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Back You are here: Home Eternal Words Nahj al-Balaghah Sayings saying - 81 to 100

saying - 81 to 100


81. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The worth of every man is in his attainments.

Sayyid ar-Razi says that this is the statement whose value cannot be assessed, with which no wise saying can be weighed and with which no other sentence can be matched.

82. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: I impart to you five things which, if you ride your camels fast in search of them, you will find them worth the effort:
None of you should repose hope save in his Lord (Allah); none of you should fear anything save his sin; none should feel ashamed of saying, “I do not know” when he is asked about a matter which he does not know; none should feel ashamed of learning a thing that he does not know and you should practice endurance because endurance is for belief what the head is for the body: Just as there is no good in a body without the head, there is no good in belief without endurance.

83. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said the following about a man who praised him much, although he did not admire him: I am below what you express and above what you feel in your heart.

84. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The survivors of the sword are large in number and have many offspring.

85. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Whoever abandons saying, “I do not know” meets his destruction.

86. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: I love the opinion of an old man more than the determination of a young man: (or according to another version: more than the martyrdom of a young man.)

87. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: I wonder about the man who loses hope despite the possibility of seeking forgiveness.

88. (Imam) Aba Ja`far Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon him, has related from Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) that the Imam had said: There were two sources of deliverance from the punishment of Allah: one of them has been raised up, while the other is before you. You should, therefore, adhere to it. The source of deliverance, which has been raised up is the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), while the source of deliverance that remains is the seeking of forgiveness. Allah, the Glorified One, has said the following: “And Allah is not to chastise them while you are among them, nor is Allah to chastise them while yet they seek [His] forgiveness’ (Holy Qur’an, 8: 33).

Sayyid ar-Razi says that this is one of the most beautiful ways of deriving the meaning and a most delicate manner of an interpretation.

89. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: If a man behaves properly in matters between himself and Allah, then Allah will keep proper the matters between him and other people. And if a man keeps proper the 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.

90. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The perfect jurist of Islam is whoever does not let people lose hope from the mercy of Allah, does not make him despondent of Allah’s kindness and does not make him feel safe from Allah’s punishment.

91. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The hearts get disgusted as bodies get disgusted; so look for beautiful wise sayings for them.

92. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The most humble knowledge is that which remains on the tongue and the most honorable one is that which manifests itself through (the action of) the limbs and the organs of the body.

93. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: None of you should say, “O Allah! I seek Your protection from affliction” because there is none who is not afflicted. But whoever seeks Allah’s protection should seek it from misguiding troubles because Allah, the Glorified One, says the following: “And be admonished that your wealth and your children are a trial” (Holy Qur’an, 8: 28). It means that He tries people with wealth and progeny in order to distinguish one who is displeased with his livelihood from one who is happy with what he has been given. Even though Allah, the Glorified One, knows them more than they know themselves, yet He does so to let them perform actions with which they earn reward or punishment. This is so because some of them like to have male (children) and dislike to have female (children), whereas some like to amass wealth and dislike adversity.

Sayyid ar-Razi says that this is a wonderful interpretation related from the Imam (p.b.u.h.).

94. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him was asked what is good; he replied thus: Good is not that your wealth and progeny should be much, but good is that your knowledge should be much, your forbearance should be great and that you should vie with other people in worshipping Allah. If you do good deeds, you should thank Allah, but if you commit evil, you should seek forgiveness of Allah. In this world, good is for two persons only: the man who commits sins but rectifies them by repentance, and the man who hastens towards good deeds.

95. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Action accompanied by fear for Allah does not fail; how can a thing fail that has been accepted?!

96. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The persons most attracted to the prophets are those who know most what the prophets have brought.
Then Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) recited this verse: “Verily, of men, the nearest to Abraham are surely those who followed him and this (Our) Prophet (p.b.u.h.) (Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)) and those who believe” (Holy Qur’an, 3:68). Then he said the following: The friend of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is whoever obeys Allah, even though he may have no blood relationship [with him], and the enemy of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is whoever disobeys Allah even though he may have near kinship [with the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)].

97. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him heard about a Kharijite who said the mid-night prayers and recited the Holy Qur’an, then he said: Sleeping in a state of firm belief is better than praying in a state of doubt.

98. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: When you hear a tradition, test it according to the criterion of intelligence not to that of mere hearsay because those who relate knowledge are numerous, but those who safeguard it are few.

99. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him heard a man reciting the following: “Verily, we are Allah’s, and verily to Him shall we return” (Holy Qur’an, 2: 156). The Imam (p.b.u.h.) said: Our saying, “Inna li’llah (Verily we are Allah’s) is an admission of His majesty over us, while our saying, “Wa inna ilayhi raji’un” (and verily to Him shall we return) is an admission of our being mortal.

100. Some people praised Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him in his presence. The Imam (p.b.u.h.) said: O Lord! You know me better than I know myself, and I know myself better than they know. O Lord! Make us better people than what they think and forgive us for what they do not know.

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