Eternal Words Nahj al-Balaghah Sayings saying - 461 to 480
saying - 461 to 480
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461. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Riches and destitution will follow presentation before Allah.
462. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Al-Zubayr remained a man from our house till his wretched son ‘Abdullah came forth.
463. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: What has a man to do with vanity? His origin is semen, his end is a carcass, while he cannot feed himself nor ward off death?
464. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him was asked who the greatest poet was. He said: “Any group of them that did not proceed on the same lines in such a way that we can know the height of their glory, but if it has to be done, then it is ‘al-Malik ad-Dillil’”.
Sayyid ar-Razi says, “Amir al-Mu’minin here is referring to Imri’ul-Qays.
465. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Is there no free man who can leave this chewed morsel (of the world) to those who like it? Certainly, the only price for your souls is Paradise. Therefore, do not sell your soul except for Paradise.
466. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Two greedy persons never get satisfied: the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of this world.
467. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Belief means that you should prefer truth (even) when it harms you rather than falsehood (even) when it benefits you, that your words should not be more than your action and that you should fear Allah when speaking about others.
468. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Destiny holds sway over (our) predetermination till effort itself brings about ruin.
Sayyid ar-Razi says, “Something of this meaning has already appeared earlier though in words different from these.”
469. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Forbearance and endurance are twins and they are the product of high courage.
470. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Backbiting is the tool of the helpless.
471. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Many a man gets into mischief because of being spoken well of.
472. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: This world has been created for other than itself and has not been created for itself.
473. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Banu Umayyah (the Umayyads) have a fixed period (mirwad) wherein they are having their way. But when differences arise among them, even if the hyena attacks them, it will overpower them.
Sayyid ar-Razi says, “Here, mirward is a form derived from irwad which means: to allow time, to wait for, to give a respite. It is an extremely eloquent and wonderful expression. It is as though Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) has likened the period of Banu Umayyah to a limited area meant for the training of horses for racing where they are running towards the limit, so that when they reach its extremity, their organization is destroyed.
474. Eulogizing the Ansar, Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: By Allah, they nurtured Islam with their generous hands and eloquent tongues as a year-old calf is nurtured.
475. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The eye is the strap of the rear.
Sayyid ar-Razi says, “This is a wonderful metaphor. It is as though Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) has likened the rear part of the body to a bag and the eye to a strap. When the strap is let loose, the bag cannot retain anything. According to the well-known and reputed view, this is a saying of the Prophet, but some people have stated it belong to Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.). Al-Mubarrad has mentioned it in his book Al-Muqtadab under a chapter titled “Words of single letters”. We, too, have discussed this metaphor in our book titled Majazat al-athar an-NAbawiyyah.”
476. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said in one of his speeches: A ruler came to power over them. He remained upright and made them upright till the entire religion put its bosom on the ground.
477. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: A severe time will come to people wherein the rich will seize their possessions with their teeth (by way of miserliness) although they have not been commanded to do so. Allah, the Glorified One, says: “Do not forget generosity among yourselves” (Qur’an, 2: 237). During this time, the wicked will rise up while the virtuous will remain low. Purchases will be made from the helpless, although the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) has prohibited purchasing from the helpless.
478. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Two types of persons will fall into ruin on my account: One who loves me and exaggerates, and the other who lays on me false and baseless blames.
Sayyid ar-Razi says, “ This is on the lines of Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib's (p.b.u.h.) own saying which runs thus: ‘Two categories of persons will be ruined on my account: One who loves me with exaggeration, and one who hates [me] and is a bearer of malice’.”
479. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him was asked about the Unity of Allah (Tawhid) and His justice (‘Adl). He replied: Unity means that you do not subject Him to the limitations of your imagination, while justice means that you do not lay any blame on Him.
480. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: There is no good in silence about matters involving wisdom just as there is no good in speaking with ignorance.
