Hadith

Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib [a]

1968 sayings · page 31 of 50

1. The bane of work is abandoning sincerity.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3949; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 135 · permalink

2. The bane of generosity is poverty.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3951; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 135 · permalink

3. The ruin of ordinary people is a treacherous scholar.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3952; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 136 · permalink

4. The bane of justice is a powerful oppressor.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3953]; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 136 · permalink

5. The bane of civilization is the tyranny of rulers.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3954; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 136 · permalink

6. The bane of power is blocking kind deeds.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3955; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 136 · permalink

7. The bane of the heart is self-admiration.'

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3956; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 136 · permalink

8. And He made obligatory for you the pilgrimage to His Sacred House which he made the 'qibla' for all people. They come to it like the cattle coming to water, and eagerly turn to it like the birds eagerly returning to their nest; He, glory be to Him, made it a sign of their humility before His greatness and their yielding to His Might.

   Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 388 · permalink

9. Allah has made a measure for everything and for every measure an end

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4778; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 731 · permalink

10. The one who plants the tree of goodness will reap the sweetest fruit.

    Ghurar al-Hikam,. no. 6442; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 351 · permalink

11. Complete your pilgrimage by visiting the Messenger of Allah (SAWA) when you leave to visit the House of Allah, for deserting it is unkind, and that is what you have been commanded to do [i.e. in the Qur'an: and complete ] by observing the rights of the graves that Allah has made incumbent upon you to visit, and ask for [increase in] your sustenance thereat.

    al-Khisal, p. 616, no. 10; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 390 · permalink

12. He who abandons the pilgrimage for one of his worldly needs will not be able to satisfy that need until he sees the shaven heads [i.e. after the return of the pilgrims from Makkah].

    Sawab al-A`amal, p. 281, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 391 · permalink

13. Amir al-Mu'minin Im?m 'Al? ibn Ab? T?lib (a.s.) said to `Aabdallah b. `Aabbas, 'I have not benefited from any saying after the sayings of the Prophet, apart from this one, 'Verily man feels happy when he manages to grasp something that he was about to miss, and he is saddened when he misses something that was within his grasp. So let your happiness lie in all that you can seize of the Hereafter, and let your regret lie in all that which passes you by of it.

    Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 15, p. 140; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 394 · permalink

14. Happiness is useless without tenderness.

    Masalib al-Sa' ul, no. 50; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 394 · permalink

15. Amir al-Mu'minin Im?m 'Al? ibn Ab? T?lib (a.s.) mentioning the virtue of the honourable Prophet (SAWA), 'He [Allah] sent him while the people were straying in perplexity, and engaged in corruption He (SAWA) advised extensively and kept on the [right] path, and called for wisdom and gentle exhortation

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 95; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 745 · permalink

16. When a word comes from the heart, it falls onto the heart; but when it merely comes from the tongue, it will not go farther than the ears

    Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 20, p. 287, no. 279; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 745 · permalink

17. Prosperous is he who is sincere in his acts of obedience

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 1293; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 746 · permalink

18. Eloquence is to answer without delay, and to be correct without mistakes.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2150; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 257 · permalink

19. Brevity may suffice in accomplishing eloquence.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6666; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 257 · permalink

20. The most expressive eloquence lies in that which is metaphorically correct and easy to grasp, and that which is pleasantly brief.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3307; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 258 · permalink

21. The best speech is that which is decorated by a pleasant structure and is understood by the elite as well as the laymen.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3304; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 258 · permalink

22. Relying on this world in spite of all that you face therein is ignorance.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 384; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 425 · permalink

23. If you want Allah to protect you from an evil final outcome [to your life], then know that whatever good that comes is from Allah's grace and divine succour, and whatever bad that comes, know that Allah has delayed it for you and you have already been given respite for it, so be aware of Allah's clemency and pardon for you.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 70, p. 392, no. 60; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 262 · permalink

24. Do not oppose that which you are ignorant of; for most knowledge lies in that which you cannot fathom.

    Bihar al-Anwar, no. 10246; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 426 · permalink

25. It is incumbent upon the Imam to imprison the reckless from among the scholars, the ignorant from among the physicians, and the bankrupt from among the lease-holders.

    al-Faqih, v. 3, p. 31, no. 3266; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 426 · permalink

26. If a Muslim woman becomes an apostate, abandoning Islam, she is not killed but is imprisoned for life.

    Tahdhib al-Ahkam, v. 10, p. 142, no. 569; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 426 · permalink

27. It is narrated in al-Kafi: Verily the Commander of the Faithful (AS) restricted imprisonment to only three cases: a man consuming the property of an orphan unlawfully, or usurping it, or a man who takes off with what he has been entrusted with.

    al-Kafi, v. 7, p. 263, no. 21; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 427 · permalink

28. He who loves something constantly mentions it.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 7851; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 575 · permalink

29. Ill nature causes life to be miserable and torments the soul.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5639; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 173 · permalink

30. He expresses information but not through a tongue or voice. He listens but not with the holes and organs of hearing. He speaks but does not utter words; He remembers but does not learn When He wishes to create something, He says to it 'Be' and it is, but not through a voice that can strike the ears, nor a calling that can be heard. Rather, His speech, Glory be to Him, is an act of His that He creates and incorporates, which did not exist before, for were it an ever-existing thing it would be a second god

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 186; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 452 · permalink

31. He manifests the wonders of His management for the onlookers, but by virtue of the exaltedness of His Might He is Hidden from the imagination of the thinkers.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 213; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 453 · permalink

32. He who observes his own faults is preoccupied from others' faults.

    Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 88; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 312 · permalink

33. The one who pries into others' faults, disapproves of them, and then adopts them for himself, is truly a fool.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 349; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 313 · permalink

34. The greatest fault is when one criticises others for the same faults present in oneself.'

    Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 353; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 313 · permalink

35. A man's soul is his steps towards his death

    Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 18, no. 221; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 731 · permalink

36. He who informs you of your faults will guard you in your absence, whereas he who flatters you with respect to your faults will point the finger at you in your absence.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8260, 8261; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 314 · permalink

37. Nothing prevents anyone from among you from disclosing to a fellow brother a fault that he fears in him, except for the very fear that he too will disclose the same fault to him. You are all accomplices in your rejection of the next world and loving this world.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 113; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 315 · permalink

38. Anticipating attentively for a fault [in someone] is a fault in itself.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4489; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 315 · permalink

39. The furthest of your subjects from you, and the worst of them in your view should be the one who is the most eager to pursue people' s shortcomings, because people do have faults and the ruler is the most appropriate person to conceal them, so do not ever seek to discover those faults which are hidden from you.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 315 · permalink

40. Do not ever rejoice at someone else' s mistake, for verily you yourself will never be immune to committing mistakes.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10294; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 315 · permalink

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