Islam Guidance

saying - 361 to 380

361. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: At the extremity of hardship comes relief, and at the tightening of the chains of tribulation comes ease.

362. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said the following to one of his companions: Do not devote much of your activity to your wife and children because if your wife and children are lovers of Allah, then He will not leave His lovers without caring for them. And if they are enemies of Allah, then why should you worry and keep yourself busy about the enemies of Allah?

363. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The greatest defect is when you are concerned about the defect (in others) which is already present in yourself.

364. Someone congratulated another person in the presence of Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him on the birth of a son saying: “Congratulations for getting a rider of horses”. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.), said: Do not say so; but say: You have an occasion to be grateful to Allah, the Giver, and be blessed with what you have been given. May he attain full life, and may you be blessed with His devotion.

365. One of the officers of Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him built a stately house about which Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) said: These are silver coins showing their faces. Certainly, this house speaks of your riches.

366. It was said to Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him, peace be upon him: “If a man is left in his house and the door is closed, from where will his livelihood reach him?” He replied: “From whatever way his death reaches him.”

367. Offering condolences to people one of whom had just died, Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: This thing has not started with you nor does it end with you. This fellow of yours was used to journeying and, therefore, it is better to think of him as still journeying. Either he will rejoin you or you will rejoin him.

368. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: O people! Let Allah see you fearing at the time of happiness just as you fear Him at the time of distress. Certainly, whoever is given ease (of life) and does not consider it as a means of slow approach to tribulation (wrongly) considers himself as safe against what is to be feared while whoever is afflicted with straitened circumstances but does not perceive them to be a trial loses to a coveted reward.

369. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: O slaves of desires! Cut them short because whoever leans on the world gets nothing out of it except the pain of hardships. O people! Take upon yourselves to train your own souls and turn away from the dictates of your natural inclinations.

370. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Do not regard an expression uttered by any person as evil if you can find it capable of bearing some good.

371. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: If you have a need from Allah, the Glorified One, then begin by seeking Allah’s blessing on His Messenger, may Allah bless him and his descendants, then ask your need, because Allah is too generous to accept one (seeking His blessing on His Messenger) of the two requests made to Him while denying the other.

372. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Whoever is jealous of his esteem should keep from quarreling.

373. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: To make haste before the proper time or to delay after a proper opportunity, in either case there is folly.

374. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Do not ask about things which may not happen because you have enough to worry about with what already happens.

375. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Imagination is a clear mirror, and the taking of lessons (from things around you) provides warning and counsel. It is enough for improving yourself that you should avoid what you consider as bad in others.

376. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Knowledge is associated with action. Therefore, whoever knows should act [upon it] because knowledge calls for action. If there is a response, well and good; otherwise, it (i.e. knowledge) departs from him.

377. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: O people! The wealth of this world is broken into sorts that may bring an epidemic; therefore, keep off this grazing land. Leaving it is a greater favor than peacefully staying in it, and its part which suffices for subsistence is more blissful than its riches. Destitution has been ordained for those who are rich here, while comfort has been designated for those who keep away from it. If a person is attracted by its dazzle, it blinds both his eyes. And if a person acquires eagerness towards it, it fills his heart with grief which keeps alternating in the black part of his heart, some grief worrying him and another giving him pain. This goes on till the suffocation of death overtakes him. He is flung in the open while both the shrines of his heart are severed. It is easy for Allah to cause him to die and for his comrades to put him in the grave.
The believer sees the world with eyes that derive instruction and takes from it food enough for his barest needs. He hears in it with ears of hatred and enmity [towards this world]. If it is said (about someone) that he has become rich, it is also said that he has turned destitute. And if pleasure is felt on one’s own living, grief is felt over his death. This is the status, although the day has not yet approached when they will be disheartened.

378. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Allah, the Glorified One, has laid down rewards for obedience to Him and punishment for committing sins against Him in order to save men from His chastisement and to drive them towards Paradise.

379. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: A time will come when nothing will remain of the Qur’an except its writing and nothing of Islam except its name. The mosques in such days will be busy with regard to construction but desolate with regard to guidance. Those staying in them and those visiting them will be the worst of all people on earth. From them, mischief will spring up and, toward them, all wrong will turn. If anyone isolates himself from it (mischief), they will fling him back into it. And if anyone steps back from it, they will push him towards it. Says Allah, the Glorified One, (in one hadith qudsi, i.e. the tradition in which Allah Himself speaks): I swear by Myself that I shall send upon them an evil wherein the one who endures will be bewildered,” and He will do so. We seek Allah’s pardon against stumbling through neglect.

380. It is related that seldom did Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him ascend the pulpit without uttering the following statement before starting his sermon: O people! Fear Allah, for man has not been created for naught so that he may waste himself, nor has he been left without anyone caring for them so that he may commit foolish acts. This world, which appears to him to be beautiful cannot be the replacement for the next which appears in his eyes to be bad, nor is the vain person, who is successful in this world, is sure that he will prosper in the next even to a small extent.

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