!

We note: that is, confine yourself to what God has made obligatory upon you and for whose neglect He will one day call you to account; do not enter further than this into worldly affairs, and do not make yourself anxious.

From Ali (AS): Truly the Master of death is the Master of life; the Creator is the One who causes death; the Annihilator is the One who restores; and the One who afflicts is the One who grants well-being. Truly the world stands only upon what God has established for it — blessings and trial, and recompense at the Return. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He in whose hand is your death is He in whose hand is your life; the very One who created is the One who causes death; the One who causes death is Himself the One who brings back to life; and the One who has given well-being is Himself the One who arranges affliction. Know that the world turns upon the axis God has willed: it is God who arranges blessing and trial. This world has an end, and its end is the recompense of the Hereafter.

We note: that is, the joys and sorrows of life come neither by chance nor by striving; God sits behind its events, and it is a test for human beings, that they may be rewarded in the Hereafter.

From Ali (AS): My son, make yourself the measure between yourself and others: love for others what you love for yourself, and dislike for them what you dislike for yourself; do not wrong, as you would not wish to be wronged; do good, as you would wish good to be done to you; regard as ugly in yourself what you regard as ugly in another; be content with from people what you would be content to give them from yourself; do not say what you do not know — even if what you know be little — and do not say what you would not wish to be said to you. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son, in whatever passes between you and another, make yourself the measure. Approve for the other what you approve for yourself, and do not wish upon another what you do not wish for yourself; do not oppress, just as you would not wish to be oppressed; do good, just as you would love good to be done to you; count ugly in yourself whatever you count ugly in another; accept from people with contentment the same that you would deem right from yourself toward them. Do not speak of what you do not know — even though what you know be little — and what you would not wish said to you, do not say to people.

From Ali (AS): Never carry upon your back a load beyond your strength, lest its weight become a burden of woe upon you. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never take up a burden beyond your strength, for it will become your bane.

From Ali (AS): If you find among the people of want one who will carry your provision for you to the Day of Resurrection, and deliver it to you tomorrow when you need it, count him a prize: load it upon him, and give him provision abundantly while you are able — for perhaps you will one day seek such a man and not find him. And count it a prize when someone asks a loan of you in the day of your plenty, so as to set its repayment for you in the day of your hardship. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever you find a needy man who will carry your provision for you toward the Day of Resurrection and deliver it to you tomorrow in your hour of need, count him a treasure: lay your provision upon him, and while you have the means, help him abundantly. It may be that tomorrow you will search for such a man and not find him. And count as a treasure the one who asks a loan of you in your day of plenty, that he may repay you in your day of hardship.

From Ali (AS): Truly He in whose hand are the treasuries of the heavens and the earth has given you leave to supplicate, and has taken it upon Himself to answer you; He has commanded you to ask of Him, that He may give you, and to seek His mercy, that He may have mercy on you. He has placed no one between you and Himself to veil you from Him, and has not driven you to anyone to intercede for you with Him; and He has not barred you, if you do wrong, from repentance. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The God in whose hand are the treasuries of the heavens and the earth has given you leave to pray and to petition, and has guaranteed the answering; He has bidden you ask of Him so that He may give, and seek His mercy and kindness so that He may show kindness. Between you and Himself He has placed no one to hide Him from you, nor has He compelled you to bring an intercessor or a go-between before Him; and He has not barred you from repentance, though you have done evil.

From Ali (AS): Truly God has placed in your hands the keys of His treasuries, in that He has given you leave to ask of Him: whenever you wish, you may open by supplication the gates of His blessing and call down the pouring showers of His mercy. So let not the slowness of His answer drive you to despair, for the gift is according to the measure of the intention. Sometimes the answer is delayed so that the asker's reward may be greater and the hopeful one's gift more abundant; and sometimes you ask for a thing and are not given it, but are given something better, sooner or later — or it is turned away from you for what is better for you. For many a thing you have sought would, had you been given it, have brought the ruin of your religion. So let your asking be for that whose beauty will endure for you and whose burden will be kept from you. As for wealth — it will not last for you, nor will you last for it. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By the leave to supplicate that God has given you, He has placed the keys of His treasuries in your hands. So when, through supplication, you seek the opening of the gates of His blessing and the downpour of the rain of His mercy, never let the slowness of the answer drive you to despair — for God's giving is always in the measure of one's trust and hope. Sometimes your answer is delayed so that the reward of the supplication may grow greater for you, or something better may occur to your mind. And sometimes you ask God for a thing and instead are given something better than it, in this world or the next. Sometimes your prayer goes unanswered because your good does not lie in it; many a thing you seek holds the ruin of your religion. So ask always for that which is lasting in its goodness and free of woe. Wealth, for instance, will not remain for you, nor will you remain for it.

From Ali (AS): Know with certainty that you will never attain all your hopes, and will never outrun your appointed term, and that you travel the road of those who went before you. So be moderate in seeking, and be temperate in earning — for many a quest drags one to deprivation; not every seeker gains provision, nor is everyone moderate deprived. What good is a good attained only through evil, or an ease attained only through hardship? Many a striver strives after what harms him. Sometimes the remedy is the disease, and the disease the remedy. What has been destined for you will come to you. The merchant runs a risk; and many a small sum grows more than a great one. Be easy with fortune so long as its mount is docile beneath you, and do not stake a thing you hold in hope of gaining more; and beware lest the mount of obstinacy bolt with you. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Be assured that in this world, like those who came before you, you cannot possibly attain most of your hopes — but death you will most certainly reach. So narrow the circle of your desires and desist from excessive striving to attain them. Many a scheme and effort brings only loss and ruin. Nor is it the case that every effort bears fruit, or that he who has not striven is always deprived. A good that must be gained by way of evil is worthless — likewise an ease that must be gained through hardship. How often a man runs after a thing that holds nothing for him but harm! Sometimes the cure is a disease, and the disease a cure. Whatever is destined for you will reach you. The merchant's wealth is ever at risk, and often a little wealth yields more profit and blessing than a great deal. Take fortune gently so long as its camel is tame for you, and do not put what you have at risk for the sake of more — else the camel of fortune may turn restive against you.

From Ali (AS): Do not be the slave of another, for God has made you free. And if you can manage that no bestower of favor stand between you and God, do so; for you will receive your allotted portion and take your share. Truly a little from God, glorified be He, is greater and nobler than much from His creatures — though all of it is from Him. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not be the slave of one who is like yourself, for God created you free! And if you can arrange that no benefactor stands between you and God, then be so. For in the end you will reach your portion and take your share of this world. A little that comes from God, the Glorified, is always better and sweeter than much that comes from His creatures — though all of it is from Him.

Ali (AS): To make up for what you have missed by your silence is easier than to retrieve what has escaped by your speech. What is in the vessel is kept by tightening its cord; and keeping what is in your own hands is dearer to me than seeking what is in the hands of another. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To make up for what has been lost through silence is easier than to recover what has been lost through speaking. Indeed, keeping the water that is in the waterskin depends on tying its cord fast; and preserving what is in your own hand is wiser than squandering it and then hanging upon other people.

Ali (AS): Keep company with the people of good, and you will be of them; part from the people of evil, and you will be apart from them. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Join yourself to the doers of good and you will be one of them; separate from the doers of evil and you will not be of them.

Ali (AS): Bind yourself, with regard to your brother — when he cuts you off, to joining; when he turns away, to gentleness and drawing near; when he withholds, to giving; when he distances himself, to approaching; when he is harsh, to mildness; and when he offends, to excusing him — until it is as though you were his slave and he your benefactor. But beware of placing all this where it does not belong, or of doing it for one who is unworthy of it. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Oblige yourself, toward your Muslim friend, to joining with him when he breaks away; to kindness and affection when he keeps his distance; to giving when he is close-fisted and withholds; to drawing near when he draws away; to gentleness when he is harsh; and to excusing him when he does wrong — as though you were his slave and he your benefactor. But be on your guard against applying all this out of its proper place, or practicing it upon one who does not deserve it.

Ali (AS): Let not the wrong of one who wrongs you weigh heavily upon you, for he toils only to his own hurt and your benefit; and the recompense of one who gladdens you is not that you grieve him. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let the oppression of the oppressor not seem great to you, for he labors to his own loss and to your gain; and the reward of one who has made you glad is not that you make him sorrowful.

Ali (AS): Cast off from yourself the cares that assail you by firm resolves of patience and by excellence of certainty. (Nahj al-Balagha, letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In the hour of affliction, crush sorrow and grief with steadfastness, patience, and certainty in God's providence.

Ali (AS): 'Assign to each of your servants a particular task for which you may hold him to account, for that makes it more likely that they will not shift the duties of your service onto one another.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter to Imam Hasan)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Assign to each of your subordinates and workers a particular task, so that (if he fails to perform it) you may call him to account and question him regarding that very task; for this method is more fitting, so that they do not leave your affairs to one another.

Ali (AS): 'The multitude of people around me adds nothing to my might, nor does their dispersal from me bring me desolation.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 36)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The multitude of people around me has never gladdened my heart, nor has being left alone ever troubled me.

Ali (AS) wrote to 'Amr ibn al-'As, after wounding him: 'You have squandered your world and your Hereafter; had you taken hold of the truth, you would have attained what you sought.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 39)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) wrote in a letter to 'Amr ibn al-'As: You did such and such, and through your inclination toward falsehood you ruined both this world and the Hereafter, whereas had you followed the truth you would have attained what you desired.

Ali (AS): 'I have never struck anyone with my sword but that he entered the Fire.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 41)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No one has tasted the blow of my sword except that he was dispatched to Hellfire.

Ali (AS): 'Behold, every follower has a leader whom he follows and by the light of whose knowledge he seeks his way. Behold, your leader has contented himself, out of his world, with two worn garments, and out of his food with two loaves of bread. Behold, you are not able to do this; yet aid me with piety, striving, chastity and rectitude.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Know that everyone has a leader whom he follows and by the light of whose knowledge he finds his way. Now your leader has contented himself, out of his world, with two worn garments and, out of his food, with two loaves of bread. Of course you are not capable of such conduct, but at the very least aid me with abstinence, striving, chastity and uprightness.

Ali (AS): 'What have I to do with Fadak or with anything other than Fadak, when tomorrow the resting place of the soul is a grave... It is but my own soul, which I train with piety, that it may stand firm on the edges of the slippery place.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What need have I of the land of Fadak or of anything other than Fadak, when my end is the dust?... So I continually discipline myself with piety, lest my foot slip on the edges of the slippery place.

Ali (AS): 'Far be it that my desire should overcome me and that my greed should lead me to pick and choose among foods, while perhaps in the Hijaz or in Yamama there is one who has no hope of a single loaf and no acquaintance with satiety.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Far be it that the desires of the soul should overcome me so as to compel me to pick and choose among foods, while in the Hijaz or in Yamama there are people who despair of a single loaf of bread and who have never gone to sleep with a full stomach.

Ali (AS): 'Away from me, O world! Your halter is thrown over your own withers. Far be it! Whoever treads your slippery ground slips, whoever rides your deep waters drowns, and whoever turns aside from your snares is granted success. He who comes away safe from you does not care though his resting place be straitened, for in his eyes the world is like a day whose ending has come.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O world, get away from me! For I have thrown your halter over your head and let you loose. Far be it! Whoever set foot upon your brink slipped and fell within, and whoever slipped within you drowned. Conversely, whoever freed himself from your bonds was granted the success of deliverance. As for the one who has come away from you safe, what grief is it to him that he passes his days in poverty, when in his eyes the world is as short as a day whose sunset has already drawn near?

Ali (AS): 'A people whose eyes are kept awake by fear of their return to God, whose sides shun their beds, whose lips murmur with the remembrance of their Lord, and whose sins are dispelled by their long seeking of forgiveness. These are the party of God; behold, the party of God—they are the successful.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is a group whose fear of the Resurrection has robbed sleep from their eyes and driven them from their beds. Their lips murmur ceaselessly with the remembrance of God, and their sins fall away continually through their abundant seeking of forgiveness. Yes, these are the party of God, and the party of God alone are the successful ones of the world.

Ali (AS): 'So fear God, O son of Hunayf, and let your loaves suffice you, that you may be delivered from the Fire.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Ibn Hunayf, fear God and be content with your two loaves of bread, so that one day you may be delivered from the Fire.

Ali (AS): 'Do not seek the world, even if it seeks you, and do not grieve over anything of it that is withheld from you.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not turn toward the world even if it turns toward you, and if anything of it slips from your hands, do not grieve.

Ali (AS): 'Be an adversary to the oppressor and a helper to the oppressed.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Always stand against the oppressor and be the helper of the oppressed.

Ali (AS): 'I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say: Setting matters right between people is better than the whole of prayer and fasting.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say: To bring about reconciliation between two persons is better than a year of prayer and fasting.

Ali (AS): 'God! God! In the matter of your neighbours, for they are the charge entrusted by your Prophet. He kept enjoining their care until we thought he would make them heirs.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Observe God's bounds concerning your neighbours and guard their rights. The Messenger of God (PBUH) constantly enjoined their care, so much so that we supposed that even the inheritance would have to be shared with them.

Ali (AS): 'Hold fast to keeping ties with one another and to spending on one another; and beware of turning your backs on one another and of severing ties.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Cleave to joining with one another and spending for one another; beware lest you turn your backs on one another and withhold your kindness from each other.

Ali (AS): 'Do not abandon enjoining good and forbidding evil, lest the worst among you be set in authority over you; then you will pray and not be answered.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not abandon enjoining good and forbidding evil, for then the wicked among you will gain mastery over you, and your prayers too will no longer be answered.

Ali (AS): 'The righteous are known only by what God causes to flow concerning them upon the tongues of His servants.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The righteous can be recognized by what God has caused to flow about them upon the tongues of His servants.

Ali (AS): 'Clothe your heart with mercy toward the subjects, with love for them and with kindness to them, for they are of two kinds: either a brother to you in religion or your like in creation.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let your heart always be filled with mercy and love toward the people, and be full of kindness to them; for they are either your brothers in religion or your brothers descended from Adam (AS).

Ali (AS): 'Never regret a pardon, never exult in a punishment, and never rush into an outburst of anger from which you can find a way out.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never regret a pardon or an act of forgiveness you have granted, and likewise take no delight in your heart at a punishment you were compelled to impose. Never rush into an anger that you are able to refrain from.

Ali (AS): 'Deal justly with people; if you do not, you will wrong them, and whoever wrongs the servants of God has God as his adversary. Nothing is more apt to change God's blessing and hasten His retribution than persistence in wrongdoing, for God hears the cry of the oppressed and lies in wait for the oppressors.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Observe fairness toward everyone, otherwise you will fall into wrongdoing; and whoever wrongs the servants of God, God will gird Himself for enmity against him. Know that nothing drives blessings away like injustice, and nothing attracts retribution as it does. God hears well the prayer of the oppressed, and He lies in wait for the oppressor.

Ali (AS): 'Let the farthest of your subjects from you and the most hateful to you be the one who most seeks out people's faults... So veil what is shameful as much as you can, and God will veil of you what you would wish to be veiled.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Keep away from those who go about seeking people's faults, and as far as you are able cover the ugly deeds of others, so that God may cover your own.

Ali (AS): 'Do not hasten to believe a talebearer, for the talebearer is a deceiver even if he resembles the sincere advisers.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not be quick to believe one who speaks ill of others behind their backs; for the slanderer is himself under suspicion, even though he resembles those who wish others well.

Ali (AS): 'Truly the worst of your ministers is the one who was a minister to the wicked before you.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The worst helper and counsellor for you is the one who formerly collaborated with evildoers and was their helper.

Ali (AS): 'Then let the one most favoured by you be he who speaks most plainly the bitter truth to you, and who gives you least assistance in those of your actions that God dislikes.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The one closest to you should be he who most openly makes the bitter word of truth reach the depths of your soul, and who least assists you in what does not please God.

Ali (AS): 'Cleave to the people of piety and truthfulness, then train them not to flatter you nor to gladden you with a falsehood you have not done; for excessive flattery breeds vanity and leads one close to arrogance.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Always choose your friends from among the people of piety and truthfulness, and bring them up in such a way that they do not praise you, nor extol you for what was merely your duty; for excessive praise gives rise to self-infatuation and to a man's rebelliousness.

Ali (AS): 'The most deserving of your good opinion is the one to whom you have done good, and the most deserving of your ill opinion is the one to whom you have done ill.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The one to whom you have behaved well deserves that you have a good opinion of him and trust him. But one who believes that you have in some way wronged him is never worthy of trust.

Ali (AS): 'Do not neglect attending to their small affairs, relying upon the great ones; for a little of your kindness has its place from which they benefit, and the great has its position which they cannot do without.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not abandon small kindnesses toward people on account of, or in hope of, great kindnesses toward them. For small kindnesses have their own place and great kindnesses have theirs, and neither takes the place of the other.

Ali (AS): 'God the Exalted said to a people whose right guidance He loved: [Qur'an 4:59] "If you dispute in anything, refer it to God and the Messenger." Referring to God means taking hold of the clear passages of His Book, and referring to the Messenger means taking hold of his unifying, not divisive, Sunna...' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Concerning those whose growth He desired, God said: Whenever you are in doubt about anything, refer it to God and the Messenger. Referring to God means taking hold of the clear verses of His Book, and referring to the Messenger means taking hold of the Prophet's established Sunna, not a practice that is disputed.

Ali (AS): 'The truth in its entirety is heavy, yet God may make it light for peoples who seek the final outcome, so they make themselves patient and place their trust in the truthfulness of God's promise to them.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Observing the truth is in principle hard, but God makes it easy for a group who seek salvation. So they are patient and are certain of the truth of God's promise in the Hereafter.

Ali (AS): 'Bear with people's rudeness and their clumsiness of speech; keep away from them narrowness and disdain, and God will thereby spread over you the folds of His mercy and make binding for you the reward of obedience to Him. Whatever you give, give it graciously; and when you withhold, do so with courtesy and apology.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Bear with the ill temper and harshness of people, and do not display harshness or self-conceit in return, so that God may bring you within the shelter of His mercy and grant you the reward of obedience to Him. Whenever you give something, give it graciously, and whenever you withhold, offer an excuse and be brief.

Ali (AS): 'Carry out the work of each day on that day, for each day has its own affairs. And appoint for yourself, in what lies between you and God, the best of those hours and the most ample of those portions—even though all of them belong to God when the intention in them is sound and the subjects are kept safe thereby.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do each day's work on that same day; tomorrow has its own necessary tasks. Set aside also the best hours and finest times of each of your days for the worship of the Lord—though indeed all works at all times are for God, if the intention is sound and the purpose is service to the people.

Ali (AS): 'Beware of self-admiration, of trusting whatever pleases you in yourself, and of loving flattery; for that is among Satan's surest opportunities to wipe out the good works of those who do good.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of self-conceit and of relying on anything that leads you to self-admiration, and beware of loving that people should praise you much; for this state is among Satan's greatest opportunities to destroy the good deeds of the doers of good.

Ali (AS): 'Reproach nullifies kindness, exaggeration extinguishes the light of truth, and breaking a promise brings hatred in the sight of God and of people. God the Exalted said: [Qur'an 61:3] "It is most hateful in the sight of God that you say what you do not do."' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To make much of a favour ruins the kindness; to imagine a deed greater than it is erases the light of truth; and failure to keep a promise brings about the wrath of God and of the people.

Ali (AS): 'Beware of haste in matters before their time, of slackness in them when they are possible, of obstinacy in them when they are obscure, and of weakness in them when they have become clear. So put every matter in its place and set every affair in its proper time.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of rushing into matters before their time has come, or of abandoning their pursuit when their time has arrived, or of obstinacy in them when the thread of the matter is not visible, or of slackness in them when they come within reach. So put everything in its place, and do every task in its proper time.

Ali (AS): 'We were not created for the world, nor were we commanded to strive after it; we were only placed in it that we might be tried by it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 55)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We were not created for this world, nor are we charged with striving after it. We have been brought into the world so that we may be tested by it.

Ali (AS): 'The companion of war is the sleepless one; and whoever sleeps, others do not sleep with regard to him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 62)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In time of hostility, when the trumpet of war has been sounded, whoever gives himself over to wishful thinking and sleeps, supposing the enemy will not attack, should know that his enemy is awake and will take him by surprise.

Ali (AS) wrote to Salman: 'To proceed: The likeness of this world is the likeness of a serpent—soft to the touch, deadly its venom. So turn away from whatever pleases you in it, for little of it will accompany you; and lay aside its cares, since you are certain of parting from it and of the changing of its states...' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 68)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) wrote to Salman: The world is like a snake; its outward appearance is attractive and beautiful, but it deceives and it kills. So whenever something of it catches your eye, remember your grave, for nothing of the world will go with you but a shroud; and whenever the world fills you with sorrow, put that sorrow out of your heart and call to mind the brevity of the world and the changeability of its states.

Ali (AS): 'Do not relate to people everything you hear, for that alone is falsehood enough; and do not reject everything people relate to you, for that alone is ignorance enough.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 69)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not repeat everything you have heard, for much of it is false; and do not deny everything you have heard, for much of it is true.

Ali (AS): 'Make good use of every blessing God has bestowed upon you, and do not squander any of God's blessings that are with you; and let the trace of what God has bestowed upon you be seen upon you.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 69)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Make proper use of the blessings God has granted you, and take care that no blessing is wasted in your hands. Likewise the effect of the blessing should be visible in your life; that is, make use of the blessing and do not conceal it.

Ali (AS): 'Dwell in the great cities, for they are the gathering places of the Muslims. Beware of the abodes of heedlessness and harshness and of places where helpers in obedience to God are few. Confine your attention to what concerns you. Beware of sitting about in the marketplaces, for they are the haunts of Satan and the exposed grounds of temptation. Look often upon those over whom you have been favoured, for that is among the doors of gratitude...' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 69)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Dwell in the great cities, for they are the gathering of the Muslims. Beware of the abodes of heedlessness, the places of harshness, and those affairs that diminish your companions in obedience to God. Think and give your attention only to what concerns you. Do not haunt the marketplace, for the market is a place where Satan is present and a place of much sedition. Look upon those beneath you and manage their affairs with care, for this is among the doors of gratitude.

Ali (AS): 'Beguile your soul in worship, be gentle with it and do not force it; take it in its times of ease and eagerness—except for what has been prescribed upon you as obligatory.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 69)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Deal gently with yourself in worship, and by subtle devices draw your soul to the prayer niche, but do not drive it to worship by force. Always make use of times of eagerness and expansiveness for worship. Obligatory worship, of course, is a separate matter, and to it you must compel yourself.

Ali (AS): 'You will not outstrip your appointed term, nor be provided with what is not yours. Know that time is two days: a day for you and a day against you; and that the world is a house of alternating fortunes. Whatever of it is for you will come to you despite your weakness, and whatever of it is against you, you will not repel by your strength.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 72)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No one can outrun his appointed term, nor seize what has not been decreed for him. Know that the days of every person, yourself included, are of two kinds: a day that is for you and a day that is against you. And the world is forever changing. So in the times when fortune is with you, you profit despite your weakness; but on a day that is not yours, despite your power you cannot ward off from yourself the harm that has been decreed.

Ali (AS): 'Be open to people with your face, your assembly and your judgement; and beware of anger, for it is a rash impulse from Satan.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 76)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Be open-faced with people, a good companion in assembly and just in judgement. And beware of anger, for it is a calamity from Satan.

Ali (AS): 'He who uncovers his hardship has consented to humiliation.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever divulges his difficulty to people becomes lowly and base in their eyes.

Ali (AS): 'Forbearance is the grave of faults, and peaceableness is the covering of faults.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Bearing with others preserves one's honour and keeps one's errors hidden; living peaceably is a veil over a person's faults.

Ali (AS): 'Victory comes through resolve, resolve through the weighing of counsel, and sound counsel through the guarding of secrets.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Victory depends upon a plan, and the plan must be sound and well considered, which requires discretion and the keeping of secrets.

Ali (AS): 'Beware the assault of the noble man when he goes hungry, and of the base man when he is sated.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Woe from the noble man when he is put under pressure, and woe from the base man when he finds himself free of need!

Ali (AS): 'Do not be ashamed of giving little, for to refuse is less still.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not be ashamed of giving little, for giving nothing is worse than that.

Ali (AS): 'Abstinence is the adornment of poverty, and gratitude is the adornment of wealth.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In time of poverty, do not beg; and in time of plenty, be thankful.

Ali (AS): 'When what you desire is not to be, then do not care what state you are in.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When circumstances are not to your liking, be content with what is.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever gains it is wearied, and whoever loses it is worn out.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Alas for this world—to possess it is toil and trouble, and to lack it is hardship.

Ali (AS): 'A man's breaths are his steps toward his appointed end.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The breaths of every person are his steps toward death.

Ali (AS): 'When matters become obscure, their end is judged by their beginning.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever you are perplexed about the future of a path, look at how it has gone thus far; for the future of a road is usually like its past. That is, if it has been good and easy up to this point, the rest will likewise be good and easy—and the reverse.

Ali (AS): 'Take wisdom wherever it may be, for wisdom may lie in the breast of the hypocrite, and it keeps stirring in his breast until it comes forth and settles with its companions in the breast of the believer.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Seize a word of wisdom wherever it is to be found. For wisdom is sometimes in the heart of a non-believer, except that there it has no rest or repose until it comes forth and settles in the heart of its true owner, the believer, where it finds rest and repose.

Ali (AS): 'The worth of every man is that which he does well.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The worth of every person is measured by that which he holds to be of worth.

Ali (AS): 'Let none of you place hope in any but his Lord, and let none fear anything but his own sin. Let none of you be ashamed to say "I do not know," and let none be ashamed to learn. Hold fast to patience, for patience is to faith as the head is to the body.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never place your hope in any but God, and fear none but Him; do not be embarrassed to admit that you do not know, and do not be ashamed of striving to learn; and be patient, for patience is the chief pillar of faith.

Ali (AS): 'Those who survive the sword are more enduring in number and more numerous in offspring.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those who survive the struggle are the more steadfast in life, and they commonly come to have more children.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever sets right what is between himself and God, God sets right what is between him and people; and whoever sets right the affair of his Hereafter, God sets right for him the affair of his world.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever sets right what is between himself and his God, God will set right the relationship of others with him; and whoever sets right the affair of his Hereafter, God will set right for him the affairs of his world.

Ali (AS): 'Good is not that your wealth and children be many; rather good is that your knowledge be abundant, that your forbearance be great, and that you vie with people in the worship of your Lord: so if you do well you praise God, and if you do ill you seek God's forgiveness.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Happiness does not lie in becoming rich or in having many children; true happiness lies in the increase of a person's knowledge and in his growing more forbearing with the passing of time. It lies also in abundant worship, and in being constantly either in gratitude or in seeking forgiveness.

Ali (AS): 'The friend of Muhammad is whoever obeys God, even if his kinship be distant; and the enemy of Muhammad is whoever disobeys God, even if his relationship be close. Truly the nearest of people to the prophets are those who know best what they brought.' Then he recited: [Qur'an 3:68] 'Indeed, the nearest of people to Abraham are those who followed him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The true friends of Muhammad are those who obey God, even though their lineage be far from the Prophet; and the enemies of Muhammad are those who disobey God, even though they be the Prophet's kin.

The nearest of people to the prophets are those who have the greater knowledge of their teachings, as God has said: The nearest of people to Abraham are those who in history followed him.

Ali (AS): 'The fulfilling of needs is not set right except by three things: deeming it small so that it may become great, keeping it hidden so that it may become manifest, and hastening it so that it may be sweet.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Count your good deeds as small so that they may become great before God; hide them from people so that they may attain divine manifestation; and be swift in performing them so that they may become sweet.

Ali (AS): 'Blessed are those who renounce this world and long for the Hereafter. They are a people who have taken the earth as a carpet, its dust as a bed, its water as perfume, the Qur'an as their inner garment and supplication as their outer garment; then they cut away the world after the manner of the Messiah.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Blessed are those who renounce the world and have set their hearts on the Hereafter. They are a group who have made the earth their carpet, its dust their bed and its water their sweet drink; who have made the Qur'an their inner garment and prayer and supplication their constant occupation. After the manner of the Messiah, who had no attachment to the world, they cut the world away from themselves.

Ali (AS): 'How far apart are two deeds: a deed whose pleasure passes away while its consequence remains, and a deed whose burden passes away while its reward remains.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: How great is the difference between a deed whose pleasure passes and whose consequences remain, and a deed whose hardship passes while its reward is everlasting.

Ali (AS): 'A woman's jealousy is unbelief, and a man's jealousy is faith.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A woman's jealousy (regarding her husband's taking another wife) is unbelief, while a man's jealousy (in guarding his wife from strange men) is the very essence of faith.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever falls short in action is afflicted with sorrow.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever falls short in action becomes afflicted with sorrow and grief.

Ali (AS): 'God has no need of one in whose wealth and person God has no share.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One whose wealth or whose body suffers no harm for a long while—it is as though God has left him to himself and has no concern with his affairs, and this is not good.

Ali (AS): 'The greatness of the Creator in your estimation makes the creature small in your eyes.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When God becomes great in your sight, all that is other than God becomes small.

Ali (AS): 'God has an angel who calls out every day: Beget for death, gather for annihilation, build for ruin. The world is a house of passage, not a house of settlement.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has an angel who cries out every day: Beget for dying, gather for perishing, and build for falling into ruin. The world is a thoroughfare, not a dwelling place.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever is granted the seeking of forgiveness is not denied forgiveness, and whoever is granted gratitude is not denied increase.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is granted the grace of seeking forgiveness receives forgiveness, and whoever is granted the grace of gratitude receives an increase of blessing.

Ali (AS): 'Help descends in proportion to the burden, and patience descends in proportion to the affliction.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Divine help always reaches the servant in proportion to the hardship God Himself has decreed, and patience is sent down in proportion to the affliction.

Ali (AS): 'The patient man does not fail of victory, even if time be long for him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is patient will attain his goal in the end, even if it takes long.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever conceals his secret keeps the choice in his own hand.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever keeps his secret hidden has kept the thread of the matter in his own hand.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever fulfils the right of one who does not fulfil his right has thereby made him his bondsman. A man is not disgraced by the delay of his own right; disgraced is only he who takes what is not his.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever renders the right of one who deals unjustly with him binds that person to himself by this nobility. To forgo the demand for one's right is no disgrace; what is disgraceful is to demand what is not one's due.

Ali (AS): 'How many a single meal has prevented many meals!' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It has sometimes happened that a single mouthful has barred the way to many mouthfuls!

Ali (AS): 'Whoever welcomes the various faces of opinion comes to recognize the places of error.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever welcomes differing opinions becomes aware of the weak points in those opinions.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever sharpens the spearhead of his anger for God's sake gains strength to slay the mightiest champions of falsehood.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever's anger is for the sake of God becomes able to destroy falsehood, however great it may be.

Ali (AS): 'When you dread a thing, plunge into it, for the severity of guarding against it is greater than what you fear of it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever you fear something, cast yourself into it; for the distress of fear is greater than the reality.

Ali (AS): 'Reap evil from the breast of another by uprooting it from your own breast.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Uproot evil from your own heart, so that it may be uprooted from the hearts of others as well.

Ali (AS): 'When shall I satisfy my rage when I am angry? When I am unable to take revenge, and it is said to me, "Would that you had been patient"? Or when I am able to, and it is said to me, "Would that you had forgiven"?' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What fruit has anger? For either I am unable to take revenge, and then it is better that I be patient; or I am able to take revenge, and then it is better that I forgive!

Ali (AS), having passed by some filth on a rubbish heap: 'This is what the misers were miserly with, and what you were vying with one another over yesterday.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) passed by some filth on a rubbish heap and said: This is the very thing over whose acquisition you were outdoing one another yesterday, and in the keeping of which you were miserly.

Ali (AS): 'With every human being there are two angels who guard him; when the decree comes, they withdraw and leave him to it. And the appointed term is a strong shield.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: With every person there are two angels who protect him; when the divine decree arrives, they step aside so that destiny may do its work. The existence of the appointed term is itself a protection for all that comes before it.

Ali (AS): 'Let one who does not thank you for it not make you disinclined to do good, for one who derives no benefit at all from it may thank you for it, and you may obtain from the gratitude of the grateful more than what the ungrateful has squandered—and God loves the doers of good.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let people's ingratitude not hold you back from doing good to them; for in return, sometimes one who has gained no benefit at all from your good deed will thank you, and it may well be that this gratitude has a greater effect than the ingratitude of the ungrateful—and (above all this) God loves the doers of good.

Ali (AS): 'The first recompense the forbearing man receives for his forbearance is that people become his helpers against the ignorant.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The first benefit of forbearance is that people rise to the aid of the forbearing person and defend him against the ignorant.

Ali (AS): 'Seeking counsel is the very eye of guidance, and whoever is content with his own opinion alone has put himself at risk.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Consultation is the door of guidance, and whoever is conceited about his own thinking is in danger.

Ali (AS): 'Never trust one who is easily wearied.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never place complete trust in one who has once been offended by you.

Ali (AS): 'Close your eye to the mote and the pain, and you will be content forever.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Overlook trifles and unpleasantnesses, so that you may experience lasting gladness.

Ali (AS): 'Contrariness demolishes sound opinion.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who has no disposition to agreement never arrives at a correct opinion.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever attains something becomes overbearing.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whatever a person attains, he covets still more of it.

Ali (AS): 'In the turning of circumstances lies the knowledge of the true substance of men.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is in the turning of the times that the true substance of people is stripped bare.

Ali (AS): 'An evil provision for the Hereafter is enmity toward God's servants.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Among the worst provisions for the Hereafter is enmity toward people.

Ali (AS): 'Among the noblest acts of the generous man is his feigning unawareness of what he knows.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Among the finest qualities of the generous man is to feign ignorance and to close his eyes to the faults of others.

Ali (AS): 'Through humility the blessing is made complete.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: After doing good to others, if humility toward them is also observed, the kindness is made complete.

Ali (AS): 'By just conduct the adversary is overcome.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Observing justice and fairness even in enmity brings about victory over the enemy.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever rises in the morning grieving over the world has risen discontented with God's decree; and whoever rises complaining of a misfortune that has befallen him has risen complaining of his Lord.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever grieves over the world is in truth angry with God's decree and determination, and whoever complains of an affliction that is his portion is complaining of God.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever comes to a rich man and humbles himself before him because of his wealth, two thirds of his religion is gone.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever humbles himself before a wealthy man on account of his wealth has lost two thirds of his religion!

Ali (AS): 'Whoever's heart is enamoured with love of the world, his heart clings from it to three things: a sorrow that never leaves him, a greed that never abandons him, and a hope he never attains. Contentment is kingdom enough, for it is the goodly life.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A heart that becomes stained with love for anything of the world wrestles continually with a sorrow from which it finds no release, a craving that will not let it go, and a longing it never attains. So blessed is he who is king over the realm of contentment. This is precisely the goodly life of which the Qur'an speaks.

Ali (AS): 'Enter into partnership with him upon whom provision has turned, for he is the more apt for wealth and the more worthy of fortune's turning toward him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In partnership, seek out one to whom the world has turned. From such a partnership more of the scent of wealth, fortune and profit is to be caught.

Ali (AS): 'Never call anyone to single combat; but if you are called to it, respond. For the one who calls to it is a transgressor, and the transgressor is struck down.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never be the first to summon anyone to combat, for whoever begins a fight has committed aggression, and the aggressor is not granted God's help. Even so, if they come out to fight you, do not leave the field.

Ali (AS): 'By God, this world of yours is more contemptible in my eye than the gnawed bone of a pig in the hand of a leper.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By God, this world of yours is baser in my sight than the bone of a pig in the hand of a leper.

Ali (AS): 'There is a people who worship God out of gratitude, and that is the worship of free men.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those whose worship is offered out of gratitude are the true servants of God.

Ali (AS): 'Woman is wholly an evil, and the worst of what is in her is that there is no doing without her.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Everything about woman is bad, and worse than that is that a man has no choice but to get along with her.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever obeys the talebearer loses his friend.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever lends an ear to the words of the talebearer loses his friend.

Ali (AS): 'A usurped stone in a house is a pledge for its ruin.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A single usurped stone in a house drives that house to ruin.

Ali (AS): 'God has a claim upon every blessing; whoever discharges it, He increases that blessing for him, and whoever falls short in it risks the passing away of his blessing. Beware the flight of blessings, for not every fugitive is brought back.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In every blessing God has a claim upon the servant. Whoever discharges it, his blessing is increased; otherwise there is the danger that that particular blessing will pass away. Fear the taking flight and bolting away of blessings, for what has bolted away is sometimes never caught again.

Ali (AS): 'I came to know God, the Glorified, through the breaking of resolutions and the undoing of intentions.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I came to know God through the overturning of decisions that no one expected to be overturned, and the untying of knots that no one thought could be untied.

Ali (AS): 'No one deposits joy in a heart but that God creates for him out of that joy a kindness, so that when a misfortune descends upon him, that kindness runs toward it like water flowing downhill, until it drives it away from him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever someone gladdens a heart, God creates out of that gladness a kindness, so that whenever a hardship is about to descend, that kindness moves toward that hardship like water flowing down a slope, and removes it.

Ali (AS) said: 'When you fall into destitution, then trade with God through charity.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Even if you become poor, the way of deliverance from it is to do business with God in the form of charity.

Ali (AS): 'O son of Adam, do not carry the worry of your day that has not yet come to you onto your day that has already come; for if it be part of your lifetime, God will bring your provision in it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O son of Adam! Do not grieve today over tomorrow's provision, for if tomorrow too is part of your lifetime, God will give you your provision in it.

Ali (AS): 'Love your friend with moderation, for he may one day become the one you hate; and hate the one you hate with moderation, for he may one day become your friend.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Keep such measure in friendship that if your friend becomes your enemy tomorrow you suffer no loss; and keep such measure in enmity toward your enemy that the possibility of his becoming a friend in the future remains open.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever works in this world for what comes after it, what is due to him of this world comes to him without labor; thus he secures both portions together and possesses both abodes. He becomes honored in the sight of God, asking of God no need but that He grants it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever works in this world for the Hereafter, his worldly provision reaches him without toil and without his having to labor for it. Thus he attains the good of both worlds and becomes the possessor of both. Such a person is honored before God, and he asks nothing of God without it being granted to him.

Ali (AS): 'Know with certain knowledge that God has not appointed for a servant — however great his contrivance, however intense his seeking, however strong his scheming — more than what has been named for him in the Wise Remembrance. So increase, O you who seek benefit, in your gratitude; lessen your haste; and halt at the limit of your provision.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Be certain that no one receives more provision than what has been decreed for him with God, however many stratagems he employs, however much he seeks, and however many schemes he sets in motion. So, O wise one, increase your thanks for what has been apportioned to you, reduce your haste in seeking the world, and be at peace with the share that has fallen to you.

Ali (AS): 'People have never said of anything, How blessed it is! but that time had already hidden away for it a day of evil.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: People never said of a thing, How fortunate it is! but that fate had concealed up its sleeve an evil day for it.

Ali (AS): 'I had in times past a brother in God, and what magnified him in my eye was the smallness of the world in his eye. He was free of the dominion of his stomach, so he did not crave what he could not find, nor take too much when he found it. Most of his time he was silent, but when he spoke he outdid the speakers and quenched the thirst of the questioners. He was weak and reckoned feeble, but when the serious hour came he was a lion of the thicket, a serpent of the valley. He would not put forward an argument until he came before a judge. He would not blame anyone for something in which an excuse might be found, until he had heard his excuse. He would not complain of a pain except after his recovery from it. He said what he did, and did not say what he did not do. If he was overcome in speech, he was not overcome in silence. He was more eager to listen than to speak. When two matters suddenly confronted him, he would look to see which of them was nearer to caprice, and oppose it. So take to these qualities, cling to them, and vie with one another in them; and if you cannot attain them, know that to take a little is better than to abandon much.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In the past I had a brother in religion. What had made him great in my eyes was the smallness of the world before his own eyes. He was no glutton, so that he never craved what was not there and never went to excess in what was. Usually he was silent, but when it was time to speak, he spoke well and well quenched the thirst of those who sought. He was without means and fortune did not favor him, yet when he resolved upon a task he was a lion of the thicket and a dragon of the wilderness. He would not present his proofs except before a judge. So long as some excuse could be found, and so long as he had not inquired into the reason for a person's deed, he would blame no one for anything. He did not speak of his pain except when it had already passed. Whatever he said, he did, and about what he did not do he kept his lips sealed. In silence he was unmatched. He preferred to listen more than to speak. At the crossroads he would choose the path contrary to the desire of the soul.

It is incumbent upon you to acquire these qualities, even if only some of them.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever goes to excess in quarrelling sins, and whoever falls short in it is wronged; and he who quarrels is not able to be mindful of God.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Avoid quarrelling, for it is such that going to excess in it makes a person a sinner, while falling short in it exposes a person to being wronged. Indeed, observing God-consciousness in a quarrel is exceedingly hard.

Ali (AS): 'Your writing is the most eloquent of what speaks on your behalf.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What you write — as compared with your spoken word — is the best means of conveying your true intent to your addressee with the fewest ill consequences.

Ali (AS): 'The destitute one is God's messenger; whoever denies him has denied God, and whoever gives to him has given to God.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The destitute one has been sent by God. So whoever refuses him has refused God, and whoever gives to him has lent to God.

Ali (AS): 'Take heed of the surmises of the believers, for God, the Exalted, has placed the truth upon their tongues.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Give weight to the surmises of the believers, for God causes the truth to flow upon their tongues.

Ali (AS): 'Hearts have their turning toward and their turning away. When they turn toward, then set them to the supererogatory acts; and when they turn away, then restrict them to the obligatory ones.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Hearts have their advance and their retreat. When the heart advances, go after the supererogatory devotions; and in its retreat, confine yourselves to the obligatory ones.

Ali (AS): 'Return the stone whence it came, for evil is repelled only by evil.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When forbearance is of no avail, the answer to a stone is a stone, and nothing repels evil but evil.

Ali (AS): 'I have never met a man but that he helped me against himself.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I never came upon anyone but that he himself put into my hand some pretext against himself.

Ali (AS): 'O my son, I fear poverty for you, so seek refuge in God from it; for poverty is a diminishment of religion, a bewilderment of the intellect, and a summoner of hatred.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son, I am anxious for you on account of poverty! Seek refuge in God from it. Poverty causes the weakening of religion, the bewilderment of the intellect, and the breeding of rancor.

Ali (AS) to Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas, who had advised him in a matter that did not accord with his own view: 'It is for you to give me counsel, and for me to consider; then if I go against you, obey me.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to Ibn Abbas, who held an opinion contrary to his own: It is your duty to offer me counsel, and then I reflect. But if I arrive at something other than what you have said, you must follow me.

Ali (AS): 'The ruler is God's watchman upon His earth.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The ruler is God's sentinel on earth, that he may establish security.

Ali (AS): 'The believer's cheerfulness is in his face and his sorrow in his heart. He is the most expansive of breast; he detests being exalted and abhors ostentation. His aspiration is far-reaching, his silence is much, his time is occupied. He is grateful, patient, immersed in his reflection, sparing in disclosing his need, easy of nature, gentle of disposition.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The believer's joy is in his countenance and his grief in his heart. He has great breadth of soul. He loathes boasting and detests display. His aspiration is lofty and his silence abundant. He has no time to spare. He is grateful and patient. He reflects continually and is suspicious of his own soul. He is good-natured and easy upon others.

Ali (AS): 'The greatest wealth is to despair of what is in the hands of people.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To have no hope in what is in the hands of others is the greatest wealth.

Ali (AS): 'The one who is asked is free until he promises.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When something is asked of a person, he is free to do it or not to do it, so long as he has not given his promise.

Ali (AS): 'Soundness of judgment goes with fortune: it comes with its coming and departs with its departing.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The efficacy of thought depends on the advance and retreat of fortune and luck. When a person's fortune advances, his plans too turn out right; and when fortune turns its face away from him, no plan of his reaches the desired result.

Ali (AS): 'Every soul is a pledge for what it has earned [Qur'an 74:38]. People are deficient and defective, except whom God has preserved. The best of them in judgment is well-nigh turned away from the soundness of his judgment by pleasure and displeasure.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A person's deeds continually take him captive and hold him in bonds; and man, like a candle, is ever diminishing and caught up in himself — except the one whom God preserves. Man is so unstable that the most sensible of them is turned aside from his sound thinking by a single pleasure or displeasure.

Ali (AS): 'Part of divine preservation is that acts of disobedience are made unattainable.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: That a person is unable to commit a sin is itself a portion of divine preservation which God has apportioned to him.

Ali (AS): 'Praise beyond what is deserved is flattery, and falling short of what is deserved is either inarticulacy or envy.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To praise others beyond their due is sycophancy, and to praise them less than their due arises either from envy or from weakness of soul.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever draws the sword of transgression is slain by it; whoever wearies himself in affairs perishes; whoever plunges into the deeps drowns; whoever speaks much errs much; and whoever's scrupulousness is little, his heart dies.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is the first to commit injustice will in the end die by that same sword; whoever ties affairs into knots will suffer loss; whoever casts himself into the whirlpool will drown; whoever's words grow many, his errors grow many; and whoever's abstention from sins grows little, his heart will die by degrees.

Ali (AS): 'At the utmost of hardship there is relief, and when the rings of affliction close in tight, there is ease.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When hardship reaches its limit, relief appears; and when the rings of affliction have drawn quite tight, they will fall apart.

Ali (AS): 'Do not make the greater part of your occupation your family and your children; for if your family and your children are friends of God, then God does not let His friends go to waste; and if they are enemies of God, why should your care and occupation be with the enemies of God?' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not busy yourself overmuch with your family and your children. For so long as they are turned toward God, God will look after them; and if they choose to forsake God, why should you be so excessively concerned for such people?

Ali (AS): 'May you thank the Giver, may the one given be blessed for you, may he reach his full strength, and may you be granted his filial devotion.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard that someone had been given a child, he said: May God grant you gratitude, may your child be a source of blessing, may he grow to maturity, and may he do good to you!

Ali (AS), when it was said to him: 'If the door of his house were shut upon a man and he were left inside it, from where would his provision come to him?' He said: 'From where his appointed death comes to him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: If someone is imprisoned in a house, from where does his provision reach him? He said: From the very place from which his appointed death reaches him. (That is, the shutting of a door, just as it does not bar the appointed death, likewise does not bar the divine decree and the arrival of provision.)

Ali (AS): 'This matter did not begin with you, nor does it end with you. This companion of yours used to travel; so count him as being on one of his journeys. If he returns to you, well and good; and if not, you will go to him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to those whose loved one had died: The death of loved ones is a universal affair for the children of Adam. Your loved one used to travel much; suppose now that he is on one of his journeys — a journey from which, if he does not return, one day you will set out and join him.

Ali (AS): 'O people, take upon yourselves the disciplining of your souls, and turn them aside from the fierce grip of their habits.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, take charge yourselves of disciplining your own souls, and turn yourselves back from the ugly habits to which you have grown accustomed.

Ali (AS): 'Do not think ill of a word that has issued from anyone so long as you can find for it a possible good meaning.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Concerning a word that comes out of someone's mouth, never think ill of it so long as you can find for it some construction that is good.

Ali (AS): 'Knowledge calls out to action; if it answers, it stays, and if not, it departs from it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Knowledge thirsts for action, and if a person does not add action to his knowledge, his knowledge departs from him.

Ali (AS): 'All the deeds of righteousness, and even jihad in the way of God, compared with enjoining good and forbidding evil, are but as a puff of breath in a vast, deep sea. Indeed, enjoining good and forbidding evil bring no appointed death nearer, nor do they diminish any provision. And better than all of that is a word of justice before a tyrannical ruler.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: All good deeds, even jihad, beside enjoining good are like a pond compared with a vast ocean. Enjoining good neither shifts the appointed death nor lessens one's provision. The highest form of enjoining good is to remind a tyrannical ruler of the truth.

Ali (AS): 'O son of Adam, provision is of two kinds: a provision you seek, and a provision that seeks you; and if you do not come to it, it comes to you. No seeker will outstrip you to your provision, no victor will overcome you for it, and what has been decreed for you will never come late to you.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: True provision is the provision that God has decreed for you; such provision is in pursuit of you until it reaches you — not the provision that you go chasing after. What is your provision does not fall into another's hands, and no one is able to snatch it from you. What is yours will always arrive at its time.

Ali (AS): 'Speech is in your bond so long as you have not uttered it; but once you have uttered it, you are in its bond. So hoard your tongue as you hoard your gold and your silver, for many a word has stripped away a blessing and drawn down an affliction. Do not say what you do not know; rather, do not say all that you do know.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A word is in your bond so long as it has not been spoken, but once it is brought to the tongue, you are in its bond. So, just as you guard your wealth, guard your tongue. It has happened that a single word has stripped away a blessing and raised up an affliction. Do not say what you do not know precisely, and do not say all that you do know either.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever seeks a thing attains it, or a part of it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever seeks something attains all of it or a portion of it.

Ali (AS): 'Beware: among afflictions is destitution, and more severe than destitution is sickness of the body, and more severe than sickness of the body is sickness of the heart.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Among the kinds of affliction is want, and worse than it is illness. But what is worst of all is the sickness of the heart (that is, the weakness of faith and certainty).

Ali (AS): 'Be abstinent in this world, and God will show you its shameful defects. Take from this world what comes to you, and turn away from what turns away from you; and if you do not do so, then at least be moderate in seeking. Whoever is not given while seated will not be given while standing. Time is two days: a day for you and a day against you; so when it is against you, be patient.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: So long as you are not abstinent and without appetite toward this world, God will not disclose to you the ugly inner face of the world. Of the world, take that which comes to you of itself, and do not go in pursuit of what has turned away from you. If you are not equal to such abstinence, then at least do not cast yourself into great hardship in seeking what has not come. Whatever is not obtained with ease has not been decreed, and therefore cannot be obtained by force either. Fortune is sometimes with you and sometimes against you. In an unfavorable time, do nothing but be patient.

Ali (AS): 'Many a word is more piercing than an assault.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The wise man accomplishes by speech what the sword is powerless to do.

Ali (AS): 'We possess nothing except what God has given us to possess; and whenever He gives us to possess that of which He is more the owner than we are, He lays an obligation upon us; and whenever He takes it back from us, He lifts its obligation from us.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We come to own nothing except what God has made us own. So the true owner is always He, and whenever He wishes He takes it back. And whenever He takes it back, He has lifted an obligation from our shoulders.

Ali (AS): 'How excellent is the humility of the rich toward the poor, seeking what is with God; and more excellent than it is the disdain of the poor toward the rich, in reliance upon God.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: How beautiful is the humility of the rich before the poor for the sake of God's good pleasure; and more beautiful than that is the indifference of the poor toward the rich out of trust in God.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever wrestles with the truth is thrown down by it.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever grapples with the truth is in the end laid low in the dust.

Ali (AS): 'Forbearance is a whole clan.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Forbearance toward others protects a person as much as a whole clan would.

Ali (AS): 'Wretched is the son of Adam: his appointed death is concealed, his ailments are hidden, his deeds are recorded; a gnat gives him pain, choking on a morsel kills him, and sweat makes him stink.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Wretched man! His appointed death is concealed and his afflictions hidden; his deeds are precisely recorded and preserved; a mosquito reduces him to helplessness, a single morsel chokes him, and a bit of sweat makes him foul-smelling.

Ali (AS): 'The eyes of these males are roving, and that is the cause of their arousal. So when one of you looks at a woman who pleases him, let him go in to his wife, for she is only a woman like his own wife.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The wanton glances of men are the cause of the surging of desire within them. So whenever you see a beautiful woman, instead of casting yourself into temptation, go in to your own wife; for women are all alike.

Ali (AS): 'Do good and belittle nothing of it, for the small of it is great and the little of it is much. And let none of you say: Someone else is worthier than I of doing this good — for by God, so it will indeed turn out.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do good, and consider no good deed too small; for the small of it is great and the little of it is much. Let no one say, This good deed is not mine to do, and someone else had better do it — for it truly turns out that way, and he loses the grace of doing that good.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever works for his religion, God suffices him in the affair of his world.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever's work is for the sake of his religion, God will take care of the affair of his world.

Ali (AS): 'God has servants whom He singles out with blessings for the benefit of His servants. He leaves those blessings in their hands so long as they bestow them; but when they withhold them, He strips them away from them and transfers them to others.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has servants to whom He has given certain blessings solely that they may spend them on others. So long as they bestow the blessing, the blessing remains in their hands; and if they withhold it, God takes the blessing from them and gives it to another.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever complains of his need to a believer, it is as though he complained of it to God; and whoever complains of it to an unbeliever, it is as though he complained of God.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To bring one's need and one's complaint before a believer is as if to bring it before God; and before an unbeliever, it is like complaining about God.

Ali (AS): 'God does not open for a servant the door of gratitude and then close against him the door of increase; nor open for a servant the door of supplication and then close against him the door of response; nor open for a servant the door of repentance and then close against him the door of forgiveness.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When God has opened for someone the door of gratitude, He will surely also increase His blessing upon him; when He has opened for someone the door of supplication, He will surely answer him; and when He has granted someone the grace of repentance, He will surely forgive him.

Ali (AS): 'The whole of abstinence lies between two phrases of the Qur'an. God, the Glorified, said: so that you may not grieve over what has escaped you, nor exult over what He has given you [Qur'an 57:23]. So whoever does not grieve over the past and does not exult over what is to come has grasped abstinence by both its ends.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Abstinence has been defined by this verse of the Qur'an, which says: Do not grieve over what has passed, and do not be elated by what has come. Therefore, whoever does not grieve for the past and does not set his heart on the future has observed abstinence in its fullness.

Ali (AS): 'No land has a greater claim upon you than another; the best of lands is the one that bears you.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No city is better than another for dwelling in; settle in the city that carries you upon its shoulders — that is, that meets your needs.

Ali (AS): 'No man jests a jest but that he spits out a portion of his intellect.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Jesting, even a little of it, takes away a portion of the intellect.

Ali (AS): 'Your indifference toward one who desires you is a loss of good fortune, and your desire for one who is indifferent toward you is an abasement of the soul.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Indifference toward someone who is eager to associate with you is a deprivation of good; and eagerness for someone who is unwilling to associate with you and be your friend is sheer humiliation.

Ali (AS): 'Wealth and poverty are only after the presentation before God.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is only after deeds are presented before God that it becomes clear who is truly rich and who is poor.

Ali (AS): 'Faith is that you prefer truthfulness where it harms you, that there be in your speech no excess over your deeds, and that you be mindful of God when speaking of another.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The mark of faith is speaking the truth where it is apparently to your own detriment; that your words do not outrun your deeds; and that in speaking about others you fear God.

Ali (AS): 'The decree prevails over calculation, so that the bane lies in the very planning.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Destiny so prevails over our reckoning that from our very planning the calamity arises.

Ali (AS): 'The chaste man is well-nigh an angel among the angels.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who guards his own chastity is close to becoming one of the angels.

Ali (AS): 'Tyranny brings about exile, and injustice summons the sword.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Going astray in life results in homelessness, and oppression ends in enmity and the sword.

Ali (AS): 'We do not thunder until we strike, nor pour forth floods until we rain.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 9)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We do not roar before the attack, nor boast of the torrent before the rain falls. (That is, before acting we do not make it public, nor do we utter idle boasts.)

Ali (AS): 'Sins are unruly horses upon which their riders are mounted with their bridles cast off, so that they plunge with them into the Fire. Beware: God-consciousness is a docile mount upon which its riders are set and given its reins, so that it brings them to Paradise.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Sins are like unruly horses; they have mastery over their riders and their bridles are broken loose, and in the end they cast their riders into the fire of Hell. But God-consciousness is like a tractable camel whose halter is in the rider's hand, and which in the end brings its rider to Paradise.

Ali (AS): 'There is truth and there is falsehood, and each has its adherents. If falsehood prevails, it has long done so; and if truth is scarce — well, perhaps and maybe. And seldom does a thing turn away and then come back.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Short Sayings)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Truth and falsehood always exist, and each has its partisans. The dominance of falsehood is nothing strange, and so it has always been. That the truth has few adherents is also nearly always the case. So do not sit waiting for the rule of truth or for people to turn toward it.

Ali (AS): 'Whoever works for other than God, God consigns him to the one for whom he worked.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 23)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever works for other than God, God hands him over to that very one.

Ali (AS): 'A good name that God grants a man among the people is better for him than the wealth he leaves for others to inherit.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 23)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A good name, if God grants it to someone after his death, is better for him than the wealth left behind that passes to his heirs.

Ali (AS): 'Beware — let none of you turn away from a kinsman in whom he sees need, refusing to fill that need with what, if he withholds it, will not increase him, and if he spends it, will not diminish him.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 23)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whenever you see a need in the life of your near relations, beware of slackening in relieving it. For your wealth does not grow by withholding, nor does it suffer loss by giving, since God swiftly makes up for what is given.

Ali (AS): 'Wealth and children are the harvest of this world, and righteous deeds are the harvest of the Hereafter; and God may gather both together for some peoples. So beware of God as He has warned you of Himself.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 23)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Wealth and children are the goods of this world, and righteous deeds are the goods of the Hereafter. And to some God gives both together. So turn toward God, and do not fall short in the God-consciousness He has asked of you.

Ali (AS): 'The Muslim man who is innocent of treachery awaits from God one of two goods: either God's summons — and what is with God is better for him — or God's provision, so that behold, he has family and wealth, and with him are his religion and his honor. For the Muslim man, so long as he does not commit a base act, is like the winning gambler who awaits the first triumph of his arrows, which brings him gain and lifts from him loss.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 23)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A Muslim who is not given to doing evil and who has lived with his head held high is always awaiting one of two things: either that his death arrive so that he may take flight toward God and attain the higher blessing of the Hereafter, or that his provision and livelihood in this very world be increased, while his religion and his virtues remain intact. Indeed, so long as no baseness or ugliness has appeared in him, a Muslim is like a gambler whose losing streak is over and who has entered a winning course, and who is on his way to making up for past losses.

Ali (AS): 'So be mindful of God, servants of God, and flee to God from God; go forward on the path He has laid out clearly for you, and rise up to what He has bound upon you. Ali is the guarantor of your triumph hereafter, if it is not granted to you now.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 24)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O servants of God, adopt God-consciousness, flee from God toward God Himself, and follow always the clear path He has set before you, and rise up to fulfill what God has emphatically asked of you. If you do so, Ali is the guarantor that you will be happy and delivered — in this very world, and if not, then in the Hereafter.

Ali (AS): 'Make patience your inner garment, for it is what most surely leads to victory.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 26)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Make patience your way and your emblem, for it is the best road that leads to victory.

Ali (AS): 'The abased cannot ward off oppression, and the truth is not attained save by earnest effort.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 29)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By making oneself abject one cannot prevent the tyrant's injustice against oneself, and the truth cannot be attained except through earnest effort.

Ali (AS): 'I shall sum up for you the affair of Uthman: he claimed things for himself alone, and did so badly; and you grew impatient, and your impatience too was ill done.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 30)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Concerning Uthman, the sum of my view is this: that in his rule he acted willfully and despotically, and he ought not to have done so; and you, for your part, lost your patience with him and your hands were stained with his blood, which you ought not to have done and which ought not to have come to pass.

Ali (AS): 'Do not ask of this world more than sufficiency, and do not seek from it more than what suffices to carry you through.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 45)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not seek in this world more than what you truly need, and do not demand more than what has been made ready of itself.

Ali (AS): 'Beware, after me you will be ordered to revile me and to disown me. As for reviling, then revile me, for it is a purification for me and a deliverance for you; but as for disowning, do not disown me.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 56)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: After me they will demand of you that you abuse me and that in your hearts you disown me. Abuse does no harm; for me it is an elevation of the soul, and for you a deliverance from the enemy. But in your hearts do not disown me.

(We say: that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) counted being reviled as a cause of purification and elevation is a subtle and profound point. Wherever it is decreed that a believer be insulted and abused and spoken ill of behind his back or to his face, it is truly to the believer's benefit and an opportunity to be seized.)

Ali (AS), when the Kharijites had been killed and it was said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, the whole company has perished': 'Never, by God! They are sperm in the loins of men and in the wombs of women. Every time a horn of them rises up it is cut off, until the last of them become thieves and highway robbers.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 60)

After the Battle of Nahrawan it was said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS): All the Kharijites have been destroyed. But he said: Never; the Kharijites of the future are still in the loins of fathers and the wombs of mothers. Again and again a movement of theirs will arise and be destroyed, until the last of them become thieves and brigands.

Ali (AS), when he was warned of assassination: 'Over me from God there is a fortified shield; and when my day comes, it parts from me and delivers me up. At that moment the arrow does not go astray and the wound does not heal.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 61)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS), at a time when there was the likelihood of his being assassinated, said: Every person, myself included, is guarded by a shield from God. When the day of my death arrives, that shield is drawn aside and surrenders me to destiny. On that day no arrow misses its mark and no wound is healed.

Ali (AS) said, on the dawn of the day on which he was struck: 'Sleep overcame my eyes while I was sitting, and the Messenger of God (PBUH) appeared before me. I said: O Messenger of God, what crookedness and hostility I have met with from your community! He said: Invoke against them. So I said: May God give me in exchange for them better than they, and give them in exchange for me one worse for them than I.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 69)

Ali (AS) said on the night after he was struck: While I was seated, sleep overcame my eyes for a moment. I saw the Messenger of God (PBUH) before me. I said to him: What crookedness and enmity I have seen from your community! He said: Invoke against them! I said: O God, give me better people in place of these, take me away from them, and set over them in my place an evil ruler.

We say: this invocation has to this day clung to Iraq, and indeed to all the lands of Islam.

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: 'Measured out without price, if only there were a vessel for it; and you shall surely know its tidings after a time.'

Ali (AS): I pour knowledge and wisdom into your measure freely and to the brim, expecting no recompense — if only that vessel be empty and capacious. Later you will understand the meaning of these words. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 70)

From a sermon of his (AS) when they had resolved to pledge allegiance to Uthman: 'You know full well that I am worthier of it than anyone else. By God, I shall submit so long as the affairs of the Muslims are sound and there is no injustice in it except upon myself alone — seeking thereby the reward and the merit of that, and in abstinence from the glitter and tinsel over which you compete.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 73)

When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) saw the people's resolve to pledge allegiance to Uthman, he said: You know well that the one most deserving of the caliphate is I. Even so, by God, I shall not press about the caliphate so long as the affairs of the Muslims are in good order and no injustice befalls anyone — even if injustice should fall upon my own person. Why do I act thus? Because independence from these matters and abstinence toward worldly offices, over which you contend, is among the virtues and has its reward with God.

Ali (AS): 'O God, forgive me what You know of me better than I do; and if I return to it, then return to me with forgiveness. O God, forgive me what I promised of myself but in which You found no fulfillment with me. O God, forgive me that by which I sought nearness to You with my tongue while my heart then went against it. O God, forgive me the hints of the glances, the slips of the words, the desires of the heart, and the lapses of the tongue.' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 77)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) raised his hands in supplication: O God, forgive the faults in me that You know better than I do myself. O God, if I return toward sin, do You return toward me with forgiveness. O God, forgive what I pledged to myself but was unable to carry out. Forgive what I said in Your presence in order to draw near to You, but in which my heart afterward failed to support me. O God, forgive me my ill-placed gestures, my unfitting words, the longings of my heart, and the slips of my tongue.

Ali (AS) said to one of his companions when he had resolved to march against the Kharijites, and the man had said to him: 'If you set out at this hour, O Commander of the Faithful, I fear you will not attain your desire' — arguing from the science of the stars. He (AS) said: 'Do you claim that you can guide to the hour in which whoever sets out has evil turned away from him, and that you warn of the hour in which whoever sets out is beset by harm? Whoever believes you in this has belied the Qur'an and dispensed with seeking God's help in attaining what is loved and repelling what is hated. And in your words you seek that the one who acts upon your command should render praise to you rather than to his Lord, because — as you claim — it was you who guided him to the hour in which he obtained benefit and was safe from harm.' Then he (AS) turned to the people and said: 'O people, beware of learning the science of the stars, except what serves for guidance on land or sea, for it invites to divination. The astrologer is like the diviner, the diviner is like the sorcerer, the sorcerer is like the unbeliever, and the unbeliever is in the Fire. Set forth in the name of God!' (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 78)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had resolved upon the Battle of Nahrawan when a man came and said: From the science of the stars I have understood that if you set out at this hour, you will probably not gain victory. Ali (AS) said: Do you suppose that you can direct people to an hour in which action is safe or harmful? Whoever holds your words to be correct has denied the Qur'an and dispensed with seeking God's help in attaining aims and repelling misfortunes. Anyone who wishes to act upon your command would have to praise you instead of God, since you claim knowledge of what benefits and what harms.

Then the Commander of the Faithful (AS) turned to the people and said: Avoid the science of the stars, except for what serves to find one's way on land and sea, for it leads to soothsaying (claiming news of the unseen); and the astrologer is like the soothsayer, the soothsayer like the sorcerer, the sorcerer like the disbeliever — and the disbeliever is among the people of the Fire.

Then he turned to the army and said: March on, in the name of God and with His remembrance.

Ali (AS): Beware of the evil among women, and be on your guard even against the good ones. Do not obey them in what is good, lest they come to covet your obedience in what is wrong. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 79)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Keep away from bad women, and do not place your trust even in the good ones. Do not heed their word in good matters, lest they aspire to your obedience in bad ones.

Ali (AS): How shall I describe an abode whose beginning is toil and whose end is annihilation? In its lawful there is a reckoning, and in its unlawful there is punishment. Whoever grows rich in it is put to trial, and whoever is poor in it grieves. Whoever races after it, it escapes him; and whoever sits back from it, it comes to him. Whoever looks by means of it, it grants him insight; and whoever fixes his gaze upon it, it blinds him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 81)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What shall I say in describing this world? Its beginning is hardship and its end is perishing; in its lawful there is a reckoning, and in its unlawful, punishment. He who enjoys its plenty is beguiled, and he who is deprived of it is grieved. Whoever chases after it will not reach it, and whoever does not pursue it, the world comes chasing after him. Whoever learns from the world gains insight, and whoever becomes transfixed by the world remains blind.

Ali (AS): Beware of the sins that plunge one into ruin and of the faults that bring down wrath. Verily, the share of each of you from this earth, with all its length and breadth, is but the measure of his own stature, lying with his cheek in the dust. (Nahj al-Balagha; Khutbat al-Gharra')

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of the sins that drag one into the abyss of destruction, and of the faults that incur the wrath of God — and this when your real share of this world, in the end, is no more than the length and breadth of your own frame, with a dust-covered face, confined in the grave!

Ali (AS): Sitting with the people of vain desire makes one forget faith and summons Satan to be present. Do not envy one another, for envy devours faith as fire devours firewood. Do not bear hatred toward one another, for it is the razor (that scrapes away religion). (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 85)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of keeping company with the followers of desire, for it drives faith from a person's memory and calls Satan to be present. Beware of envy, for it eats away a person's faith as fire eats firewood. And beware of enmity, for it tears a person out by the roots.

Ali (AS): Those firmly rooted in knowledge are they whom the confession of all whose interpretation they do not know, of the veiled unseen, has made needless of forcing the barriers set up before the unseen. So God the Exalted praised their admission of inability to grasp what their knowledge does not encompass, and He named their refraining from delving into that whose inmost nature He did not charge them to search out 'firm-rootedness.' So confine yourself to that. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 90)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those firmly rooted in knowledge are those whose acknowledgment and confession of all that is hidden and veiled, whose interpretation they do not know, has spared them from entering doors whose reality is not clear to them. So God has praised their confession of inability and weakness to attain what their knowledge cannot reach, and has called their refraining from delving into that whose inmost essence He has not demanded of them 'firmness and steadfastness.' You too, then, be content with what God has stated clearly and plainly.

Ali (AS): Verily God has ordained the provisions, making them abundant and making them scarce, and has apportioned them in straitness and in plenty; and He was just therein, that He might test whomever He wills by their ease and their hardship, and thereby try the gratitude and the patience of the rich and the poor among them. Then He coupled its plenty with the afflictions of want, its health with sudden calamities, and the joys of its gladness with the chokings of its sorrow. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 90)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God Himself has determined the provisions, and He increases and decreases them. Sometimes He straitens them upon a servant and sometimes He grants abundance, yet He never deviates from justice. Ease is a means of His testing, and so is hardship — so that the gratitude and patience of His servants may become manifest in what God gives and what He withholds. It is likewise His way that plenty is constantly turned into the hardship of want, health is exchanged for affliction, and joy ends in sorrow. All of this is just, and for the trial of creation.

Ali (AS): Verily, when seditions approach they wear the guise of truth, and when they turn away they awaken (people to what they were). They go unrecognized as they advance and are known only as they retreat. They whirl like the winds, striking one town and passing another by. ... The affliction strikes him who peers into them, and passes over him who is blind to them ... We, the People of the House, are in safety from them, and we are not their preachers. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 92)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Political seditions, when they arise, at first present themselves as truth, and only when their fire begins to die down does their falsehood become apparent. At the outset they are unrecognized, and only at the end does it become known that they were sedition. They are like a whirlwind that may lay one city waste while the neighboring city remains unharmed.

Whoever grapples with such a sedition will be harmed, and whoever pays it no heed will be delivered from it.

We, the People of the House, come through such seditions with our lives, because we strive not to make ourselves conspicuous.

Ali (AS): The nations have come to fear the injustice of their rulers, while I have come to fear the injustice of my own subjects. I straighten you in the morning, and you return to me in the evening bent like the back of a bow — the straightener has grown weary, and the one to be straightened is past correction. Your leader obeys God while you disobey him, and the leader of the people of Syria disobeys God while they obey him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 96)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The subjects of other lands pass the night into morning anxious over the oppression of their ruler, while your ruler (Ali) passes the night into morning anxious lest he should have done you any injustice.

Every morning I straighten you like a sapling tied to its stake, and by evening you return to me like a bow bent crooked. I have grown weary — and so have you!

I obey God while you do not obey my command, whereas Mu'awiya disobeys God and his army obeys him.

Ali (AS): O servants of God, I counsel you to renounce this world that will forsake you, even if you do not wish to forsake it. So do not vie with one another for the world's glory and pride, do not marvel at its adornment and bounty, and do not lament over its harm and misery. Behold — at the moment of rushing upon evil deeds, remember the destroyer of pleasures, the spoiler of desires, and the severer of hopes. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 98)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O servants of God, I counsel you to forsake a world which — though you do not wish to leave it — will surely leave you. So do not race one another for the world's glory and pride, do not set your hearts on its adornment and bounty, and do not lament over its hardships and bitterness. O travelers on the road to extinction, when about to commit unseemly deeds, remember death, the destroyer of pleasures and spoiler of desires — the death whose remembrance drives vain hopes from a person's mind.

Ali (AS): The bearer of this banner is deliberate in speech, slow to rise, and swift once he has risen. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 99)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The one worthy of the caliphate of the Muslims bears certain marks, among them: he speaks with pause and deliberation, he is slow to rise to action, but once he has risen and set his hand to a task, he acts with speed.

Ali (AS): Do not covet what has not turned toward you, and do not despair of what has turned away. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 99)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not pin your hopes on that which has not turned its face toward you; yet do not despair of it either.

Ali (AS): That will be a time in which none shall be saved but every unobtrusive believer: if present, he is not recognized, and if absent, he is not missed. Such people are neither roving gossips nor divulgers and sowers of talk. For them God opens the gates of His mercy and removes from them the hardship of His retribution. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 102)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A time will come in which no one will escape unharmed except the believer who is unknown and silent — one who, when present, goes unrecognized, and when absent, is not sought after. A believer who neither pries about here and there nor passes judgment on this person and that. For such people God opens the gates of His mercy and lifts from them the severity of His retribution.

Ali (AS): Our helper and our lover awaits mercy, while our enemy and our hater awaits the onslaught. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 108)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever helps us or loves us, let him await mercy; and our enemy, or whoever bears us no love, let him await the wrath of God.

Ali (AS): The Messenger of God (PBUH) belittled the world and made it small, held it in contempt and made it contemptible. He turned away from the world with his heart, extinguished its remembrance from his soul, and loved that its adornment be hidden from his eye, lest he take from it any finery or hope for any abiding station in it. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 108)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Your master, the Messenger of God (PBUH), regarded the world as small, took it lightly, and counted it as nothing. He had cast the world out of his heart and slain its remembrance within his soul. He did not wish the world's adornment to be before his eyes, lest he should seek anything of it or set his heart on dwelling in it.

Ali (AS): Immerse yourselves in the remembrance of God, for it is the best remembrance; and long for that which He has promised the God-fearing. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 109)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Immerse yourselves in the remembrance of God, for it is the best of works; and by this path, seek what has been promised to the God-fearing.

Ali (AS): Learn the Qur'an, for it is the best of discourse; gain deep understanding of it, for it is the springtime of hearts; seek healing by its light, for it is the cure of breasts; and recite it beautifully, for it is the most beneficial of narrations. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 109)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Learn the Qur'an, for it is a book of guidance that is ever fresh; go deep into it, that your hearts may come alive; and seek from its light the healing of your ailments, for the Qur'an is truly the healing of the heart. Recite the Qur'an beautifully — with tranquility and presence of heart — for no discourse is more beneficial than it.

Ali (AS): No man was ever in a delight of this world but that it followed it with a tear; no one ever met the belly of its ease but that it granted him the back of its hardship; and no gentle rain of comfort ever sprinkled upon him but that a storm-cloud of affliction poured down on him. It is most deceitful — all that is in it is deception; it is perishing — all who are upon it perish. There is no good in any of its provisions save the fear of God. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 110)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No one ever saw joy from this world without a sorrow biting him soon after; no belly ever ate its fill of it without his back bending from it shortly thereafter; and no rain of blessing ever fell upon anyone without the wind of affliction blowing on him soon after. It is deceitful in the extreme, and everything in it deceives; it is utterly perishing, and each and every thing in it is headed for extinction.

There is no good in storing up anything of it, except the store of God-fearing piety.

Ali (AS): You are but brothers in the religion of God; nothing has divided you but the foulness of inner selves and the evil of consciences. Hence you neither bear one another's burdens, nor counsel one another sincerely, nor give generously to one another, nor love one another. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 112)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: You Muslims are brothers according to the religion of God, and what has driven you apart from one another is nothing but the wickedness of your inner selves and the evil of your intentions. This is what has separated you, so that you do not carry one another's burdens, nor wish each other well, nor do good to one another, nor love one another.

Ali (AS): We praise God for His blessings just as we praise Him for His trials. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 113)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Just as we praise God for His blessings, so too do we praise Him for His afflictions.

Ali (AS): Behold, the good repute that God the Exalted grants a man among the people is better for him than wealth he bequeaths to one who will not praise him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 119)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: That you should give of your wealth while you live, in such a way that your good name endures, is better than leaving your wealth to an heir who knows no gratitude.

Ali (AS): Hold back from talking, be silent before my word, and turn toward me with your hearts. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 121)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not speak in my presence; be silent, give ear to my words, and turn toward me with your hearts, that you may be guided.

Ali (AS) said to his companions on the battlefield at Siffin: Whichever man among you feels steadiness of heart at the moment of encounter, and sees faintness in one of his brothers, let him defend his brother — by virtue of the surpassing courage with which he has been favored over him — just as he would defend himself; for had God so willed, He would have made him like him. Verily, death is a relentless seeker: the one who stands his ground does not escape it, and the one who flees does not thwart it. Verily, the noblest death is to be slain. By Him in whose hand is the soul of the son of Abu Talib, a thousand blows of the sword are easier for me than a death in bed that is not in obedience to God. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 122)

In the thick of the Battle of Siffin, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to his companions: Whichever of you finds courage in himself at the moment of facing the enemy, and sees that his friend is not brave as he is and that faintness has found its way into his heart, let him — in gratitude for the blessing God has given him — defend his brother against the enemy as well. For had God not willed it, he too would have been weak like his brother.

Know that death seeks out its prey and will not let go: one can neither escape its grasp by tarrying, nor render it helpless by fleeing. In other words, there is no escaping death — and the best of deaths is to be slain.

By the God in whose hand is the soul of the son of Abu Talib, a thousand strokes of the sword are sweeter to me than dying in a bed that is not in obedience to God.

Ali (AS): Lower your gazes, for that steadies the heart and calms the soul; and deaden your voices, for that best drives away faintness. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 124)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not keep looking this way and that, so that you may find strength of spirit and inner calm; and know that the more you hold to silence, the further you distance yourselves from failure and weakness of will. (We would say: it seems that it is looking and talking that swallow up and sap a person's strength.)

Ali (AS): Verily, the most excellent of people in God's sight is he to whom acting by the truth is dearer — even though it diminish and burden him — than falsehood, even though it bring him gain and increase. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 125)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The most excellent of people before God is he who constantly seeks to act according to the truth, even if it seemingly brings him loss; and to keep his distance from falsehood, even if it appears profitable and alluring.

Ali (AS): Do not seek victory through injustice. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 126)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never pursue victory by means of oppression.

Ali (AS): Behold, giving wealth where it is not due is squandering and extravagance. It may raise its giver in this world, but it lowers him in the Hereafter; it may honor him among the people, but it disgraces him with God. No man ever placed his wealth where it was not due and with those unworthy of it, but that God deprived him of their gratitude, and their affection belonged to another. And if one day his foot should slip and he come to need their help, they prove the worst of friends and the basest of companions. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 126)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To spend wealth wrongly and give it to the unworthy is extravagance and squandering. If it brings a person some benefit in this world, it diminishes his degrees in the Hereafter; and if it makes him beloved among the people, it casts him down in the sight of God. Even in worldly terms, if someone spends his wealth wrongly and on the undeserving, God deprives him of their gratitude, and their affection turns toward someone else; and should he one day come to need them, they will be the worst of friends and the most unsparing of reproachers.

Ali (AS): Hold fast to the great mass (of the believers), for the hand of God is with the congregation. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 127)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Always keep to the community of the believers, for the hand of God is with the congregation.

Ali (AS) said to Abu Dharr when he was exiled to Rabadha: If the heavens and the earths were closed fast against a servant, and he then feared God, God would surely make for him a way out of them. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 130)

When Abu Dharr was being exiled to Rabadha, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) — despite Uthman's prohibition, he came to see him off and comforted him — said to him: If the heavens and the earth were to bar every path against a servant, and he practiced the fear of God, God would appoint for him a way of deliverance.

Ali (AS): It behooves those who are preserved from sin, and upon whom safety (from it) has been bestowed, to have mercy on the people of sin and disobedience, and that gratitude should so prevail over them as to restrain them from (censuring) such people. How then of the fault-finder who reproaches his brother and taunts him with his affliction? Does he not remember where God has drawn a veil over his own sins — sins greater than the one for which he blames his brother? By God, even if he has not disobeyed Him in the great sin but has disobeyed Him in the small, his very audacity in finding fault with people is greater still. O servant of God, do not hasten to blame anyone for his sin, for perhaps he has been forgiven; and do not feel secure over some small disobedience of your own, for perhaps you will be punished for it. So let whoever among you knows the fault of another hold back, because of what he knows of his own faults; and let gratitude occupy him, for having been spared that with which another has been afflicted. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 140)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those whom God has kept from sin and to whom He has granted soundness from ugly traits ought to be compassionate toward the people of sin and disobedience; and gratitude should so prevail over them that this very gratitude restrains them from speaking ill of the disobedient.

He who finds fault with his brother and reproaches him for his sin — has he forgotten in how many places God has covered over his own sins? Sins far greater than the one for which he would rebuke his brother. Even if he has committed no major sin, this very audacity of his in fault-finding with people is among the greatest of major sins.

O servant of God, never make haste in blaming others for a sin! Perhaps God has forgiven all their sins. And do not consider yourself safe in the sins you suppose to be small! Perhaps for some minor sin you will, in the end, be subject to punishment.

Each and every one of you should let the faults of your own soul hold you back from occupying yourselves with the faults of others. And gratitude for being spared what others are afflicted with should so absorb you in your own affairs that the thought of reproaching them leaves your head altogether.

Ali (AS): O people, whoever knows of his brother firmness in religion and soundness of way, let him not listen to the sayings of men about him. Between truth and falsehood there are but four (fingers); falsehood is that you say 'I heard,' and truth is that you say 'I saw.' (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 141)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O believers, whoever regards his brother as firm in religion and sound in conduct should give no weight to the sayings of this person or that concerning him. Between truth and falsehood there is no more than four fingers' distance (the distance between the eye and the ear); falsehood is that which you have merely heard, and truth is that which you have seen with your own eyes.

Ali (AS): He who bestows kindness where it is not due and upon those unworthy of it has no share in what he has given except the praise of the ignoble — and that only so long as he continues his favors upon them. So whomever God has given wealth, let him use it to maintain the ties of kinship, to offer generous hospitality, to free the captive and the distressed, to give to the poor and the debtor; and let him hold himself patiently to (discharging) the rightful dues and (bearing) the misfortunes, in hope of the reward. For attainment of these qualities is the nobility of the honors of this world and the grasping of the excellences of the Hereafter, God willing. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 142)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He who does good in the wrong place and to the unworthy — his only portion is the praise that comes from them, and even that only for as long as he continues his favors to them.

Instead, if God has given you wealth, be generous to your kin, be hospitable to guests, deliver prisoners and debtors, give to the poor, come to the aid of the bankrupt, be diligent in discharging the dues God has made obligatory, and set right the misfortunes that arise. And do all of this for the sake of God's reward.

To be granted success in such deeds is the means of attaining the noble things of this world and of grasping the excellences of the Hereafter — God willing.

Ali (AS): No innovation is ever introduced but that a sunna is abandoned thereby. So beware of innovations and keep to the broad, well-trodden road. Verily, the long-tested matters are the best of them, and the newly invented ones are the worst. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 145)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No innovation appears without a sunna being forgotten. So beware of innovations, and keep to the clear, well-proven path.

The best of deeds are those long known from the past to be good, while innovations are usually pregnant with evil.

Ali (AS): God, glorified be He, has revealed Himself to the people in His Book without their having seen Him — through what He has shown them of His power and the fear He has instilled of His might. For the elevation of those who know His greatness lies in humbling themselves before Him, and the safety of those who know His power lies in surrendering to Him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 147)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has manifested Himself to the people in His Book without being seen; He has shown them His power and made all fearful of His might. The elevation of those who have grasped God's greatness depends on humility before God, and the safety of those who have realized God's power lies in being surrendered before Him.

Ali (AS): O people, every man shall meet, in his very flight, the thing from which he flees. How long have I driven the days before me, searching out the hidden secret of this matter — but God willed nothing save its concealment. How remote! It is knowledge stored away. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 149)

In the final hours of his noble life, upon the bed of martyrdom, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, whatever a man flees from, he will in the end come face to face with that very thing. Long did I search into the hidden depths of this matter, and I came to understand that God's wish is that this secret remain concealed. How remote! It is one of the secrets of God.

Ali (AS): Guard against the intoxications of blessing and beware the calamities of retribution; and stand firm amid the dust-cloud of confusion and the crookedness of sedition. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 151)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of the drunkenness that comes from blessing and the ingratitude that comes from affliction; and wherever you cannot tell right from wrong, or a sedition has broken out, come to a halt and incline toward neither side.

Ali (AS): Come before God as those wronged, and do not come before Him as wrongdoers. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 151)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If the matter should ever turn upon being either an oppressor or one oppressed, act so that you appear in God's presence as the wronged, not as the wrongdoer.

Ali (AS): Verily, the Imams are God's overseers over His creation and His stewards who know His servants. None enters Paradise except one who knows them and whom they know, and none enters the Fire except one who denies them and whom they deny. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 152)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The true Imam is one whom God has set as overseer of creation, and who knows the servants of God with precision. None enters Paradise except one who knows him and whom he knows, and none enters Hell except one whom the Imam denies and who likewise denies the Imam.

Ali (AS): Verily, the concern of the beasts is their bellies; the concern of the predators is aggression against others; and the concern of women is the adornment of the life of this world and the making of corruption in it. But verily the believers are humble, verily the believers are compassionate, verily the believers are fearful. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 152)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The grazing beasts think only of grazing, the predators are bent on tearing prey, and the womanish are after the world's adornment and the disordering of it; but the believer is ever humble, compassionate, and fearful. That is, he constantly seeks lowliness at the threshold of God, works to set things right for the people, and remains ever in awe before the station of his Lord.

Ali (AS): The believers hold back in silence, while the misguided deniers speak. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 153)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The believer is generally silent, and the talker is the one who is astray and a denier of God's religion.

Ali (AS): We are the treasurers and the gates, and houses are not to be entered save by their gates; whoever enters them otherwise than by their gates is called a thief. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 153)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We are the treasurers of divine knowledge and the gate of His mercy. The sanctuary of a house may not be entered except by its door, and whoever enters otherwise than by the door is a thief.

Ali (AS): The truthful Messenger (PBUH) said: Verily, God may love a servant yet hate his deed, and may love a deed yet hate the person of its doer. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 153)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The truthful Prophet (PBUH) said: Sometimes God loves a person but is displeased with his deed, and sometimes He loves a person's deed but is displeased with the person himself.

Ali (AS): Verily, enjoining good and forbidding evil are two of the attributes of God, glorified be He; and these two neither bring anyone's appointed time nearer nor diminish anyone's provision. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 155)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Enjoining good and forbidding evil are two divine attributes and qualities; these two neither lead to anyone's death, nor is anyone's provision diminished on their account.

Ali (AS): The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me on the day of Uhud — when those of the Muslims who were martyred had been martyred, and martyrdom was withheld from me, which weighed heavily upon me — he said to me: Rejoice, for martyrdom lies ahead of you. Then he said to me: It shall indeed be so; how then will your patience be? I said: O Messenger of God, this is not one of the occasions for patience, but one of the occasions for glad tidings and gratitude. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 155)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: On the day of Uhud, when a group of the believers were martyred and martyrdom did not fall to my lot, it weighed on me. There and then the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me: Do not be troubled, for martyrdom is in your destiny! And he described to me how it would come about. Then he said: Be patient on that day. I said: That day is an occasion for glad tidings and gratitude, not an occasion for patience.

Ali (AS): Whoever busies himself with other than his own soul becomes bewildered in the darkness and entangled in the places of ruin; his devils drag him far into his rebellion and adorn his evil deeds for him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 156)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever occupies himself with what is other than himself (that is, with the world) becomes bewildered in darkness and mired in the places of destruction; his devils drag him into rebellion, and his ugly deeds are made to seem fair in his eyes.

Ali (AS): O God, to You be praise for what You take and what You give, for the health You grant and the trials You send. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 159)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O God, praise be to You for all that You take and all that You bestow; for every health and every affliction.

Ali (AS): Verily your master, the Messenger of God (PBUH), took but a nibble of this world and never gave it a glance. Of all the world's people he was the leanest of flank and the emptiest of stomach. The world was offered to him, and he refused to accept it. He knew that God, glorified be He, hated a thing, so he hated it; that He held a thing in contempt, so he held it in contempt; and that He made a thing small, so he made it small. And were there nothing in us but love of what God and His Messenger hate, that alone would suffice as defiance of God and opposition to His command. And truly the Messenger of God (PBUH) turned away from the world with his heart, extinguished its remembrance from his soul, and loved that its adornment be hidden from his eye. And so it is: whoever hates a thing hates to look upon it or to have it mentioned in his presence. So let whoever would follow an example follow the example of his Prophet — otherwise let him not feel safe from ruin. By God, I have patched this cloak of mine so often that I have become ashamed before its patcher. Someone said to me: Will you not cast it away? I said: Be gone from me! At dawn the people praise the night's journey. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 159)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Your exemplar, the Messenger of God (PBUH), partook of this world with the corner of his mouth (not with a wide-open mouth), and did not give it so much as a sidelong glance. He was among the leanest of people and the sparest of them in food. The world was offered to him, but he would not accept it. For he had understood that whatever is hateful to God and held in contempt by Him, and whatever is small in God's sight, must be just the same in the sight of God's servant.

Our love for a world that God and His Messenger have counted as an enemy is proof enough of our rebellion and our opposition to the command of God.

The Messenger of God (PBUH) had turned away from the world in his heart, had slain its remembrance within himself, and did not wish the world's adornment to be before his eyes.

Yes, so it is: whoever does not love a thing does not wish to have it before his eyes or to hear it mentioned.

So whoever does not follow this way of the Prophet (PBUH) shall not be safe from ruin.

I too, who am your Imam, have patched my footwear so much that I myself am moved to laughter! Someone came and said: Will you not throw it away?! I said: Be gone — at daybreak the worth of the night traveler becomes known.

Ali (AS): Know with certainty that you shall never attain your hope, nor pass beyond your appointed term, and that you are on the path of those who went before you. So be moderate in seeking and temperate in earning, for many a seeking has dragged one to loss; not every seeker is granted provision, nor is everyone who is moderate deprived. Keep your soul honorable, above every base thing, even should it lead you toward things desired; for you will never receive, in exchange for what you expend of yourself, any equal recompense. Be not the slave of another, for God has made you free. What good is a good attained only through evil, or an ease attained only through hardship? Beware lest the mounts of greed gallop away with you and plunge you into the watering-holes of destruction. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 159)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Be certain that in this world you will not reach most of your desires, while you will surely meet death; such too was the fate of those who came before you. So lessen your wanting, and cut back your striving after wants. How many a desire has scattered fortunes to the wind! That a person seeks a thing does not mean he is destined to attain it, and that he lets it go does not mean his provision will be diminished.

Never abase yourself for the sake of any desire, for what you give up of yourself is far greater than what you gain.

Never be toward others obedient and fearful like a slave, for God created you free — and a servant of Himself.

Whenever reaching some good necessarily entails an evil, or some ease can only be had by passing through hardship, turn your eyes away from it.

Take care that greeds do not so master you as to bring you down to the watering-place of destruction.

Ali (AS): O servants of God, turn your eyes away from the world's sorrows and its preoccupations, since you know with certainty its parting and the changing of its states. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 160)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O servants of God, be on your guard against the sorrows of the world and likewise its preoccupations; for you know well that it comes to an end and is constantly changing.

Ali (AS): Let your young follow the example of your elders, and let your elders be kind to your young. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 165)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let the young obey their elders and learn from them, and let the elders be tender and kind toward the young.

Ali (AS): Verily God has given the sanctity of the Muslim precedence over all sanctities. The Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe, except in a rightful cause; and harming a Muslim is not lawful except where it is required. Lighten your burdens, that you may catch up. Fear God with regard to His servants and His lands, for you shall be held accountable even for the places and the beasts. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 166)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: With God, the sanctity of the Muslim stands above all the sanctities of religion; and the true Muslim is one from whom no one suffers harm — even by the tongue — unless it be in a fitting cause, and harming a Muslim is not permitted except when there is no other way. So lighten your burden, that you may attain the divine stations. In the matter of God's servants and lands, fear God; you are responsible even for the buildings and the beasts.

Ali (AS): O God, if You grant us the upper hand over our enemy, keep us far from transgression and direct us straight upon the truth; and if You grant them the upper hand over us, then bestow martyrdom upon us and protect us from sedition. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 170)

As he set out toward Siffin, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) raised his hands in prayer and said: O God, if You give us victory over them, preserve us from committing oppression and help us to act by the truth! And if You make them prevail over us, grant us martyrdom and keep us safe from sedition.

Ali (AS): Behold, this world which you have come to desire and long for, which now angers you and now pleases you, is not your home, nor the dwelling for which you were created. Behold, it will not endure for you, nor will you endure upon it. So turn your hearts away from it. And complete God's blessing upon you through patience in obedience to God and through guarding what He has entrusted to you of His Book. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 172)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Be aware that this world whose desire you harbor and to which you cling, which moves you now to anger and now to joy, is not your true home, nor the place for which you were created.

Neither will the world remain for you, nor you for the world; so tear your hearts away from it. Instead, seek in this world the completion of God's blessing upon you — which is patience in servitude and acting by the Book of God.

Ali (AS): By God, if I wished, I could inform every man among you of his going out and his coming in and all his affairs — and I would do so — but I fear that you would thereby fall into disbelief. Know that I shall surely confide it to the elect, those of whom such a thing need not be feared. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 174)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By God, I know the past and the future and the entire destiny of everyone, and if I wished, I could tell it; but I fear you would incline to exaggeration and fall into disbelief, and so I keep it concealed. Yet I shall continually impart this knowledge to a select few of my companions — those of whom I can be sure.

Ali (AS): And know that there is nothing of obedience to God but that it comes with reluctance, and nothing of disobedience to God but that it comes with appetite. And know, O servants of God, that the believer passes neither morning nor evening without holding his own soul suspect: he never ceases to find fault with it and to demand more of it. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 175)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no act of obedience that does not seem hard at first, and no act of disobedience that does not come toward a person wearing an attractive face. For this reason the servants of God are ever suspicious of their own souls, constantly humbling them and laying burdens upon them.

Ali (AS): No one ever sits with this Qur'an but that he rises from it with an increase or a decrease — an increase in guidance or a decrease in blindness. And know that after the Qur'an no one has any want, and before the Qur'an no one has any riches. So seek from it the healing of your ailments, and seek its help against your hardships. Ask God by it, and turn to Him with love of it; for the servants have never turned to God the Exalted with anything like it. And know that it is an intercessor whose intercession is accepted. So be among its cultivators and its followers; let it guide you to your Lord, and take its counsel for your own souls. You have an end, so proceed to your end; and verily Islam has a goal, so proceed to its goal. For it is the firm rope of God and His trustworthy means; in it is the springtime of the heart and the wellsprings of knowledge, and for the heart there is no polish other than it. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 175)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No one sits for a moment with the Qur'an and rises again, save that some guidance has been added to him and some blindness of ignorance erased from him.

Know that whoever turns to the Qur'an has need of nothing else, and that without the Qur'an no one will ever be free of need. Seek from the Qur'an the remedy for your ailments, and ask its help in hardships.

Petition God through the Qur'an, and turn toward God with love of the Qur'an; for the Qur'an is the best means for turning to God.

And know that on the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will intercede for its people, and its intercession will be accepted.

So give your time to the Qur'an, be among the followers of the Qur'an, seek by it the way to God, and be receptive to the counsel of the word of God.

Each of you has an utmost point of growth, so move toward that utmost point. And Islam has a goal — attain its goal.

Yes, the Qur'an is the unbreakable cord of connection with God and the source of tranquility. The Qur'an is the vitality of the heart and the treasury of knowledge. For the polishing of the heart there is no balm but the Qur'an.

Ali (AS): Let a man guard his tongue, for verily this tongue is defiant toward its owner. By God, I do not see that a servant's piety avails him anything until he guards his tongue. Verily, the tongue of the believer is behind his heart: when he wishes to speak some word, he first ponders it within himself — if it is good, he brings it forth. And truly the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: No servant's faith is set aright until his heart is set aright, and his heart is not set aright until his tongue is set aright. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 175)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A man must bridle his tongue, for the tongue is exceedingly rebellious against its owner. By God, I have never seen anyone whose piety availed him unless he had also bridled his tongue. Yes, the tongue of the true believer is held in check behind his heart: when about to speak, he first reflects — and only if the word is good does he then bring it to his tongue.

The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to say: No one's faith becomes complete until his heart is set right, and no one's heart is set right until his tongue is set right.

Ali (AS): Verily God, glorified be He, has never granted anyone good through separation (from the community) — neither among those gone before nor among those who remain. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 175)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has never placed good for anyone in separation from the community of the believers — never was it so in the past, nor will it be so in the future.

Ali (AS): O people, blessed is he whose own fault keeps him too busy for the faults of the people; and blessed is he who keeps to his house, eats his daily bread, occupies himself with obedience to his Lord, and weeps over his sin — thus being busy with himself, while the people are at rest from him. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 175)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Blessed is he who, instead of with the people, is occupied with his own faults; who has chosen to keep to his home, whose provision is his simple daily bread, who is engaged in obedience and weeps over his errors. He is busy with his own affair, and the people are at ease from any harm of his.

Ali (AS): By God, no people were ever in the fresh bloom of a life of blessing and then had it taken from them, except through sins they had committed — for God is not unjust to His servants. And if only the people, when punishments descend upon them and blessings depart from them, would flee to their Lord with sincerity of intention and yearning of heart, He would restore to them every stray thing and set right for them every corruption. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 177)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those who enjoy the blessing of a comfortable life — if that blessing is stripped from them, it is only because of sins; for God does no injustice to His servants.

In any case, if a blessing has departed and an affliction has descended, then should they cry out to God with sincerity of intention and hearts full of longing, God will restore to them what was lost and set their affairs aright.

Ali (AS): I praise God for whatever matter He has decreed and whatever act He has ordained, and for my being tried with you — O company who, when I command, do not obey, and when I call, do not answer. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 179)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I give thanks to God for His decree in all matters and His ordainment in all that He does, and also for my being tried with you — a company that does not obey my command and does not answer my call.

Ali (AS): Where are my brothers who rode the true path and passed on in the truth? Where is Ammar? Where is Ibn al-Tayyihan? Where is Dhu al-Shahadatayn? And where are their like among their brothers, who bound themselves together in a pact unto death, and whose heads were carried off to the wicked? Then (the narrator says) he struck his hand upon his noble, honored beard and wept long. Ah, for my brothers, who recited the Qur'an and mastered it firmly, who pondered the obligation and established it, who revived the sunna and put innovation to death; who, when called to jihad, answered, and who trusted their leader and followed him. Then he cried out at the top of his voice: Jihad! Jihad, O servants of God! Behold, I am mustering the army this very day; whoever wishes to set out toward God, let him come forth! Nawf said: He appointed Husayn (AS) over ten thousand, Qays ibn Sa'd (God have mercy on him) over ten thousand, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari over ten thousand, and others over other numbers, intending to return to Siffin. But Friday had not come round again before the accursed Ibn Muljam (God curse him) struck him. The armies fell back, and we were left like sheep that have lost their shepherd, snatched by wolves from every side. (Nahj al-Balagha; Sermon 181)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Where are my brothers who rode upon the path of truth and passed on in truthfulness and righteousness (having brought their lives to an end)? Where is Ammar (ibn Yasir, who was martyred at Siffin at more than ninety years of age)? Where is (Abu al-Haytham Malik) Ibn al-Tayyihan? Where is Dhu al-Shahadatayn (Abu Umara Khuzayma ibn Thabit al-Ansari, whose testimony the Noble Prophet accepted in place of the testimony of two men)? And where are their like (Ibn Budayl, Hashim ibn Utba, and others) among their brothers (companions in faith) who (were all slain in the battle of Siffin, and) made a covenant together unto death (to be slain in the way of truth), and whose heads (after they were slain) were sent to the transgressors (Mu'awiya and his followers)? Nawf said: After these words the Imam, peace be upon him, struck his blessed beard with his hand, wept long, and said:

Alas and alas for my brothers (companions in faith) who recited the Qur'an and held it firm (honored it), who reflected upon what was obligatory and established it (acted according to it), who revived the sunna and did away with innovation, who, when summoned to jihad, answered the call, and who trusted their leader and followed him. Then he cried out in a loud voice:

O servants of God — jihad, jihad! Know that this very day I am mustering the army; whoever intends to go toward God, let him set out. Nawf said: Then he set Husayn, peace be upon him, in command of ten thousand troops, Qays ibn Sa'd over ten thousand, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari over ten thousand, and others over other numbers, intending to return to Siffin (to fight the people of Syria). But Friday had not yet come when the accursed Ibn Muljam — may God curse him — struck that noble one. The armies then turned back, and we were like sheep that have lost their shepherd, snatched away by wolves from every side. (It has been said that this sermon is the last sermon the Commander of the Faithful (AS) delivered standing.)

Ali (AS): You are wayfarers upon a journey, from an abode that is not your abode. You have been given notice to depart from it and commanded to take provision from it. God is the One whose help is sought for my soul and for yours; He suffices us, and what an excellent Trustee He is. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 182)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In this world, which is not your place of abiding, you are travelers and passersby. You have been given notice to depart from it and commanded to take up provision from it. So I seek God's help for myself and for you. God suffices us, and He is the best of Trustees.

Ali (AS): The God-fearing are the people of virtues: their speech is correct, their dress is moderation, and their gait is humility.

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said in the sermon of Hammam (Sermon 184), describing the God-fearing: The God-fearing possess qualities that set them apart from others. Their speech is correct, their livelihood moderate and frugal, their conduct humility.

They have lowered their eyes from what God has forbidden them and devoted their ears to the knowledge that benefits them. Their souls in trial are as their souls in ease. Were it not for the appointed term God has written for them, their spirits would not remain in their bodies for the blink of an eye, out of longing for the reward and fear of the punishment.

They have turned their eyes away from what God has forbidden and set their ears upon beneficial knowledge. In hardship and affliction they are as others are in comfort and joy. Were it not for the appointed term God has fixed for them in this world, out of longing for the reward and dread of the punishment their spirits would not settle in their bodies for the blink of an eye.

The Creator is great in their souls, so all besides Him is small in their eyes. They are with Paradise as one who has seen it and dwells within it, and they are with the Fire as one who has seen it and is suffering its punishment.

God is great in their view, and all besides Him (whatever it may be) is small in their eyes.

Their certainty and conviction of Paradise is like the certainty of one who has seen it and is, as it were, within it; and their belief in the Fire is like the belief of one who has seen it and is, as it were, caught in its torment.

Their needs are light and their souls are chaste.

Their needs are few and they are full of chastity.

They endured patiently for a few short days, and there followed for them a long repose. The world desired them, but they did not desire it; it took them captive, but they ransomed their souls from it.

They passed the few short days (of this world) in patience, and in their wake they attain everlasting ease (the endless bliss of Paradise). The world turned toward them (displaying to them its wares and its adornment), but they turned away from it (averted their eyes from it); it made them captives, but they gave their lives in ransom (submitting to its hardships until) they freed themselves from it.

As for the night — they stand with their feet in rows, reciting the portions of the Qur'an, chanting it in measured recitation, grieving their souls with it and stirring by it the remedy of their ailment.

When night comes, they stand up (for prayer) and recite the verses of the Qur'an with deliberation and reflection; by reciting it and pondering upon it they make themselves sorrowful, and by means of it they strive after the cure of their ailment.

They beseech God, exalted is He, for the release of their necks.

They ask of God, exalted is He, their own deliverance (from the punishment of the Resurrection).

And as for the day — they are forbearing, learned, righteous, and God-fearing.

And when day comes, they are forbearing, knowing, well-doing, and God-fearing.

One says: they have surely been touched by madness — yet what has touched them is indeed a mighty matter.

He says they are deranged and mad, whereas they are not mad; rather, a mighty matter (the thought of the Resurrection) has become mingled with them.

Among the signs of any one of them is that you see in him strength in religion, resolution with gentleness, faith with certainty, eagerness for knowledge, knowledge with forbearance, moderation in wealth, humility in worship, graceful bearing in poverty, patience in hardship, seeking after the lawful, cheerfulness in guidance, and shrinking from greed.

The sign of one of the God-fearing is that you see him strong in the matter of religion, prudent along with gentleness and good temper, possessed of faith joined with certainty, eager in (seeking) knowledge, knowing in forbearance, moderate in wealth (not squandering, not spending his property wrongly), humble in servitude and worship, and presenting a graceful appearance in poverty and need (so that none becomes aware of his hardship); patient in hardship, seeking the lawful, glad of heart in guidance and salvation, and far removed from greed and avarice.

He passes the evening with gratitude as his concern, and rises in the morning with remembrance as his concern; he spends the night in wariness and rises in the morning rejoicing.

At night his endeavor is devoted to thanksgiving (for the blessings of God, exalted is He), and at morning his resolve is the remembrance of God. He passes the night fearful of his own heedlessness, and by day he is joyful at God's kindness and mercy.

The delight of his eye is in what does not pass away, and his abstinence is from what does not endure.

The light of his eye is in that which is everlasting, and his disinterest is in that which does not remain.

You see him: his hope is short, his stumbling slight, his heart humble, his soul content, his food scant, his affairs simple, his religion safeguarded, his desire dead, his anger suppressed. Good is hoped from him, and evil from him is not feared.

You see him with short hope, few faults and slips, a humble heart, a contented soul, little food, easy affairs, a safeguarded religion, desire and craving extinguished, and anger suppressed. People look to him for good and are secure from his evil.

He pardons the one who wrongs him, gives to the one who deprives him, and joins with the one who cuts him off. His coarseness is far away, his speech gentle; his wrongdoing is absent, his good conduct present; his good comes forward and his evil turns its back.

He forgives the one who wrongs him, shows kindness to the one who deprives him, and reunites with the one who severs ties with him; he is far from abuse and foul speech, and his words are mild; no blameworthy deed is seen from him, while his praiseworthy deeds are manifest; his good has come forward and his evil has turned its back.

In upheavals he is dignified, in adversities patient, in ease grateful. He does not wrong the one he hates, nor sin for the sake of the one he loves. He confesses the truth before witness is borne against him. He does not lose what he has been entrusted to keep, nor forget what he has been reminded of; he does not call others by offensive nicknames, does not harm his neighbor, and does not gloat over misfortunes.

In hardships he is dignified and forbearing, in adversities patient, and in ease and comfort grateful. He does not wrong the one he holds as an enemy, and does not sin for the sake of the one he loves. He confesses the truth before witnesses are brought against it. He does not waste what is entrusted to him, does not forget what he is reminded of, does not call anyone by ugly nicknames, does not harm his neighbor, and does not rejoice at the painful misfortunes that befall people.

If he is silent, his silence does not grieve him; if he laughs, his voice is not raised; and if he is wronged, he is patient until it is God who takes vengeance for him. His own soul is in hardship because of him, while people are at ease with him. He wearies himself for his Hereafter and gives people rest from himself.

If he sits in silence, his silence does not sadden him; if he laughs, the sound of his laughter does not rise; and when he is wronged, he takes to patience until God exacts his vengeance for him. His own soul is in toil and hardship at his hands, while people are at ease with him. He puts himself to toil for the sake of his Hereafter and brings people ease from himself.

His distance from whoever keeps distance from him is abstinence and purity, and his nearness to whoever draws near to him is gentleness and mercy. His distance is not out of pride and grandeur, nor his nearness out of cunning and deceit. The narrator said: Thereupon Hammam swooned a swoon in which his soul departed. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 184)

His distance from people is out of detachment and freedom from need, and his nearness is out of good temper and kindness. His distance is not out of self-regard and arrogance, nor is his nearness by way of cunning and deceit. The transmitter of this sermon said: (When the speech reached this point) Hammam fell unconscious, and in that very swoon he departed from this world.

Ali (AS): Verily this Islam is the religion of God, which He chose for Himself and whose pillars He established upon love of Him. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 189)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Islam is the religion of God, which He has chosen for attaining unto Himself, and whose pillars He has founded upon love of Himself.

Ali (AS): Verily prayer sheds sins as leaves are shed, and releases them as tethers are released. The Messenger of God (PBUH) likened it to a hot spring at a man's door, in which he bathes five times in the day and the night — what dirt could then remain upon him? Its due has been recognized by men among the believers whom neither the adornment of goods nor the delight of the eye in child or wealth can distract from it. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 190)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Prayer sheds sins as leaves fall (from a tree) and releases them as ropes are loosed (from the necks of beasts). And the Messenger of God (PBUH) likened prayer to a spring of warm water at a man's door, in which he washes five times in a day and night — so (it is clear) no dirt will remain upon such a person. The due of prayer has been recognized by men among the believers whom neither the adornment of any goods nor the delight of the eye in children and wealth holds back from it.

Ali (AS): Verily the alms-tax (zakat) has been appointed as a means of nearness for the people of Islam. Whoever gives it with a willing soul — it is made an expiation for him, and a barrier and shield against the Fire. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 190)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Zakat is for the Muslims a means of nearness to God. Whoever gives zakat with a willing heart, it is an expiation for him in this world and a protection in the Hereafter.

Ali (AS): O people, do not feel lonely on the path of guidance because its people are few, for the people have gathered around a table whose satiety is short and whose hunger is long. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 192)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: On the path of guidance, do not be frightened by the fewness of those who walk it; people are usually gathered around a table that holds little worth or benefit.

Ali (AS): Take your hearts out of this world before your bodies are taken out of it, for in it you have been tested, and for other than it you were created. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 194)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Before your bodies depart from this world, take your hearts out of it. The world is the abode of your trial, and you were created for the Hereafter.

Ali (AS) went in to visit al-Ala' ibn Ziyad, one of his companions, in his illness. When he saw the spaciousness of his house, he said: What would you do with the spaciousness of this house in this world, when you are more in need of it in the Hereafter? Yet indeed, if you wish, you may reach the Hereafter by means of it: entertain guests in it, keep the bonds of kinship in it, and bring forth from it the dues to their proper places — then you will have reached the Hereafter by means of it. Al-Ala' said to him: O Commander of the Faithful, I complain to you of my brother Asim ibn Ziyad. He said: What is the matter with him? He said: He has donned the woolen cloak and withdrawn from the world. He said: Bring him to me. When he came, he said: O little enemy of your own soul! The foul one has surely led you astray. Have you no mercy on your wife and children? Do you suppose that God has made the good things lawful for you, yet dislikes that you should take them? You are of less account before God than that. He said: O Commander of the Faithful, but here you are in the coarseness of your dress and the roughness of your food! He said: Woe to you — I am not like you. Verily God, exalted is He, has made it obligatory upon the leaders of justice to measure themselves against the weak among the people, so that the poor man's poverty may not drive him to despair. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 200)

Among the sayings of Ali (AS) when, in Basra, he went in to visit al-Ala' ibn Ziyad al-Harithi, who was ill and was one of that noble one's companions. When he saw the spaciousness of his house, he said: What have you done with the spaciousness of this house in this world, while you are more in need of its spaciousness in the Hereafter? Yes — if you wish, through the spaciousness of this house you may also attain the spaciousness of the house of the Hereafter: receive guests in it, keep the bonds of kinship, and make manifest from it the religious dues. In that case, by the spaciousness of this house you will have attained the spaciousness of the house of the Hereafter.

Then al-Ala' said to the Imam: O Commander of the Faithful, I complain to you of my brother Asim. The noble one said: For what reason? He said: He has put on a coarse cloak (like the monks) and turned away from the world. The Imam said: Bring him to me. When he came, he said:

O little enemy of your own self! The foul Satan has sought to bewilder you (setting you upon this path and adorning it in your eyes). Did you have no mercy on your wife and children (that you took up solitude and destitution)? Do you believe that God has made the pure things lawful for you, yet is averse and does not wish you to enjoy them? God's regard for you is not one of harshness. Asim said: O Commander of the Faithful, my case is like your own — you who are austere in rough, coarse clothing and hard food.

The Imam said: Woe to you, I am not like you; for God, exalted is He, has made it obligatory upon the leaders of truth to place themselves on a par with the poor among the people, so that the destitution of the poor and needy man may not press upon him and cast him into distress.

Ali (AS): Verily, in every act of obedience you have a help from God, glorified is He, which speaks upon the tongues and makes firm the hearts — in it is sufficiency for whoever seeks sufficiency, and healing for whoever seeks healing. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 205)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For the believers, in every act of obedience there is a help from the side of God that flows upon the tongues and makes hearts firm — so that it may be both a sufficiency and a deliverance from bewilderment.

Ali (AS), describing the wayfarer of the path unto God: He has given life to his intellect and put his soul to death, until his coarse frame has grown fine and his heaviness has turned subtle, and there has flashed for him a light of abundant brilliance. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 210)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS), describing the wayfarer of the path unto God, said: Such a one has given life to his intellect and put his lower soul to death, so that his bulk has become slender, his density has turned to subtlety, and a dazzling light has shone for him.

Ali (AS): Verily God, glorified and exalted is He, has made remembrance (dhikr) a polish for hearts. And remembrance has its own people, who have taken it in exchange for the world, so that neither trade nor sale distracts them from it; with it they pass the days of their life. They see what people do not see and hear what they do not hear. The angels have surrounded them, tranquility has descended upon them, the gates of heaven have been opened for them, and the seats of honor have been made ready for them. At every gate of longing toward God they have a knocking hand. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 213)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has made remembrance the polish of hearts, and remembrance has its people, who pursue it in place of the world. The occupations of life do not keep them from remembrance, and occupied with remembrance they pass their lives. They see things that people do not see and hear things that people do not hear. The angels come to their aid, tranquility descends upon them, the gates of heaven are opened for them, and the means of honor are made ready for them. At any door that is a way toward God, they never tire of knocking.

Ali (AS): What an excellent abode it is for one who is not content with it as an abode, and what an excellent place for one who does not take it as a homeland! Those who will be felicitous through this world tomorrow are those who flee from it today. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 214)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What a good place the world is for those who are not content with it and do not regard it as their homeland. Those made felicitous through the world are those who flee from it today.

Ali (AS): And refuse with graciousness and excuse. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 217)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you refuse (or wish to give a negative answer), say it briefly (do not explain at length or offer reasons), and ask to be excused.

Ali (AS): O God, You are the most intimate of intimates for Your friends, and the most present of them in sufficing those who rely upon You. If estrangement makes them lonely, Your remembrance gives them intimacy; and if misfortunes pour down upon them, they take refuge in seeking Your protection, knowing that the reins of affairs are in Your hand and that their sources spring from Your decree. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 218)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Lord! You are the best intimate for Your friends and the best sufficer for the people of trust. Whenever loneliness casts them into dread, Your remembrance gives them comfort; and whenever hardships assail them, they have recourse to seeking refuge in You, for they know that the reins of all affairs are in Your hand and that their origin lies in Your decree and destiny.

Ali (AS), on the attribute of the ascetics: They see the people of this world magnifying the death of their bodies, while they themselves magnify far more the death of the hearts of their living. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 221)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS), describing the ascetics, said: While they see the people of this world anxious over the death of their bodies, they themselves are intent lest their hearts should die.

Ali (AS): Do not plunge into the surge of the fire of discord that confronts you; turn aside from its path and leave the middle of the road clear for it. For, by my life, in its flames the believer perishes, while the one who is not a Muslim remains safe. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 229)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the fire of discord stands before you, do not enter it; rather, step aside from its path and leave the way open for it. By my life I swear that such discords burn the believer, while the religionless escape from them unharmed.

Ali (AS): The name of emigration (hijra) does not apply to anyone except through knowledge of the Proof (hujja) of God on earth. Whoever knows him and acknowledges him is an emigrant. And the name of oppressed weakness does not apply to one whom the Proof has reached, whose ear has heard it and whose heart has retained it. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 231)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: True emigration is emigration toward the Proof of God, and whoever knows the Proof of God and acknowledges him is an emigrant. And one to whom the Proof has come — such that his ear has heard it and his heart has accepted it — such a person is no longer among the oppressed and weak.

Ali (AS): Verily our cause is hard and made harder still; none bears it save a believing servant whose heart God has tested for faith, and none retains our discourse save trustworthy breasts and sober minds. O people, ask me before you lose me, for I know the paths of heaven better than the paths of the earth. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 231)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Our cause is hard, and for some it becomes harder still. None can bear it save a believing servant the faith of whose heart God has tried through tests. Only trustworthy breasts and purified minds comprehend our traditions. O people, ask me before you lose me, for I know the paths of heaven better than the paths of the earth.

Ali (AS): Keep to the ground, be patient under trial, do not set your hands and swords in motion after the inclination of your tongues, and do not hasten what God has not hastened for you. For whoever of you dies upon his bed while knowing the right of his Lord and the right of His Messenger and of His Household dies a martyr; his reward falls upon God, and he deserves the recompense of the righteous deeds he intended, for the intention takes the place of the drawing of his sword. Verily, everything has a term and an appointed time. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 232)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Stay in your places (do not vainly seek after more) and be patient under trial and hardship; do not set your hands and swords to work in the cravings of your tongues, and do not hasten toward what God has not laid upon you. For whoever of you dies upon his bed while knowing the right of his Lord, the right of His Prophet and Messenger, and the right of that noble one's Household, has died a martyr; his reward is with God, and he deserves the recompense of the good deeds he held in intention. That intention takes the place of his drawing his sword. And everything has a term and an appointed end (before which no striving avails).

Ali (AS): Servants of God, I counsel you to the fear of God (taqwa), for it is God's right over you and it makes your right binding upon God — and I counsel you to seek God's help for taqwa, and to seek taqwa's help toward God. For taqwa is today the shelter and the shield, and tomorrow the road to Paradise; its path is clear, its traveler profits, and its Trustee is its keeper. Do not lower one whom taqwa has raised, and do not raise one whom the world has raised. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 233)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Servants of God, I counsel you to piety and the fear of God. For taqwa is God's right over you, and it makes your right (the reward of your deeds) established and binding upon God. And I counsel you to seek help from God for taqwa, and to seek from taqwa companionship toward (nearness to) God. Taqwa is, today, refuge and shield, and, tomorrow, the road to Paradise. Its path is clear, its traveler reaps profit, and its Guarantor (God) is its keeper and preserver. Do not account small one whom taqwa has raised up, and do not account as anything one whom the world has raised up.

Ali (AS): Verily God, glorified is He, tries His creation with certain things whose origin they do not know, to distinguish them through the test and to strip arrogance away from them. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God at times tries His creation with something whose reason is unknown to them, so that through this test a distinction may be drawn between the obedient and the disobedient, and arrogance may depart from the obedient.

Ali (AS): So beware, servants of God, of the enemy of God, lest he infect you with his disease and rouse you with his call. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O servants of God, beware lest Satan — who dealt with God in arrogance and enmity — afflict you too with his own disease and rob you of your peace with his whispering.

Ali (AS): Satan has become a greater danger to your religion, and a fiercer striker of sparks against your worldly life, than those against whom you have set yourselves and against whom you band together. So direct your edge against him and your effort toward him. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Satan is more dangerous in wounding your religion, and has bared his sword more openly to kindle fire in your worldly life, than the enemies with whom you deal in open enmity and against whom you gather (for combat, calling one another to aid). So set your strength and your effort to repelling him.

Ali (AS): Do not be deluded into judging (God's) pleasure and displeasure by wealth and children, in ignorance of the places of trial and testing that lie in affluence and power; for He, glorified and exalted is He, has said: 'Do they reckon that the wealth and sons We provide them with mean that We hasten good things for them? Nay, they do not perceive.' [Qur'an 23:55-56] (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not measure God's pleasure and wrath by the having or lacking of wealth and children. To do so is done in ignorance of God's trial and testing in affluence and in poverty. God, glorified is He, has said: 'Do they reckon that in the wealth and children We extend to them We are hastening good things for them? Nay, they do not perceive' [Qur'an 23:55-56] — that is: do they suppose that by the wealth and children We bestow upon them We intend good for them? (It is not so.)

Ali (AS): Verily God, glorified is He, tests His servants who are arrogant in their own souls by means of His friends who are weak in their eyes. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God tries His arrogant and haughty servants by means of His friends, who in their eyes appear weak and poor.

Ali (AS): The greater the trial and the test, the more abundant the reward and the recompense. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The harder the trial and the test, the greater also its reward and recompense.

Ali (AS): Verily God tests His servants with various hardships, calls them to His service through various strivings, and tries them with various kinds of adversities — to bring arrogance out of their hearts and settle humility in their souls, and to make of that open gates unto His bounty and easy means unto His pardon. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God tries His servants with hardships of many kinds, requires their servitude through differing strivings, and tests them with various sorts of adversities, so that pride and self-conceit may go out of their hearts and humility may settle in their souls — and so that through those trials He may open for them gates of His bounty and means of His pardon.

Ali (AS): I am of a people whom, in the way of God, no blamer's blame deters. Their countenance is the countenance of the truthful and their speech the speech of the righteous — keepers of the night's vigil and beacons of the day, holding fast to the rope of the Qur'an, reviving the ways of God and the ways of His Messenger. They are not arrogant, nor haughty, nor treacherous, nor corrupt. Their hearts are in Paradise and their bodies at work. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 234)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I am of those whom, in the way of God, blame does not hold back. Their faces are the faces of the truthful and their speech the speech of the righteous. They are the builders of the night and the signposts and guides of the day. They cling to the rope of the Qur'an and revive the ways of God and the practices of His Prophet. They neither show arrogance nor exalt themselves; they act neither dishonestly nor corruptly. Their hearts are in Paradise and their bodies busy at work.

Ali (AS): Forbearance tells you of knowledge, the outward of the inward, and silence of the wisdom of speech. (Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 239)

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A man's forbearance always tells of his knowledge, his outward of his inward, and his silence of the wisdom of his speech.