1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. Husayn ibn Ali

Husayn ibn Ali Quotes

Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abi Talib was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. He is an important figure in Islam as he was a member of the Bayṫ of Muhammad and the Ahl al-Kisā' , as well as the third Shia Imam.

Prior to his death, the Umayyad ruler Muawiya appointed his son Yazid as his successor in a clear violation of the Hasan-Muawiya treaty. When Muawiya died in 680 CE, Yazid demanded that Husain pledge allegiance to him. Husain refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid, even though it meant sacrificing his life. As a consequence, he left Medina, his hometown, to take refuge in Mecca in AH 60. There, the people of Kufah sent letters to him, asking his help and pledging their allegiance to him. So he traveled towards Kufah; however, at a place near it known as Karbala, his caravan was intercepted by Yazid's army. He was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 by Shimr ibn Thil-Jawshan, along with most of his family and companions, including Husayn's six month old son, Ali al-Asghar, with the women and children taken as prisoners. Anger at Husayn's death was turned into a rallying cry that helped undermine the Umayyad caliphate's legitimacy, and ultimately overthrow it by the Abbasid Revolution.Husayn is highly regarded by Shia Muslims for refusing to pledge allegiance to Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, because he considered the rule of the Umayyads unjust. The annual memorial for him and his children, family and companions occurs during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and the day he was martyred is known as Ashura . Husayn's actions at Karbala fueled later Shia movements,

and the martyrdom of Husayn was decisive in shaping Islamic and Shia history. The timing of the Imam's life and martyrdom were crucial as they were in one of the most challenging periods of the seventh century. During this time, Umayyad oppression was rampant, and the stand of Husain and his followers took became a symbol of resistance inspiring future uprisings against oppressors and injustice. Throughout history, many notable personalities, such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, have cited Husain's stand against oppression as an example for their own fights against injustice.

✵ 8. January 626 – 10. October 680
Husayn ibn Ali photo
Husayn ibn Ali: 32   quotes 8   likes

Famous Husayn ibn Ali Quotes

“One who reveals your faults to you like a mirror is your true friend, and one who flatters you and covers up your faults is your enemy.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 128
General Quotes

“Increase of experiences, increases the wisdom of mankind.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78 p. 128
Regarding Wisdom

“Those who worship God for the hope of gaining, they’re not real worshippers, they’re merchants. Those who worship God out of fear (of punishment), they’re slaves. And those who worship God to be grateful towards their creator, they are the free people, and their worship is a real one.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 117
Religious-based Quotes

“Oh God! Surely you know that whatever we did was not a competition to gain worldly positions and not for the worthless physical attractions of the world. But to show the signs of religious ways and to remove corruption from your lands, so that the oppressed feel secured and act according to your traditions and rules.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 239
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

“When you are frustrated and do not know a way out, only flexibility and moderation towards difficulties will save you.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 128
General Quotes

“The most generous person is the one who offers help to those who do not expect him to help.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 121
General Quotes

Husayn ibn Ali Quotes about people

“People are slaves to the world, and as long as they live favorable and comfortable lives, they are loyal to religious principles. However, at hard times, the times of trials, true religious people are scarce.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 117
General Quotes

“Whoever seeks the satisfaction of people through disobedience of God, then God subjects him to people.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 126
Religious-based Quotes

“Two signs of learned person are: acceptance of other people's criticism, and being knowledgeable about the angles and dimensions of rhetoric and debate.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 252
Regarding Wisdom

“Never will be salvaged the people who win the consent of the creature, at the cost of the dissatisfaction of the creator.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Khawarazmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, vol.1, p. 234
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

“Oh people, the Messenger of God said: Whoever sees an aggressive tyrant that legalizes the forbiddens of God, breeches divine laws, opposes the tradition of the Prophet, oppresses the worshippers of God, and does not concede his opposition to God in word or in deed, surely Allah will place that tyrant (in the Hell) where he deserves.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Khawarazmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, vol.1, p. 234
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

“Yazid is a transgressor, a drunkard, killer of innocent people and an open sinner, we will never give our allegiances to the likes of him.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Ibn A'tham al-Kufi, Al-Futuh, vol.5, p. 18-19
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

Husayn ibn Ali Quotes

“Death with honor is better than a life of degradation.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.44 p. 192
General Quotes

Life , Death

“In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Husein will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 2, p. 218 http://books.google.com/books?id=VvXSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA218&dq=Edward+Gibbon+Hosein&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4eogT_7ZEZToiALbpIGBCA&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hosein&f=false
Quotes by non-Muslims

Death , Age , Distant

“One who pursues a goal through sinful ways, will ironically distance himself from that goal, and will approach what he was afraid of.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 120
Religious-based Quotes

Way

“Anybody who would like to have a long life and make his subsistence expanded, should pay visits to his own relatives.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.74, p. 91
Religious-based Quotes

Life

“If Husain fought to quench his worldly desires, (as alleged by certain Christian critics) then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Attributed to Charles Dickens in The biography of Amir Mukhtar (Ghulamali Ismail Naji, Peermahomed Ebrahim Trust, 1973), but there appears to be no primary source.
Disputed

Children , Understanding , Sister

“Among the signs of a learned man is criticising his own words and being informed of various viewpoints.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 119
Regarding Wisdom

Learning

“Tolerance is man’s ornament, keeping promises is a sign of nobility, and bonding with others is a grace.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 122
General Quotes

“The wise one does not speak to one whom he fears he shall be belied, he does not ask anyone of anything if he fears he shall not give, and he does not repose hope on one whom he does not trust.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Rayhānatur Rasūl, p. 55
Regarding Wisdom

Fear , Hope

“If one does not have these five things there is no good in him: intellect, religion, etiquette, shame and good manners.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Rayhānatur Rasūl, p. 55
Religious-based Quotes

Religion

“Honor and dignity of man is only in virtue and piety.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 128
Religious-based Quotes

“I never revolted in vain, as a rebel or as a tyrant, but I rose seeking reformation for the nation of my grandfather Muhammad. I intend to enjoin good and forbid evil, to act according to the traditions of my grandfather, and my father ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.44, p. 329
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

Evil

“Our enemy is the enemy of my grandfather, Muhammad.”

Husayn ibn Ali

al-Shahid al-Tustari, Ihqaqul-Haq, vol.11, p. 592
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

“Receiving education nurtures human wisdom.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 128
Regarding Wisdom

Wisdom , Education

“If you neither believe in religion nor fear the hereafter, then at least be free from tyranny and arrogance”

Husayn ibn Ali

Biharul Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 51
General Quotes

Fear , Religion

“Associating with corrupt people makes you subject to suspicion.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 122
General Quotes

People

“The historical progress of Islam, according to Gandhi, is not the legacy of the Muslim sword but a result of sacrifices of Muslim saints like Husain.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Reliving Karbala: martyrdom in South Asian memory, By Syed Akbar Hyder, Oxford University Press, p. 170
Quotes by non-Muslims

“Wisdom will not be complete except by following the truth.”

Husayn ibn Ali

Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 127
Regarding Wisdom

Wisdom , Truth

“Do you think that you can frighten me with death? Could a worse disaster happen to you than killing me? I do not know what to say to you. I can only address you as the brother of Al-Aws addressed his cousin when he met the latter as he was going to help the Apostle of God”

Husayn ibn Ali

Prophet Muhammad
Replied to Al-Hurr ibn Yazid Al-Tamimi, History of the Prophets and Kings, Vol. 19, p. 97
Regarding the Advent of Karbalā

God , Thinking , Death , Help

“Patience in a person glows like a jewel.”

Husayn ibn Ali

[Mizan al-Hikmah, Muhammadi Reishahri, Muhammad, Dar al-Hadith, 2010, 3, Qum, 217]
General Quotes

Patience , Personality

“Knowledge facilitates comprehension and experience increases wisdom.”

Husayn ibn Ali

[Mizan al-Hikmah, Muhammadi Reishahri, Muhammad, Dar al-Hadith, 2010, 2, Qum, 186]
Regarding Wisdom

Knowledge , Wisdom

Similar authors

Ali photo
Ali 124
cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad photo
Muhammad 312
Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam
Saadi photo
Saadi 5
Persian poet
Rumi photo
Rumi 148
Iranian poet
Genghis Khan photo
Genghis Khan 5
founder and first emperor of the Mongol Empire
Alfred the Great photo
Alfred the Great 11
King of Wessex
Pope Gregory I photo
Pope Gregory I 10
Pope from 590 to 604
Muhammad al-Baqir photo
Muhammad al-Baqir 30
fifth of the Twelve Shia Imams
Ali Zayn al-Abidin photo
Ali Zayn al-Abidin 11
Great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad
Hasan ibn Ali photo
Hasan ibn Ali 9
Shia Imam