Islam Guidance

saying - 381 to 400

381. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: There is no distinction higher than Islam, no honor more honorable than fear of Allah, no asylum better than self-restraint, no intercessor more effective than repentance, no treasure more precious than contentment, and no wealth is a bigger remover of destitution than satisfaction with mere subsistence. Whoever confines himself to what is just enough for maintenance achieves comfort and prepares his abode in ease. Desire is the key of grief and the conveyance of distress. Greed, vanity and jealousy are incentives to falling into sins and mischief-making, the collection of all bad habits.

382. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said the following to Jabir ibn ‘AbdAllah al-Ansari: O Jabir! The mainstay of religion and the world are four persons: The scholar who acts upon his knowledge, the ignorant person who does not feel ashamed of learning, the generous person who is not niggardly in his favors, and the destitute who does not sell his next life for his worldly benefits. Consequently, when the scholar wastes his knowledge, the ignorant feels too ashamed to learn, and when the generous is niggardly with his favors, the destitute sells his next life for the worldly benefits.
O Jabir! If favors of Allah abound on a person, the people’s needs toward him also abound. Therefore, whoever fulfills for Allah all that is obligatory on him in this regard will preserve them (Allah’s favors) in continuance and perpetuity, while whoever does not fulfill those obligations will expose them to decay and destruction.

383. Ibn Jarir at-TAbari has, in his History (Vol. 2, p. 1086; also Ibn al-Athir in his History, Vol. 4, p. 478) related from ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Aba Layla, al-faqih, who was one of those who had risen with (‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad) Ibn al-Ash‘ath to fight al-Hajjaj (ibn Yasuf ath-Thaqafi), that he (Ibn Aba Layla) was exhorting people to carry out jihad by recalling the following: “On the occasion of the encounter with the people of Syria, I heard Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.), may Allah exalt his rank among the righteous and may He reward him with the reward of martyrs and men of truth, saying: ‘O believers, whoever observes excesses being committed and people being called towards evil and disapproves it with his heart is safe and free from responsibility for it, and whoever disapproves of it with his tongue will be rewarded and he is in a higher status than the former, but whoever disapproves it with his sword in order that the word of Allah may remain superior and the word of the oppressors may remain inferior, catches hold of the path of guidance and stands on the right way, while his heart is lit with conviction.’”

384. Another saying in the same strain runs as follows: So..., among them (the Muslim community) there is one who disapproves evil with his hand, tongue and heart. This man has perfectly attained the virtuous habits. And among them there is one who disapproves evil with his tongue and heart but not with his hand. This man has attained only two virtuous habits but lacks one. And among them there is the third who disapproves evil with his heart but not with his tongue and hand. This is the one who lacks the two better qualities out of the three and holds only one. Then, among them there is also one who does not disprove evil with his tongue, heart or hand. He is just a dead man among the living.
All the virtuous acts, including waging a war in the way of Allah, as compared to the persuasion for good and dissuasion from evil, are just like spitting in the deep ocean [i.e. of no consequence]. The acts of persuasion for good and dissuasion from evil do not bring death nearer, nor do they lessen the livelihood. And better than all this is to utter a just expression before a tyrannical ruler.

385. The following is related from Aba Juhayfah who said, “I heard Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him saying: The first fighting with which you will be overpowered is fighting with the hands. Thereafter, you will fight with your tongues then with your hearts. Consequently, whoever does not recognize virtue with his heart or does not disprove evil will be turned upside down. Thus, his upside will be turned downwards and his low side will be turned upwards.

386. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Certainly, right is weighty and wholesome while wrong is light and epidemic.

387. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Do not feel safe from the punishment of Allah even about the best man in the whole community because Allah, the Sublime, says: “But none feels secure from the plan of Allah save the people (who are the) losers” (Qur’an, 7: 99). Again, do not lose hope even for the worst man of the community because Allah, the Sublime One, says: “Verily, none despair from Allah’s mercy save the disbelieving people” (Qur’an, 12: 87).

388. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Miserliness contains all other evil vices and is the rein with which one can be led to every evil.

389. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: O son of Adam! Livelihood is of two kinds: The livelihood which you seek and the livelihood which seeks you; if you do not reach it, it will reach you. Therefore, do not turn your one day’s worry into a year’s worry. Whatever you get every day should be enough for you for the day. If you have a whole year of your life, even then Allah, the Sublime, will give you every next day what He has destined as your share. If you do not have a year in your life-span, then why should you worry for what is not for you? No seeker will reach your livelihood before you, nor will anyone overpower you in the matter of livelihood. Likewise, whatever has been destined as your share will not be delayed for you.

Sayyid ar-Razi says: “This statement has already appeared elsewhere in this Chapter except that here it is clearer and more detailed. This is why we have repeated it according to the principle laid down in the beginning of the book.”

390. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Many a man faces a day after which he finds no day, and many a man is in an enviable status in the earlier part of the night but is mourned by wailing women in its later part.

391. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Words are in your control till you have not uttered them. But when you have spoken them, you are under their control. Therefore, guard your tongue as you guard your gold and silver, for often one expression snatches away a blessing and invites a penalty.

392. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Do not say what you do not know; rather, do not say all that you know because Allah has laid down some obligations for all your limbs by means of which He will put forth arguments against you on the Day of Judgment.

393. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Fear lest Allah should see you committing His sins or misses you when it is time to obey Him and, as a result, you will become a loser. Therefore, when you are strong, be strong in obeying Allah, and when you are weak, be weak in committing sins against Allah.

394. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Leaning towards this world despite what you see of it is a folly, and lagging behind in doing good deeds when you are convinced of good reward for them is an obvious loss, while trusting in everyone before trying is a weakness.

395. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: It is (the proof of the) humbleness of the world before Allah that He is disobeyed only herein and His favors cannot be achieved except by renouncing it.

396. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: One who is in search of something will obtain it, at least some of it.

397. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: That good is no good after which there is the Fire, and that hardship is no hardship after which there is Paradise. Every bliss other than Paradise is minor, and every calamity other than the Fire is comfort.

398. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: Beware that destitution is a calamity, but worse than destitution is ailment of the body, while worse than bodily ailment is the disease of the heart. Beware that plenty of wealth is a blessing, but better than plenty of wealth is the health of the body, while still better than the health of the body is the purity of the heart.

399. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: “Anyone whose his action keeps him behind, his lineage cannot push him forward.”
In another version, it is expressed thus: “Whoever misses his own personal attainments cannot gain any benefit from his forefathers’ attainments.”

400. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, peace be upon him said: The believer’s time has three periods: The period when he is in communion with Allah, the period when he manages for his livelihood, and the period when he is free to enjoy what is lawful and pleasant. It does not behoove a wise person to be away (from his house) save for three matters, namely: for the purposes of learning, or going for something for the next life, or for enjoying what is not prohibited.

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