Hadith

Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib [a]

1968 sayings · page 7 of 50

1. Do not accompany on a journey someone who does not consider you worthier than himself, nor someone who you do not consider worthier than yourself

   Bihar al-Anwar, p. 267, no. 8; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 949 link

2. A man must never go on a journey in which he has cause to fear for his faith or his prayer

   Bihar al-Anwar, v. 76, p. 283, no. 2; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 950 link

3. Trials are of three kinds: love of women, and this is the sword of the devil; drinking of wine, and this is the snare of the devil; and the love of dinars and dirhams, which is the arrow of the devil. So those who love women will not benefit from life, and those who love drinking will be barred from Heaven, and those who love the dinar and dirham are slaves of the world

   Bihar al-Anwar, v. 73, p. 140, no. 12; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 953 link

4. Amir al-Mu'minin Im?m 'Al? ibn Ab? T?lib (a.s.), who was riding, said to a person by the name of Harb who was walking with him, 'Go back, for the walking of someone like you with me is a trial for a governor and a [source of] humiliation for the believer.

   Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 322; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 953 link

5. Know that those who are wary of their duty to Allah will find through Him a way out of the troubles of trials, and a light from darkness.

   Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 183; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 954 link

6. He who ignites the fire of a troubling test will become its firewood

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10109; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 954 link

7. A brutal oppressing governor is better than a continuous trial.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 9163; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 954 link

8. What an excellent companion satisfaction is

   Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 4; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 819 link

9. Whoever does not endure his troubles ends up having to endure his own ruin.

   Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8987; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 687 link

10. He whose patience gives him no deliverance is destroyed by anxiety.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 189; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 688 link

11. The origin of patience is to have strong conviction in Allah.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3084; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 688 link

12. Accustom yourself to persevering in the face of adversity, and [you will see] how well persevering with the truth will become part of your natural disposition

    Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 31; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 688 link

13. Perseverance in the face of adversity protects the heart.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, no. 207, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 688 link

14. I have found conciliation so long as it is does not enfeeble Islam to be more beneficial than combat.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10138; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 689 link

15. Do not reject the peace to which your enemy may call you, and wherein the pleasure of Allah lies, for verily peace affords composure to your army, relief to you from your worries, and safety for the country. After the peace entreaty however, be extremely wary of your enemy, because often the enemy draws near in order to take advantage of your negligence. Therefore, act prudently and entertain good opinion about them, though always being on your guard.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 689 link

16. The means to purify one's moral virtues is good etiquette.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5520; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 367 link

17. "Whenever people of the earth commit sins or get involved in wrong deeds, the Almighty Allah intends to send down His chastisement on the people of the world. However when He sees elderly people walking towards Salaat and young children learning Quran, He feels pity on them and postpones it."

    Sawab al-A`amal, Page 69 link

18. A man who is preoccupied with good manners has fewer vices.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8271; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 367 link

19. You and the Hour will occur in the same epoch

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 190; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 794 link

20. Listen O negligent and fickle one to someone who exhorts and expounds. The Day of Resurrection has been made a day of exposition, questioning, bestowal and exemplary punishment. It is the day when men' s deeds will be upturned, and all sins will be computed, when people' s pupils will melt with grief and expectant women will deliver what they carry in their wombs.

    Amali al-Tusi, p. 653, no. 1353; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 796 link

21. And that is the day when Allah will gather all people from the first to the last, standing in subjugation in order to discuss the account [of their deeds] and the recompense for their actions. They will be bridled with their own sweat while the earth trembles under them. Those amongst them in the best state will be those who manage to find a stable place for their feet to stand and an open space for them to breathe!

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 102; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 796 link

22. The reward for your work is better than your work itself

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4688; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 800 link

23. The reward of the Hereafter causes one to forget the toil of this world

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4692; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 800 link

24. Allah, the Exalted, decreed reward for obeying Him and chastisement for disobeying Him, in order to protect His servants against His wrath and to herd them to His Paradise

    Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 368; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 801 link

25. The reward for any work is proportionate to the toil of performing it

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4690; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 801 link

26. The governance of senior people [of greater expertise] is one of the greatest advantages whereas the governance of wicked people humiliates noble people

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5112-5113; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

27. The fall of states can be discerned by four things: neglect of the fundamentals, embracing peripheral matters, bringing contemptible ones to the forefront and relegating the virtuous ones

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10965; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

28. The greatest of the rights that the Glorified [Allah] has made obligatory on man is the right of the ruler over the ruled and the right of the ruled over the ruler so if the ruled fulfil the rights of the ruler and the ruler fulfils their rights, then the truth attains the position of honour among them, the ways of religion become established, the marks of justice affirmed, the prophetic practice gets implemented correctly, current times improve, the continuance of the state is desired and the ambitions of the enemies are thwarted.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 216; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

29. Nothing fortifies states like justice

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 9574; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

30. Make religion the fortress of your state, and thankfulness a protection for your bounties, because every state whose fortress is religion is invincible and every bounty encompassed by thankfulness remains.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5831; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

31. One of the signs of a [stable] government is vigilance in safeguarding matters

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 9360; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 893 link

32. Staying awake at night is the garden of those who yearn [for Allah].

    Ghurar al-Hikam, p. 666; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 894 link

33. Staying awake at night engaged in acts of obedience to Allah is the springtime of the friends of Allah and the garden of the good-fortuned.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5613; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 894 link

34. The best of worship is for the eyes to remain awake engaged in the remembrance of Allah, Glory be to Him

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3149; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 894 link

35. So be conscious of your duty to Allah, O servants of Allah, with the caution of a wise man whose heart is preoccupied with reflection [about the Hereafter], whose body the fear [of Allah] has afflicted with pain, and whose engagement in the night prayer has turned his already short sleep into wakefulness

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 83; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 895 link

36. For every misguidance there is a cause, and behind every disloyal act is an obscurity.

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 148; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 895 link

37. Know that indeed the paths to religion are one, and its courses lead straight ahead. Whoever follows them attains the objective, and whoever stops, moving away from them, strays and ends up regretful

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 142; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 896 link

38. Look at the household of your Prophet and adhere to their direction Do not overtake them, for then you will stray, nor lag behind them lest you fall into ruin

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 97; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 896 link

39. He who seeks guidance from the wrong source goes astray.

    Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 7501; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 896 link

40. Verily the most evil of people in the sight of Allah is the tyrannical leader who himself has gone astray and through whom others go astray. He abolishes established practices and revives abandoned innovations.'

    Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 164; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 896 link

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