Ali Quotes

“Do not feel ashamed to forgive and forget.”

“Every person who is tempted to go astray, does not deserve punishment.”

“Whoever wants to be a leader should educate himself before educating others. Before preaching to others he should first practice himself. Whoever educates himself and improves his own morals is superior to the man who tries to teach and train others.”

“Remember that this world which you covet so ardently and attempt to acquire so earnestly, and which sometimes annoys you and sometimes pleases you so much, is neither your home nor a permanent destination. You have not been created for it, nor invited to it as your resting-place. It shall neither remain with you for ever, nor will you remain in it eternally. If it has enticed you away with its charrns, it has also warned and cautioned you of real dangers lurking in its folds. Take account of the warnings it has given you and do not be seduced or deceived by its allurements. Let these warnings frighten you from being too greedy to possess it. Try to advance towards the place where you are invited for eternal bliss and turn your face away from the vicious world.”

“Two things cause people to be destroyed: fear of poverty and seeking superiority through pride.”

“Endurance is composed of four attributes: eagerness, fear, piety and anticipation (of death). so whoever is eager for Paradise will ignore temptations; whoever fears the fire of Hell will abstain from sins; whoever practices piety will easily bear the difficulties of life and whoever anticipates death will hasten towards good deeds.
Conviction has also four aspects to guard oneself against infatuations of sin; to search for explanation of truth through knowledge; to gain lessons from instructive things and to follow the precedent of the past people, because whoever wants to guard himself against vices and sins will have to search for the true causes of infatuation and the true ways of combating them out and to find those true ways one has to search them with the help of knowledge, whoever gets fully acquainted with various branches of knowledge will take lessons from life and whoever tries to take lessons from life is actually engaged in the study of the causes of rise and fall of previous civilizations.
Justice also has four aspects depth of understanding, profoundness of knowledge, fairness of judgment and dearness of mind; because whoever tries his best to understand a problem will have to study it, whoever has the practice of studying the subject he is to deal with, will develop a clear mind and will always come to correct decisions, whoever tries to achieve all this will have to develop ample patience and forbearance and whoever does this has done justice to the cause of religion and has led a life of good repute and fame.
Jihad is divided into four branches: to persuade people to be obedient to Allah; to prohibit them from sin and vice; to struggle (in the cause of Allah) sincerely and firmly on all occasions and to detest the vicious. Whoever persuades people to obey the orders of Allah provides strength to the believers; whoever dissuades them from vices and sins humiliates the unbelievers; whoever struggles on all occasions discharges all his obligations and whoever detests the vicious only for the sake of Allah, then Allah will take revenge on his enemies and will be pleased with Him on the Day of Judgment.”

“O' my Allah! Sustainer of the high sky and the suspended firmament which Thou hast made a shelter for the night and the day, an orbit for the sun and the moon and a path for the rotating stars, and for populating it Thou hast created a group of Thy angels who do not get weary of worshipping Thee. O' Sustainer of this earth which Thou hast made an abode for people and a place for the movement of insects and beasts and countless other creatures seen and unseen. O' Sustainer of strong mountains which Thou hast made as pegs for the earth and (a means of) support for people. If Thou givest us victory over our enemy, save us from excesses and keep us on the straight path of truth. But if Thou givest them victory over us, then grant us martyrdom and save us from mischief.”

“There are so many highly esteemed ones who became miserable and humiliated just because of their bad temper and morals; and humble people who have attained eminence and the highest honors because of good temper and morals.”

“Hearts of people are like wild beasts. They attach themselves to those who love and train them.”

“Whenever a tradition of the Holy Prophet is related to you, scrutinize it, do not be satisfied with mere verbatim repetition of the same because there are many people who repeat the words containing knowledge but only few ponder over them and try to fully grasp the meaning they convey.”

“To whatever extent a person's knowledge increases, his attention will be turned more towards his soul.”

“Many persons get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst, many more get nothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless nights. Wise and sagacious persons are praiseworthy even if they do not fast and sleep during the nights.”

“A conceited and self-admiring person is disliked by others; charity and alms are the best remedy for ailments and calamities; one has to account in the next world for the deeds that he has done in this world.”

“There are three signs of a knowledgeable person: knowledge, forbearance and silence.”

“An ignorant person will always overdo a thing or neglect it totally.”

“Defend your faith (in Allah) with the help of charity. Protect your wealth with the aid of Zakat. Let the prayers guard you from calamities and disasters.”

“A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue and a wise man's tongue is under the control of his mind.”

“O son of Adam, if you have collected anything in excess of your actual need, you will act only as its trustee for someone else to use it.”

“Adversities often bring good qualities to the front.”

“Oppression and tyranny are the worse companions for the Hereafter.”

“The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.”

“One who comes into power often oppresses.”

“Avarice dulls the faculties of judgment and wisdom.”

“One of the conveniences in life is to have less children.”

“One who forsakes truth earns eternal damnation.”

“When truth was revealed to me I never doubted it.”

“Do not feel ashamed if the amount of charity is small because to refuse the needy is an act of greater shame.”

“Value of a man depends upon his courage; his veracity depends upon his self-respect and his chastity depends upon his sense of honor.”

“Recommended prayers cannot attain the pleasures of Allah for you when obligatory prayers are left unattended.”

“Not to have a thing is less humiliating than to beg it.”

“The weakest man is the one who is able to correct his moral defects, but doesn't take action.”

“Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings.”

“Do not hurry over punishments and do not be pleased and do not be proud of your power to punish.”

“One who rushes madly after inordinate desire, runs the risk of encountering destruction and death.”

“Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land.”

“Aid (from Allah) is in proportion to the trouble.”

“Anyone who loves us Ahlul Bayt must be ready to face a life of austerity.”

“One who takes account of his shortcomings will always gain by it; one who is unmindful of them will always suffer. One who is afraid of the Day of Judgment, is safe from the Wrath of Allah. One who takes lessons from the events of life, gets vision, one who acquires vision becomes wise and one who attains wisdom achieves knowledge.”

“Islam does not mean mere faith, but faith plus deeds”

“When wisdom reaches the pinnacle of perfection, it will suppress the vicious instincts and injurious desires.”

“Contentment is the capital which will never diminish.”

“So long as fortune is favouring you, your defects will remain covered.”

“One who imagines himself to be all-knowing will surely suffer on account of his ignorance.”

“Silence will create respect and dignity; justice and fairplay will bring more friends; benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position; courtesy will draw benevolence; service of mankind will secure leadership and good words will overcome powerful enemies.”

“Reciter and listener of the Qur'an are alike in prize and reward.”

“Time wears out bodies, renews hopes, brings death nearer and takes away aspirations. Whoever gets anything from the world lives in anxiety for holding it and whoever loses anything passes his days grieving over the loss.”

“Recitation of the Qur'an without contemplation and thought is futile.”

“Tongue is a beast, if it is let loose, it devours.”

“Loving one another is half of wisdom.”

“If you want to pray to Allah for better means of subsistence, then first give something in charity”

“There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.”

“He who practices moderation and frugality will never be threatened with poverty.”

“He who is deserted by friends and relatives will often find help and sympathy from strangers.”

“The best companion and helper is admirable morals.”

“When some blessings come to you, do not drive them away through thanklessness.”

“Those who have come alive out of a blood-bath live longer and have more children.”

“The mind of a wise man is the safest custody of secrets; cheerfulness is the key to friendship; patience and forbearance will conceal many defects.”

“Books are the gardens of scholars.”

“Anger and desire of vengeance are not going to be of much help to you in your administration.”

“Only he who has the power to punish can pardon.”

“If a friend envies you, then he is not a true friend.”

“If you understand Allah's Majesty, then you will not attach any importance to the creatures.”

“A greedy man will always find himself in the shackles of humility.”

“It is wiser to abstain than to repent.”

“Whoever warns you against sins and vices is like the one who gives you good tidings.”

“To refrain from unlawful and impious source of pleasures is an ornament to the poor and to be thankful for the riches granted is the adornment of wealth.”