The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: This world passes from hand to hand; so seek your share of it with moderation in seeking. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 61)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The world keeps changing hands; seek your share of it with calm, and do not be greedy.
He said: Time is two days: a day for you and a day against you. When it is for you, do not be exultant; and when it is against you, be patient — for both will pass away from you. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 61)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Time has two days: a day in your favor and a day against you. If it is in your favor, do not be intoxicated by it; and if it is against you, be patient — for both are fleeting, and neither will last.
Hanan ibn Sadir, from his father, from Muhammad ibn Ali, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: Ali (AS) said: My Shia does not beg from people, even if he should die of hunger. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 87)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My Shia does not beg, even if he should die of hunger.
From the words of the Commander of the Faithful (AS): A ravening lion is better than an oppressive ruler, and an oppressive ruler is better than unending strife. In the moment of oppression, remember God's justice concerning you; and in the moment of power, remember God's power over you. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 135)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A ravening lion is better than a tyrannical king, and a tyrannical king is better than lasting turmoil. When tempted to oppress, call to mind God's justice; and when you gain power, behold God's power over you.
He (AS) said: Punishment enough for the envier is what he suffers. And he (AS) said: A habitual liar has no manly virtue, and an envier has no rest. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 136)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For the envious person, the very torment he endures is his punishment. And he also said: The envious person has no peace.
He (AS) said: Whoever keeps company with an ignorant person suffers a loss in his own intellect. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 199)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Keeping company with a person of little intelligence diminishes one's own intelligence.
He (AS) said: Deliberateness is the crown of intellect, and hot temper is the crown of foolishness. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 199)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Composure is the key of intellect, and hotheadedness is the key of foolishness.
He (AS) said: The anger of the ignorant shows in his words, and the anger of the wise in his deeds. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 199)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the ignorant person becomes angry, he talks; but when the wise person becomes angry, he keeps silent, and later makes up for it and sets things right through action.
He (AS) said: A man's conjecture is a piece of his intellect. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 199)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A person's conjecture is a part of his intellect.
He (AS) said: Whoever relies solely on his own intellect will stumble. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 200)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever acts only on his own judgment and does not consult others will slip.
He (AS) said: Intellect and folly keep contending for mastery over a person until the age of eighteen; when he reaches it, whichever of the two prevails takes hold of him. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 200)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Wisdom and folly continually struggle within every person, each striving to prevail over him, until the eighteenth year of his life; and whichever of them gains the upper hand then, driving out the other, in that state he remains until the end of his life.
He (AS) said: When the inner conscience is set right, the great sins are forgiven. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 278)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When a person's inner self is set right, his sins are forgiven.
He (AS) said: Beware of disputation, for it breeds doubt regarding the religion of God. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 279)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not engage in disputation, for it causes doubt to creep into religion.
He (AS) said: The merchandise of the Hereafter finds few buyers; so acquire much of it in the season of its slack market. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 279)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The market of the Hereafter is now slack and short of buyers; so gather much from it!
He (AS) said: Whoever forgets his own fault regards the fault of another as enormous. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 279)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The reason one dwells on the faults of others is that one has forgotten one's own.
He (AS) said: Whoever loves you restrains you. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 279)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The reason someone forbids you from wrong is that he loves you.
He (AS) said: Patience is the adornment of affliction, and tranquility is the adornment of worship. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 300)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The adornment of affliction is patience, and the adornment of worship is calm and tranquility.
He (AS) said: The slip of a learned man is like the wreck of a ship: it sinks and takes others down with it. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 319)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The slip of a learned man is like the breaking of a ship: it drowns, and it drowns others.
He (AS) said: When the matter has become clear to you, be resolute! (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 319)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Once the dimensions of the matter have become clear to you, make your decision!
He (AS) said: Never belittle a servant to whom God has given knowledge, for God the Exalted did not belittle him when He gave it to him. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 319)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never look down upon someone to whom God has given knowledge; God's very giving of knowledge to him is a sign that he is precious in God's sight.
He (AS) said: Whoever is forbearing toward his enemy triumphs over him. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 319)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever shows forbearance toward his enemy will gain victory over him.
He (AS) said: Whoever speaks gently, love for him becomes inevitable. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 320)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever speaks gently draws the love of hearts toward himself.
He (AS) said: Humility earns you safety. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 320)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Humility protects a person.
He (AS) said: Whoever rises in the morning grieving over this world has risen displeased with his Lord, the Exalted; and whoever's greatest concern is this world, his misery and sorrow are prolonged. This world belongs to the one who leaves it, and the Hereafter to the one who seeks it. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 345)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever grieves over this world stands in displeasure toward his Lord; and whoever makes this world his chief desire, his misery and sorrow will be drawn out. This world belongs to the one who lets it go; the Hereafter, by contrast, is won only through seeking.
He (AS) said: When you seek something of this world and it is withheld from you, remember the religion with which God has favored you in particular, turning it away from others. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 345)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you desire something of this world and it is not given to you, call to mind that God has given you religion, while many are deprived of it.
He (AS) said: Whoever chases after this world, it escapes him; and whoever sits back from it, it comes to him. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 345)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever runs after the world and strives for it, the world slips from his hands; and whoever sits back and does not want it, the world surrenders itself to him.
He (AS) said: The death of the righteous is rest for themselves, and the death of the wicked is rest for the world. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 349)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The death of the righteous is a relief for themselves, and the death of the wicked is a relief for the world.
He (AS) said: Do not obey women in any circumstance, do not entrust them with wealth, and do not rely upon them in affairs; for they keep no covenant with the one who covenants with them, show no restraint when they are in want, and have no religion in the hour of their desire. They retain evil and forget good. Yet be kind to them in every circumstance, that perhaps they may act well. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 1, p. 376)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Never follow the word of women, do not make them trustees over wealth, and do not rely on them in affairs. For they break covenants, are without piety when they feel no need, and are without religion in the hour of desire. They never let an injury slip from memory, and kindness they usually consign to oblivion. Even so, be kind to them; perhaps they will treat you well.
He (AS) said: Silence is light. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 14)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Silence is light.
He (AS) was asked about greed: What is it? He said: It is seeking the little at the cost of losing the much. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 32)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said concerning greed: The mark of greed for a thing is giving away much in exchange for a little of it.
He (AS) said: The wise person, in his solitude, finds rest in his intellect; the ignorant person is frightened of his own self. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 32)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the wise person is alone, he is content in the company of his intellect; when the ignorant person is alone, he is afraid of himself.
It is related from Ali (AS) that he said: The dream of a believer runs in the course of a word the Lord speaks to him. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 61)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The believer's dream is God's word with him.
He (AS) said: Who has ever sought God, the Mighty and Majestic, and not found Him? Who has ever taken refuge in God and He did not defend him? Who has ever relied upon God and He did not suffice him? (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 67)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Who has ever sought God and not found Him?! Who has ever taken refuge in God without God rising to his defense?! Who has ever placed his trust in God without God sufficing him?!
He (AS) said: A word of wisdom that a man hears and then speaks or acts upon is better than a year of worship. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 108)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Learning one piece of wisdom that is of use in life is worth more than a year of worship.
He (AS) said: There is no ease in life except for a scholar who speaks or an attentive listener who retains. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 108)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The true pleasure of life belongs to the scholar, or at least to the seeker of knowledge.
He (AS) said: If the bearers of knowledge bore it as it truly deserves, God, His angels, and the obedient among His creation would love them; but they bore it in pursuit of this world, so God detests them and they have become lowly in the eyes of the people. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 109)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If the learned had known the worth of knowledge, they would have become beloved of God, of the angels, and of the people of obedience. But with their knowledge they went chasing the world; so they fell under God's wrath and became despised before the people.
He (AS) said: Whoever sits in his place awaiting the prayer is in prayer, and the angels invoke blessings upon him; and their blessing upon him is: O God, forgive him! O God, have mercy on him! (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 153)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever sits somewhere waiting for the prayer is in prayer, and the angels send blessings upon him, saying: O God, forgive him! O God, immerse him in Your mercy!
He (AS) said: No blessing ever departs from a people, nor any comfort of life, except because of sins they have committed; indeed, God is not unjust to His servants. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 162)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No blessing is taken from a people, and no spread of comfort is rolled up, except on account of sins; for God does not wrong His servants.
He (AS) said: The worst of people in condition is he who trusts no one because of his suspicion, and whom no one trusts because of his misconduct. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 182)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Wretched is the one who trusts no one, and whom no one trusts.
He (AS) said: A goodly avowal demolishes the offense. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 182)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Explaining a matter truthfully and honestly lifts accusation from a person.
He (AS) said: When a kindness is denied, reminding of it becomes proper. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 182)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Where a favor is being denied, there is no fault in mentioning it as a reminder.
He (AS) said: Do not display enmity toward one over whom you have no power. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 183)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When your strength does not reach someone, do not show your hostility toward him.
He (AS) said: Whoever makes his intention good, his sustenance is increased. (Kanz al-Fawa'id of al-Karajiki, vol. 2, p. 197)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever sets his intention upon good, his sustenance is increased.