The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who sets out in pursuit of knowledge is like one who strives in the way of God. Indeed, seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim. And many a believer goes out of his house in pursuit of knowledge and does not return except forgiven. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 10)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who stands out in the pursuit of knowledge is like one who wages jihad in the way of God. Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim. It often happens that a believer leaves his house in pursuit of knowledge and, when he returns, is completely forgiven.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no nobility like knowledge, and no knowledge like seeing. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 10)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Nothing is nobler than knowledge, and no knowledge is higher than seeing with one's own eyes.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever takes his religion from the mouths of men, men will strip it away from him; but whoever takes his religion from the Book and the Sunna — the mountains will crumble away and he will not waver. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 22)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever has taken his religion from this person and that will lose his religion when this person and that stumble; but whoever has taken his religion from the Book and the Sunna — the mountains may collapse, yet he remains firm.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Truth is not known by men. Know the truth, and you will know its people. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 31)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Truth is not known through persons. First know the truth; then you will know those who stand upon it.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked about divine unity (tawhid) and justice. He said: Tawhid is that you do not imagine Him, and justice is that you do not accuse Him. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 39)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked about divine unity and justice. He said: Divine unity is that you not fashion an imagined god for yourself, and justice is that you not lay evils upon God.
From Abu Mansur, from Zayd ibn Wahb, who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked about the veils. He said: The first of the veils is seven veils, the gatekeepers of each veil being seventy thousand angels; then the pavilions of Majesty; then the pavilion of Might; then the pavilion of Grandeur; then the pavilion of Greatness; then the pavilion of Holiness; then the pavilion of Omnipotence; then the pavilion of Glory; then the pavilion of the White Light; then the pavilion of Oneness; then the Highest Veil; then the Supreme Greatness. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 35)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Between us and God there are, first, seven veils, the gatekeeper of each veil being seventy thousand angels. Then comes the pavilion (that is, the enclosure) of Majesty; then the pavilion of Might; then the pavilion of Grandeur; then the pavilion of Greatness; then the pavilion of Holiness; then the pavilion of Omnipotence; then the pavilion of Glory; then the pavilion of the White Light; and then Oneness. After that is the Highest Veil, and after that the Supreme Greatness.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Clothe your servants with what you yourselves wear, and feed them from what you yourselves eat. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 107)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Clothe those under your charge in the clothing you yourselves wear, and give them the same food you yourselves eat.
The Commander of the Faithful (upon him be the most excellent of peace) came to the market of the cotton-cloth sellers and stopped before a young man and said: Young man, do you have two garments for five dirhams? He said: Yes, I have two garments. So he took two garments, one for three dirhams and the other for two. He said: O Qanbar, take the one worth three dirhams. Qanbar said: You are more entitled to it — you ascend the pulpit and address the people. He said: You are young and have the ardor of youth, and I am ashamed before my Lord to set myself above you. When he put on the shirt, he stretched out his hand along its sleeve and found that it extended beyond his fingers. He said: Cut off this excess. So he cut it. The young man said: Come, let me hem it. He said: Leave it; leave it as it is, for the matter moves faster than that. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 107)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) bought two shirts for five dirhams, one of which was better than the other. He said to his servant Qanbar: You take the better shirt! Qanbar said: It befits you, who ascend the pulpit and whom the people come to see. He said: No; it is better that you take it. For you are young and have the desire and vigor of youth, and I am ashamed before my Lord to wear clothing better than yours. So he took the second garment and put it on, and saw that its sleeves were so long that they extended past his fingers. He said to the seller: Cut off the excess! The seller did so, and then said: Let me hem the remainder so it does not fray. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Leave it! Death is in haste, and there is no time for such things.
A man questioned the Commander of the Faithful (AS), saying: I ask you about three things that are in you: I ask you about the shortness of your stature, the largeness of your belly, and the baldness of your head. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God Most High did not create me tall, nor did He create me short, but He created me well-proportioned: if I strike a short man I split him, and if I strike a tall man I cut him in two. As for the largeness of my belly, the Messenger of God (PBUH) taught me a gate of knowledge from which a thousand gates open, so knowledge crowded within my belly and it swelled from it. And as for the baldness of my head, it is from the constant wearing of armor and the combat of champions. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 108)
A man said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS): I want to ask you about three things concerning you: first, the shortness of your stature; second, the largeness of your belly; third, why the hair at the front of your head has fallen out. Ali (AS) said: God Most High created me neither tall nor short, but well-proportioned and moderate. Even so, whether I strike one of short stature or of tall stature, I split him in two. The largeness of my belly is because the Messenger of God (PBUH) taught me a gate of knowledge from which a thousand gates spring, and this is the largeness of knowledge. And as for the falling of the hair of my head, it is from striving and combat with champions and from the wearing of the white garment.
(We say: There does not appear to be any connection between knowledge and the belly, or between the white garment and baldness. Nevertheless, this matter has come in many narrations from the tongue of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), reaching the level of abundant transmission, such that one attains a general certainty as to the correctness of its attribution to him. In this servant's view, the logic of speech in narrations such as these is the rhetorical and dialectical style used to silence an opponent, not the scientific and logical style used to state the truth.)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: God gave Ali a portion of excellence such that, were it divided among the people of the earth, it would encompass them all; and He gave him a portion of understanding such that, were it divided among the people of the earth, it would suffice them all. His gentleness resembles the gentleness of Lot, his character the character of John (Yahya), his asceticism the asceticism of Job, his generosity the generosity of Abraham, his cheerfulness the cheerfulness of Solomon son of David, and his strength the strength of David. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 110)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: God has given Ali an excellence which, if divided among all the people of the earth, would embrace them all; and an understanding which, if divided among all the people of the earth, would make them all understanding, with more to spare. Ali — his gentleness and forbearance are like Lot's; his character is like John's; his asceticism is like Job's; his generosity takes after Abraham; his cheerfulness is like the cheerfulness of Solomon; and his strength is the strength of David.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Love of Ali is a blessing, and following him is a virtue. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 110)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Love of Ali is a blessing, and being his follower is a virtue.
Umm Salama said: The Prophet (PBUH) was with me when Gabriel (AS) came to him. Gabriel began to gesture with his hand as one taking hold of something, and behold, in his hand were an apple, a quince, and a pomegranate. The pomegranate, the quince, and the apple remained — whenever any was eaten from, it returned to what it had been — until the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away. Husayn said: Neither change nor diminution touched them during the days of Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of God (PBUH); but when she died (AS), we lost the pomegranate, while the apple and the quince remained through the days of my father. When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was martyred, the quince was lost, and the apple remained in its state with Hasan until he died of his poisoning. Then the apple remained until the time I was cut off from water; I would smell it whenever I thirsted, and it would break the flame of my thirst. When my thirst grew intense upon me, I bit into it, and I became certain of death. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 1, p. 159)
Umm Salama relates that the Messenger of God (PBUH) was in our house when Gabriel descended upon him and brought an apple, a pomegranate, and a quince. The Messenger of God (PBUH) gave them to Hasan and Husayn (AS) to take home. The fruits remained in the house of Ali (AS), and if they ate from them, nothing was diminished. After the passing of the Messenger of God (PBUH), these three fruits still existed. But after the passing of Fatima (AS), the pomegranate was lost. When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was martyred, the quince was lost. The apple was with Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), and after him with Imam Husayn (AS). It is related from the Master of Martyrs (AS): At Karbala, when they cut off the water from us, I would smell the apple and my thirst would subside. When I became certain that I would be killed, I ate the apple.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Know, servants of God, that the least that is given to the fasting men and fasting women is that an angel calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadan: Rejoice, servants of God, for your past sins have been forgiven; so look to how you shall be in what you begin anew. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 354)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The least that is given to the believers who have fasted the month of Ramadan is that on the last day of the month an angel calls out: Good tidings to you, servants of God! God has forgiven your past sins; so be watchful over what lies ahead.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do good and do not belittle any of it, for its small is great and its little is much. And let none of you say that another is worthier of doing good than I am — for then, by God, it will be so. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 372)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do good, and count no good deed small; for of a good deed, even the small is great and even the little is much. Beware of saying that so-and-so is worthier of this good deed than I am — for, by God, it will become so, and you will lose the grace of doing good.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Hearts have times of advancing and times of retreating. When they advance, carry them to the supererogatory devotions; and when they retreat, confine them to the obligatory duties. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 414)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Hearts have times of approach and times of retreat. At the time of approach, take up the supererogatory devotions; and at the time of retreat, confine yourselves to the obligatory duties.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) consoled al-Ash'ath ibn Qays over his son and said: If you grieve, then kinship has deserved that of you; but if you bear it patiently, then with God there is a recompense for your son. If you are patient, destiny runs its course over you and you are rewarded; and if you despair, destiny runs its course over you and you bear the sin. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 423)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) consoled Ash'ath over the death of his child and said: If you become sorrowful, it is not out of place; but if you are content, you have an abundant recompense and reward with God! Then he said: Always, when destiny runs its course over you, if you are content, you are rewarded; and if you wail in despair, it has no effect on the course of destiny, and you are barred from nearness to God.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The undoing of faith is greed. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 433)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Greed for anything, if it awakens within a person, wears away his faith little by little.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever does not grieve over the past and does not rejoice over what is to come has taken hold of asceticism at both its ends. O people! Asceticism is the shortening of hope. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 434)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever does not regret the past and does not set his heart on the future has attained complete asceticism. O people! Do you want asceticism? Then let go of your desires!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The man of this world — whenever he settles into some joy in it, it drives him out toward some peril. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 441)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: As soon as someone takes comfort in some thing of this world, the world afflicts him with some trouble.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God Most High created a people for whom He straitened this world out of regard for them; so He made them abstinent toward it and its debris, and they yearned for the Abode of Peace. How shall I describe an abode in which whoever grows rich is put to trial, whoever is poor grieves, whoever strives after it — it escapes him, and whoever sits back from it — it comes to him. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 444)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has created some people poor in this world because He looked upon them with kindness and wished them to be abstinent toward the world and its debris, and to yearn for the Abode of Peace of the hereafter. What shall I say of a world in which the rich man is put to trial and the poor man is sorrowful? Whoever chases after the world, the world flees from him; and whoever lets the world go, the world presents to him with both hands what it is bound to give.
Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) related from Abu Juhayfa, who said: I came to the Messenger of God (PBUH) while I was belching. He said: O Abu Juhayfa, restrain your belching, for those most sated in this world will be those longest hungry on the Day of Resurrection. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 456)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Someone recounted to me that he had come before the Prophet (PBUH) while belching. The Prophet (PBUH) said to him: Hold back your belching, for the sated of this world are the hungry of the hereafter.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the first fringes of blessings reach you, do not drive away the rest of them by scantness of gratitude. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 473)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the vanguard of a blessing appears, do not scare the rest of it away from yourself by falling short in gratitude.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever makes a bequest and commits no injustice nor works against his heirs is as one who gave that wealth in charity during his lifetime. And he said: It is all the same whether I harm my heirs or steal that wealth from them. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 482)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever makes a will and permits no injustice or wrong within it is as one who gave that wealth in charity in the way of God during his own lifetime. Then he said: Harming one's heirs is the very theft of wealth from them.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people! Whoever walks upon the face of the earth shall come to its belly. Every living being has its sustenance, and every grain has its eater — and you are the sustenance of death. Neither shall the rich man escape death by his wealth, nor the poor man by his lack of it. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 489)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever walks upon the earth will soon be swallowed by it. Every creature has its sustenance and is itself the sustenance of another creature. You and I, too, are the food of death! Neither has the rich man any escape from death through his wealth, nor the poor man through his pleading.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said at the burial of Fatima (AS): For every union of two dear friends there is a parting, and all that falls short of death is little. My losing them one after another is proof that no dear friend endures. Soon you will turn away from my remembrance and forget my love, and after me a new friend will come along for the friend. (Rawdat al-Wa'izin, vol. 2, p. 491)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS), as he was laying Fatima (AS) to rest, murmured these verses:
All being together in this world is brief, and its end is separation.
My losing them one after another is proof that friendship does not endure.
Soon you will turn away from my remembrance and forget my love, and after me a new friend will come along for the friend.