-
Imam (a.s) said: I advise you, O' creatures of
Allah, to exercise fear of Allah and to obey Him
because it is salvation tomorrow and deliverance
for ever.(Sermon no 159)
-
You should follow your Prophet, the pure, the
chaste. In him is the example for the follower,
and the consolation for the seeker of
consolation. The most beloved person before
Allah is he who follows His Prophet and who
treads in his footsteps.(Sermon no 158)
-
Adhere to the rope of Quran and seek
instructions from it. Regard its lawful as
lawful and unlawful as unlawful. Testify the
right that has been in the past.(Letter no 69)
-
O' people, I have a right over you and you have
a right over me. As for your right over me, that
is to counsel you, to pay you your dues fully,
to teach you that you may not remain ignorant
and instruct you in behaviourism that you may
act upon. As for my right over you, it is
fulfilment of (the obligation of) allegiance,
well-wishing in presence or in absence, response
when I call you and obedience when I order
you.(Sermon no 34)
-
Look at the people of the Prophet's family.
Adhere to their direction. Follow their
footsteps because they would never let you out
of guidance, and never throw you into
destruction. If they sit down, you sit down, and
if they rise up you rise up. Do not go ahead of
them, as you would thereby go astray and go not
lag behind of them as you would thereby be
ruined.(Sermon no 95)
-
Certainly, there is no obligation on the Imam
except what has been devolved on him from Allah,
namely to convey warnings, to exert in good
advice, to revive sunnah, to enforce
penalties on those liable to them and to issue
shares to the deserving.(Sermon no 103)
-
Certainly the Imams are the vicegerents of Allah
over His creatures and they make the creatures
know Allah. No one will enter Paradise except he
who knows them and knows Him, and no one will
enter Hell except he who denies them and denies
Him.(Sermon no 150)
-
You should know that you will never know
guidance unless you know who has abandoned it,
you will never abide by the pledges of the Quran
unless you know who has broken them, and will
never cling to it unless you know who has
forsaken it. Seek these things from those who
own them because they are the life spring of
knowledge and death of ignorance. They are the
people whose commands will disclose to you their
knowledge, their silence will disclose their
speaking and their outer appearance will
disclose their inner self. They do not go
against religion, and do not differ from one
other about it, while it is among them a
truthful witness and a silent speaker.(Sermon no
145)
-
Where are those who falsely and unjustly claimed
that they are deeply versed in knowledge, as
against us, although Allah raised us in position
and kept them down, bestowed upon us knowledge
but deprived them, and entered us (in the
fortress of knowledge) but kept them out. With
us guidance is to be sought and blindness (of
misguidance) is to be changed into brightness.
Surely Imams (divine leaders) will be from the
Quraysh.(Sermon no 142)
-
They (opposers) have entered the oceans of
disturbance and have taken to innovations
instead of the Sunnah, while the
believers have sunk down, and the misguided and
the liars are speaking. We are the near ones,
companions, treasure holders and doors (to
Sunnah). Houses are not entered save through
their doors. Whoever enters them from other than
the door is called a thief.(Sermon no 152)
-
I advise you to fear Allah, O my child, abide by
His commands, fill your heart with remembrance
of Him and cling to hope from Him. No connection
is more reliable than the connection between you
and Allah provided you take hold of it. Enliven
your heart with preaching, kill it by denial,
energise it with firm belief, enlighten it with
wisdom, humiliate it by recalling death, make it
believe in mortality, make it see the
misfortunate of this world.(Letter no 31)
-
He who adopts greed as a habit devalues himself;
he who discloses his hardship agrees to
humiliation; and he who allows his tongue to
overpower his soul debases the soul. (Saying 2)
-
Miserliness is shame; cowardice is a defect;
poverty disables an intelligent man from arguing
his case; and a destitute person is a stranger
in his home town. Incapability is a catastrophe;
endurance is bravery; abstinence is riches;
self-restraint is a shield (against sin).
(Saying 3)
-
The best companion is submission (to Allah's
will). Knowledge is a venerable estate; good
manners are new dresses; and thinking is clear
mirror. (Saying
4)
-
The bosom of the wise is the safe of his
secrets; cheerfulness is the bond of friendship;
effective forbearance is the grave of
shortcomings and mutual reconciliation is the
covering for shortcomings.(Saying 5)
-
He who admires himself attracts many opponents
against him, charity is an effective cure, and
the actions of people in their present life will
be before their eyes in the next life. (Saying
6)
-
Meet people in
such a manner that if you die they should weep
for you and if you live they should long for
you. (Saying 9)
-
When you gain power over your adversary pardon
him by way of thanks for being able to overpower
him. (Saying 10)
-
The most helpless of all men is he who cannot
find a few brothers during his life, but still
more helpless. is he who finds such a brother
but loses him. (Saying 11)
-
The consequence of fear is disappointment and of
bashfulness is frustration. Opportunity passes
away like the cloud. Therefore, make use of good
opportunities. (Saying 20)
-
O son of Adam, when you see that your Lord, the
Glorified, bestows His favours oil you while you
are disobeying Him, you should fear Him. (Saying
24)
-
Be generous but not extravagant; be thrifty but
not miserly. (Saying 33)
-
If someone is quick in saying about people what
they dislike, they speak about him that about
which they have no knowledge. (Saying 35)
-
Ameerul Momineen (pbuh), said to his son al-
Hasan:O'
my son, learn four things and (a further) four
things from me. Nothing will harm you if you
practise them. That the richest of riches is
intelligence; the biggest destitution is
foolishness; the wildest wildness is vanity and
the best achievement is goodness of the moral
character.
O my son, you should
avoid making friends with a fool because he may
intend to benefit you but may harm you; you
should avoid making friends with a miser because
he will run away from you when you need him
most; you should avoid making friends with a
sinful person because he will sell you for
nought; and you should avoid making friends with
a liar because he is like a mi rage, making you
feel far things near and near things far.
(Saying 38)
-
The tongue of the wise man is behind his heart,
and the heart of the fool is behind his tongue.
(Saying 40)
-
Blessed is the person who kept in mind the next
life, acted so as to be able to render account,
remained content with what sufficed him and
remained pleased with Allah.
(Saying 44)
-
Even if I strike the nose of a believer with
this, my sword, for hating me he will not hate
me, and even if I pile all the wealth of the
world before a hypocrite (Muslim) for loving me
he will not love me. This is because it is a
verdict pronounced by the tongue of the revered
Prophet, may Allah bless him and his
descendants, as he said: O Ali, a believer will
never hate you arid a hypocrite (Muslim) will
never love you. (Saying 45)
-
The worth of a man is according to his courage,
his truthfulness is according to his balance of
temper, his valour is according to his
self-respect and his chasteness is according to
his sense of shame. (Saying 47)
-
There is no wealth like wisdom, no destitution
like ignorance, no inheritance like refinement
and no support like consultation. (Saying 54)
-
With wealth a strange land is a homeland, while
with destitution even a homeland is a strange
land. (Saying 56)
-
Whoever warns you is like one who gives you good
tidings. (Saying 59)
-
If you are met with a greeting, give better
greetings in return. If a hand of help is
extended to you, do a better favour in return,
although the credit would remain with the one
who was first. (Saying 62)
-
If what you aim at does not come about then do
not worry as to what you were.
(Saying
69)
-
Whoever places himself as a leader of the people
should commence with educating his own self
before educating others; and his teaching should
be by his own conduct before teaching by the
tongue. The person who teaches and instructs his
own self is more entitled to esteem then he who
teaches and instructs others. (Saying 73)
-
The worth of every man is in his, attainments.
(Saying 81)
-
I impart to you five things which, if you ride
your camels fast in search of them, you will
find them worth it. No one of you should repose
hope save in his Lord; no one of you should fear
anything save his sin; no one should feel
ashamed of saying "I do not know" when he is
asked a matter which he does not know; no one
should feel ashamed of learning a thing that he
does not know; and you should practise
endurance, because endurance is for belief what
the head is for the body, so that just as there
is no good in a body without the head there is
no good in belief without endurance. (Saying 82)
-
If a man behaves properly in matters between
himself and Allah, then Allah keeps proper the
matters between him and other people; and if a
man keeps proper tile affairs of his next life
then Allah keeps proper for him the affairs of
this world. Whoever is a preacher for himself is
protected by Allah. (Saying 89)
-
The hearts get disgusted as bodies get
disgusted; so look for beautiful wise saying for
them.(Saying 91)
-
The most humble knowledge is that which remains
on the tongue and the most honourable one is
that which manifests itself through (the action
of) the limbs and the organs of the body.
(Saying 92)
-
The persons most attached to the prophets are
those who know most what the prophets have
brought. Then Imam
recited the verse:
Verily, of men the nearest to Abraham are surely
those who followed him and this Prophet
(Muhammad) and those who believe (Quran, 3:68).
Then he
said:
The friend of
Muhammad is he who obeys Allah, even though he
may have no blood relationship, and the enemy of
Muhammad is he who disobeys Allah even though he
may have near kinship.(Saying 96)
-
No wealth is more profitable than wisdom, no
loneliness is more estranging than vanity, no
wisdom is as good as tact, no honour is like
fear from Allah, no companion is like the
goodness of moral character, no inheritance is
like civility, no guide is like promptitude, no
trade is like virtuous acts, no profit is like
Divine reward, no self- control is like inaction
in time of doubt, no abstention is like that
from prohibitions, no knowledge is like
thinking, no worship is like the discharge of
obligation, no belief is like modesty and
endurance, no attainment is like humility, no
honour is like knowledge, no power is like
forbearance, and no support is more reliable
than consultation.( Saying113)
-
What a difference there is between two kinds of
actions: an act whose pleasure passes away but
its (ill) consequence remains, and. the act
whose hardship passes away but its reward stays.
(Saying 121)
-
Whoever falls short of actions falls into grief,
and Allah has nothing to do with him who spares
nothing from his wealth in name of Allah.(Saying
127)
-
When Imam returned from Siffin and noticed
graves outside Kufa, he said:
O residents of houses which give a sense of
loneliness, of depopulated areas and gloomy
graves. O people of the dust, O victims of
strangeness, O people of loneliness and O people
of desolateness! You have gone ahead and
preceded us while we are following you and will
meet you. The houses (you left) have been
inhabited by others; the wives (you left) have
been married by others; the properties have been
distributed (among heirs). This is the news
about those around us; what is the news about
things around you?(Saying 130)
-
A friend is not a friend unless he affords
protection to his comrade on three occasions: in
his adversity, in his absence and at his
death.(Saying 134)
-
He who is moderate does not become destitute.
(Saying 140)
-
Loving one another is half of wisdom. (Saying
142)
-
Imam said to a man who had requested him to
preach:
Do not be like him who hopes for the next life
without action, and delays repentance by
lengthening desires, who utters words like
ascetics in this world but acts like those who
are eager for it; if he is allowed something
from it he does not feel satisfied; if he is
denied he is not content; he is not grateful for
what he gets and covets for increase in whatever
remains with him; he refrains others but not
himself; he commands others for what he himself
does not do; he loves the virtuous but does not
behave like them; he hates the vicious but
himself is one of them; he dislikes death
because of the excess of his sins but adheres to
that for which he is afraid of death.
If he falls ill he
feels ashamed; if he is healthy he feels secure
and indulges in amusements; when he recovers
from illness he feels vain about himself; when
he is afflicted he loses hope; if distress
befalls him he prays like a bewildered man; when
he finds ease of life he falls into deceit and
turns his face away; his heart overpowers him by
means of imaginary things while he cannot
control his heart by conviction; for others he
is afraid of small sins, but for himself he
expects more reward than his performance; if he
becomes wealthy he becomes self-conscious and
falls into vice; if he becomes poor he despairs
and becomes weak; he is brief when he is doing a
good thing but goes too far when he is begging;
when passion overtakes him he is quick in
committing sin but delays repentance; if
hardship befalls him he goes beyond the cannons
of the (Islamic) community; he describes
instructive events but does not take instruction
himself; he preaches at length but does not
accept any preaching for himself; he is tall in
speaking but short in action; he aspires for
things that will perish and ignores things that
will last for good; he regards profit as loss
and loss as profit; he fears death but does
nothing in its anticipation.
He regards the sins of others as big but
considers the same things for himself as small;
if he does something in obedience to Allah he
considers it much but if others do the same he
considers it small; he therefore rebukes others
but flatters himself; entertainment in the
company of the wealthy is dearer to him than
remembrance (of Allah) with the poor; he passes
verdicts against others for his own interests
and does not do so against himself for others'
interests; he guides others but misguides
himself; he is obeyed by others but he himself
disobeys (Allah); he seeks fulfilment (of
obligations) but does not fulfil his
obligations; he fears the people (and acts) for
other than his Lord and does not fear his Lord
in his dealings with the people.( Saying 150)
-
Admonish your brother (comrade) by good
behaviour towards him, and ward off his evil by
favouring him.(Saying 158)
-
He who acts solely according to his own opinion
gets ruined, and he who consults other people
shares in their understanding. (Saying 161)
-
He who guards his secrets retains control in his
own hands. (Saying 162)
-
Vanity prevents progress. (Saying 167)
-
He who has several opinions understands the
pitfalls. (Saying 173)
-
When you are afraid of something drive straight
into it, because the intensity of abstaining
from it is greater (worse) than what you are
afraid of. (Saying 175)
-
The means to secure high authority is breadth of
chest (generosity).(Saying 176)
-
The result of neglect is shame, while the result
of far-sightedness is safety. (Saying 181)
-
O, people, fear Allah Who
is such that when you speak He hears and when
you conceal (a secret) He knows it. Prepare
yourself to meet death which will overtake you
even if you run away, catch you even if you stay
and remember you even if you forget it.(Saying
203)
-
Whoever takes account of
his self is benefited, and whoever remains
neglectful of it suffers. Whoever fears remains
safe; whoever takes instruction
gets light; and whoever gets light gets
understanding, and whoever gets understanding
secures knowledge.(Saying 208)
-
Generosity is the
protector of honour; forbearance is the bridle
of the fool forgiveness is the levy of success;
disregard is punishment of him who betrays; and
consultation is chief way of guidance. He who is
content with his own opinion faces danger.
Endurance braves calamities while impatience is
a helper of hardships of the world. The best
contentment is to give up desires. Many a
slavish mind is subservient to overpowering
longings. Capability helps preservation of
experience. Love means well-utilized
relationship. Do not trust one who is grieved.
(Saying 211)
-
Ignore pain otherwise you
will never be happy. (Saying 213)
-
The tree whose trunk is
soft has thick branches. (Saying 214)
-
Through change of
circumstances the mettle of men is known.
(Saying 217)
-
Excess of silence
produces awe; justice results in more close
friends; generosity heightens position; with
humility blessings abound in plenty; by facing
hardships leadership is achieved; by just
behaviour the adversary is overpowered; and with
forbearance against a fool there is increase of
one's supporters against him. (Saying 224)
-
The greedy is in the
shackles of disgrace. (Saying 226)
-
He who is sorrowful for
this world is in fact displeased with the
dispensation of Allah. He who complains of a
calamity that befalls him complains of his Lord
(Allah). He who approaches a rich man and bends
before him on account of his riches then
two-third of his religion is gone. If a man
reads the Quran and on dying goes to Hell then
it means that he was among those who treated
Divine verses with mockery. If a man's heart
gets attached to the world, then it catches
three things, namely worry that never leaves
him, greed that does not abandon him and desire
which he never fulfils. (Saying 228)
-
Contentment is as good as
estate, and goodness of moral character is as
good as a blessing.
Imam was asked about Allah's saying: (Whosoever
did good,. whether male or female, and he be a
believer, then We will certainly make him live a
life good and pure and certainly We will give
them their return with the best of what they
were doing). (Quran, 16:97) when he said:
That means
contentment. (Saying 229)
-
It was said to
Ameerul Momineen (pbuh): Describe the wise to
us; and he said:
The wise is one who
places things in their proper positions.
Then, he was asked:
Describe the ignorant to us; and he said:
I have already done
so. (Saying 235)
-
He who is a sluggard
loses his rights and he who believes in the
backbiter loses his friend. (Saying 239)
-
Surely in every blessing
there is a right of Allah. If one discharges
that right Allah increases the blessing, and if
one falls short of doing so one stands in danger
of losing the blessing. (Saying 244(
-
If a person has a good
idea about you make his idea be true. (Saying
248)
-
Anger is a kind of
madness because the victim to it repents
afterwards. If he does not repent his madness is
confirmed. (Saying 255)
-
Have love for your friend
up to a limit, for it is possible that he may
turn into your enemy someday; and hate your
enemy up to a limit for it is possible that he
may turn into your friend someday. (Saying 268)
-
Whoever keeps in view the
distance of the journey remains prepared.
(Saying 280)
-
The belief of a person
cannot be regarded as true unless his trust in
what is with Allah is more than his trust in
what he himself has. (Saying 310)
-
Beware of disobeying
Allah in solitude, because the witness (of that
situation) is also the judge. (Saying 324)
-
Not to be in need of
putting forth an excuse is better than putting
forth a true excuse. (Saying 329)
-
The least right of Allah
on you is that you should not make use of His
favours in committing His sins.(Saying 330)
-
Imam (A.S.) said
describing a believer:
A believer has a
cheerful face, a sorrowful heart, a very broad
chest (full of generosity), and a very humble
heart. He hates high position and dislikes
renown. His grief is long, his courage is
far-reaching, his silence is much and, his time
is occupied. He is grateful, enduring, buried in
his thoughts, sparing in his friendship (with
others), of bright demeanour and of soft
temperament. He is stronger than stone but
humbler than a slave. (Saying 333)
-
He who sees his own
shortcomings abstains from looking into other's
shortcomings. He who feels happy with livelihood
with which Allah provides him does not grieve
over what he misses. He who draws out the sword
of revolt gets killed with it. He who strives
without means perishes. He who enters depths
gets drowned. He who visits places of ill-repute
receives blame. He who speaks more commits more
errors. He who commits more errors becomes
shameless. He who is shameless will have less
fear of Allah. He whose fear of Allah is less,
his heart dies. He whose heart dies enters the
Fire. He who observes the shortcomings of others
and disapproves of them and then accepts them
for himself is definitely a fool. Contentment is
a capital that does not dwindle. He who
remembers death much is satisfied with small
favours in this world. He who knows that his
speech is also a part of his action speaks less
except where he has some purpose. (Saying 349)
-
The greatest defect is to
regard that defect (in others) which is present
in yourself.(Saying 353)
-
Do not
regard an expression uttered by any person as
evil if you can find it capable of bearing some
good. (Saying 360)
-
Imagination is a clear
mirror, and the taking of lessons (from things
around) provides warning and counsel. It is
enough for improving yourself that you should
avoid what you consider bad in others. (Saying
365)
-
All the virtuous deeds
including war in the way of Allah as compared to
the persuasion for good and dissuasion from evil
are just like spitting in the deep ocean. The
persuasion for good and dissuasion from evil do
not bring death nearer nor do they lessen the
livelihood. And better than all this is to utter
a just expression before the tyrannical ruler.
(Saying 374)
-
Words are in your control
until you have not uttered them; but when you
have spoken them out you are under their
control. Therefore, guard your tongue as you
guard your gold and silver, for often one
expression snatches away a blessing and invites
punishment. (Saying 381)
-
Leaning towards this
world despite what you see of it, is folly, and
lagging behind in good deeds when you are
convinced of good reward for them is obvious
loss, while trusting in every one before trying
is weakness. (Saying 384)
-
Beware that destitution
is a calamity, but worse than destitution is
ailment of the body, while worse than bodily
ailment is the disease of the heart. Beware that
plenty of wealth is a blessing, but better than
plenty of wealth is the health of the body,
while still better than the health of the body
is the chastity of heart. (Saying 388)
-
Many an expression is
more effective than an attack. (Saying 394)
-
Put off boasting, give up
self-conceit and remember your grave. (Saying
398)
-
It is good for the rich
to show humility before the poor to seek reward
from Allah, but better than that is the
haughtiness of the poor towards the rich with
trust in Allah. (Saying 406)
-
It is enough for your own
discipline that you abstain from what you
dislike from others. (Saying 412)
-
Clemency is (like) a
kinsfolk. (Saying 318)
-
Whoever set right his
inward self, Allah sets right his outward self.
Whoever performs acts for his religion, Allah
accomplishes his acts of this world. Whoever's
dealings between himself and Allah are good,
Allah turns the dealings between him and other
people good. (Saying 423)
-
Forbearance is a curtain
for covering, and wisdom is a sharp sword.
Therefore, conceal the weaknesses in your
conduct with forbearance and kill your desires
with your wisdom. (Saying 424)
-
There are some creatures
of Allah whom Allah particularizes with favours
for the benefit of the people, therefore He
stays them in their hands so long as they give
them to others; but when they deny them to
others He takes away the favours from them and
sends them to others. (Saying 425)
-
It does not behove a man
to have trust in two positions, health and
riches, because there is many a man whom you see
healthy but he soon falls sick and many a man
whom you see rich but soon turns destitute.
(Saying 426)
-
The whole of asceticism
is confined between two expressions of the
Quran. Allah, the Glorified says: Lest
distress you yourselves for what escapes you,
and be over joyous for what He has granted you
(Quran, 57:23). Whoever does not grieve over
what he misses and does not revel over what
comes to him acquires asceticism from both its
sides. (Saying 439)
-
What a breaker is sleep
for resolutions of the day! (Saying 440)
-
Belief means you should
prefer truth when it harms you rather than
falsehood when it benefits you; your words
should not be more than your action and you
should fear Allah when speaking about others.
(Saying 558)
-
Forbearance and endurance
are twins and they are the product of high
courage. (Saying 460)
-
The fighter in the way of
Allah who gets martyred would not get a greater
reward than he who remains chaste despite means.
It is possible that a chaste person may become
one of the angels. (Saying 474)
