Quotes from Ali bin Abu-Talib

May God Bless Khabbab bin Aratt. He embraced Islam of his own freewill and immigrated (from Makkah) cheerfully. He lived a contented life. He bowed happily before the Will of God and he led the life of a mujahid.

A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.

God, the Exalted, gave the angels intellect without desires, He gave the animals desires without intellect, and He gave both to the sons of Adam. So a man whose intellect prevails over his desires is better than the angels, whilst a man whose desire prevails over his intellect is worse than the animals.

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

Socialize with people in such a manner that when you die, they should weep for you, and as long as you live, they should long for your company.

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

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.

Be very cautious of cold in the beginning of winter and welcome it at the close of the season because cold season effects your bodies exactly as it effects the trees; in the early season its severity makes them shrivel and shed their leaves and at the end it helps them to revive.

When a community is composed of honest, sober and virtuous people, your forming a bad opinion about anyone of its members, when nothing wicked has been seen of him, is a great injustice to him. On the contrary in a corrupt society to form good opinion of anyone of them and to trust him is to harm yourself.

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

A Divine rule can be established only by a man, who, where justice and equity are required, neither feels deficient nor weak and who is not greedy and avaricious.

He is the wisest and the most knowing man who advises people not to lose hope and faith in the Mercy of God and not to be too sure and over-confident of immunity from His Wrath and Punishment.

The best companion and helper is admirable morals.

Anything which can be counted is finite and will come to an end.

Lack of friends means, stranger in one's own country.

He who has one-hundred friends has no friends to lose, he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.

Wealth is the fountain head of passions.

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

Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere friends during his life and more unfortunate is the one who has gained them and then lost them (through his deeds).

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

He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, while he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.

There are people who worship God to gain His Favors, this is the worship of traders; while there are some who worship Him to keep themselves free from His Wrath, this is the worship of slaves; a few who obey Him out' of their sense of gratitude and obligations, this is the worship of free and noble men.

One who cannot benefit by patience will die in grief.

It is wiser to abstain then to repent.