Ali ibn Abi Talib Quotations

Do not share the knowledge with which you have been blessed with everyone in general, as you do with some people in particular; and know that there are some men in whom Allah, may He he glorified, has placed hidden secrets, which they are forbidden to reveal.

He who busies himself with things other than improvement of his own self becomes perplexed in darkness and entangled in ruin. His evil spirits immerse him deep in vices and make his bad actions seem handsome.

People's hearts are like wild animals. They attach their selves to those that love and train them.

A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country.

Abstinence from sins is better than seeking help afterwards.

Do for this life as if you live forever, do for the afterlife as if you die tomorrow.

Let me alone, and go in search of someone else.

I was not created to be occupied by eating delicious foods like tied up cattle.

Do not be too hard, lest you be broken; do not be too soft, lest you be squeezed.

To make one good action succeed another, is the perfection of goodness.

No one has ever suffered from his people as I have.

If poverty were a man, I would have slain him.

Hate no one, no matter how much they've wronged you. Live humbly, no matter how wealthy you become. Think positively, no matter how hard life is. Give much, even if you've been given little. Keep in touch with the ones who have forgotten you, and forgive who has wronged you, and do not stop praying for the best for those you love.

Never explain yourself to anyone, because the one who likes you would not need it, and the one dislikes you wouldn't believe it.

Your Remedy is within you, but you do not sense it. Your Sickness is from you, but you do not perceive it. You Presume you are a small entity, But within you is enfolded the entire universe. You are indeed the evident book, By whose alphabet the hidden becomes the manifest. Therefore, you have no need to look beyond yourself, What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.

How strange and foolish is man. He looses his health in gaining wealth. Then to regain health he wastes his wealth. He ruins is present while worrying about his future - but weeps in the future by recalling his past. He lives as though death shall never come to him - but dies in a way as if he were never born.

Body is purified by water. Ego by tears. Intellect is purified by knowledge. And soul is purified with love.

If you find that somebody is not grateful for all that you have done for him, then do not get disappointed because often you will find that someone else feels under your obligation though you have done nothing for him and thus your good deeds will be compensated, and Allah will reward you for your goodness.

A True friend is one who sees a fault, gives you advice and who defends you in your absence.

Never make a decision in anger and never make a promise in happiness.

Be like a flower that gives its fragrance even to the hand that crushed it.

Authority, power, and wealth do not change a man; they only reveal him

You should desire for others what you desire for yourself, and hate for others what you hate for yourself. Do not oppress, just as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others just as you would like good to be done to you. Dislike in yourself what you dislike in others. Accept that treatment from others which you would like others to accept from you. Do not say to others what you do not like to be said to you.

People are of two types, they are either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity.

Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.

I will be patient till even patience tires of my patience.

Life consists of two days: one for you and one against you, so when it's for you don't be proud or reckless, and when it's against you be patient, for both days are test for you

Hide the good you do, and make known the good done to you.

Asceticism is not that you should not own anything, but that nothing should own you.

A hopeless man sees difficulties in every chance, but a hopeful person sees chances in every difficulty.

The most helpless person is the one who is helpless in reforming himself.

Allah, 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.

Beautiful people are not always good, but good people are always beautiful.

The word of God is the medicine of the heart.

When proven wrong, the wise man will correct himself and the ignorant will keep arguing.

A girl is a good deed and a boy is a bounty. Good deeds are rewarded while people are held accountable for bounties.

The one who has no control over his desires has no control over his mind.

Do not take someone's silence as his pride, perhaps he is busy fighting with his self.

Fear the sins that you commit in secret, because the Witness of those sins is the Judge Himself!

Dislike in yourself what you dislike in others.

There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.

A person of riyaa (showing off) has three characteristics : He is lazy when alone, energetic when with others, and increases in his actions when he is praised while decreasing in them when he is criticized.

Man comes from a drop of semen and leaves as a piece of dust. He doesn't know when he came and he doesn't know when he's leaving, yet he walks on the earth thinking he knows everything.

The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good while you are alive.

There is no capital more useful than intellect and wisdom, and there is no indigence more injurious than ignorance and unawareness.

A moment of patience in a moment of anger prevents a thousand moments of regret.

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

Do not hate what you do not know, for the greater part of knowledge consists of what you do not know.

Loving one another is half of wisdom.

Awaken your heart to kindness and mercy for the people and love and tenderness for them. Never, never act with them like a predatory beast which seeks to be satiated by devouring them, for the people fall into two categories: they are either your brethren in faith or your kindred in creation ... Do not ever say, 'I have been given authority' or 'My command should be obeyed.' Because it corrupts the heart, consumes one's faith, and invites calamities.

The best revenge is to improve yourself.

It is better to listen to a wise enemy than to seek counsel from a foolish friend.

Put aside your pride, Set down your arrogance, And remember your grave.

Stubbornness destroys good advice.

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

Do not use the sharpness of your speech on your mother who taught you how to speak.

A calamity does not descend except due to a sin and it is not lifted except with repentance.

The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.

Many a spoken word is more piercing than an attack.

The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.

Courtesy costs nothing, but buys everything.

Always consider your intellect to be lacking; otherwise too much faith in it surely leads to error.

Safety lies in silence. It is easier to rectify what you miss by silence, than to secure what you lose by speaking.

The outcome of fear is disappointment and shyness is frustration.

There is no knowledge and science like pondering and thought; and there is no prosperity and advancement like knowledge and science.

Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes excuses for procrastination.

Surely silence can sometimes be the most eloquent reply.

I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him.

A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested in three occasions: in timeof need, behind your back, and after your death.

A man is hid under his tongue.

Fear only the will of God and you will have no cause to fear anyone else.

How many lessons there are and how little they are taken

Lead such a life, that, when you die, the people may mourn you, and while you are alive they long for your company.

Don't engage your heart in grief over the past or you wont be ready for what is coming.

If you are greeted then return the greetings more warmly. If you are favored, then repay the obligation manifold; but he who takes the initiative will always excel in merit.

The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.

The weakest man is the one who is able to correct his moral defects, but doesn't take action.

Wealth tends to create enemies, whereas knowledge tends to warm hearts.

Either you are just or unjust. If you are just, then you will not keep aloof from the people, but will listen to them and meet their requirements. But if you are unjust, the people themselves will keep away from you.

A man's worth depends upon the nobility of his aspirations.

Do for this life as if you live forever, do for the afterlife as if you will die tomorrow.

Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.

The best companion and helper is admirable morals.

The worst of our faults is our interest in other people's faults.

Blessed is he whose own faults keep him from seeing the faults of others.

The sin which makes you sad and repentant is more liked by Allah than the good deed which turns you arrogant.

Silence is the garden of thought.

The highest person is he who is of most use to humankind.

No wealth like education and no poverty like ignorance

He who trusts the world, the world betrays him.

There is no rest for the person who has envy, and there is no love for the person who has bad manners.

There is no nobility with bad manners.

The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body.

O World, try to deceive someone else. Are you trying to tempt me or attract me? No way! I divorce you irrevocably. Your time is short and you are insignificant. Alas! The provision is little, the journey is long and the way is lonely.

Nothing hurts a good soul and kind heart more than to live amongst people who can't understand it.

Vanity prevents improvement

Do not feel lonely on the road of righteousness Because of the fewness of the walkers on it.

Your souls are precious and can only be equal to the price of Paradise, therefore sell them only at that price

Know you that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standards of his worship and obedience. He has favoured it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undoubtable arguments, unchallengeable supremacy and undeniable wisdom. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.

Whoever desires Paradise, proceeds towards goodness; whoever fears Hell, refrains from the impulses of passions; whoever believes firmly in death, detests wordly life; and whoever recognises the worldly life, the trials and tribulations (of life) become slight for him.