Words of
Wisdom from
Imam Ali (AS)
Selections from the sayings and
preaching of Amir Al-Muminin Ali ibn
abi Talib (peace be upon him)
1. Amir al-muminin, peace be
upon him, said:
Incapability is a catastro-
phe; endurance is bravery;
abstinence is riches; self-
restraint is a shield (against
sin); and the best compan-
ion is submission (to
Allah’s will).
2. Amir al-muminin, peace be
upon him, said: Knowledge
is a venerable estate; good
manners are new dresses;
and thinking is a clear mir-
ror.
3. Amir al-muminim, peace be
upon him, said: Charity is
an effective cure, and the
actions of people in their
present life will be before
their eyes in the next life.
74 ■ ......... The Seeker • First Year • No. 1 • February 2004
This saying comprises two
phrases:
The first sentence relates to
charity and Amir al-muminin
has described it as an effec-
tive cure, because when a
man helps the poor and the
destitute by charity they pray
for his health and recovery
from the depth of their hearts
and therefore their prayer is
granted and brings him cure.
In this connection, there is
the saying of the Holy
prophet that, “Cure your
sick by charity.”
The second sentence relates
to the disclosure of actions
on the Day of Judgment,
namely that the good and bad
deeds which a person per-
forms in this world cannot be
perceived by human senses
because of the veil of materi-
 al elements but on the Day of
Judgment when material cur-
tains will be lifted they will
so appear before the eye that
there will be no possibility of
denial by anyone. Thus,
Allah has said:
On that day shall so come
out people (from their
graves) in
(scattered) groups, to be
shown their own deeds.
Then he who has
done an atom-weight of
good shall see it. And he
who has done an atom-
weight of evil shall see it
(Quran, 99: 6-8)
4. Amir al-muminin, peace be
upon him, said: Meet peo-
ple in such a manner that if
you die they should weep
for you and if you live they
should long for you.
To the person who behaves
with others with benignity
and good manners, people
extend their hand of coopera-
tion, they honor and respect
him and shed tears after his
death. Therefore, a person
should lead such an agree-
able life that no one should
have any complaint against
him, nor should he cause any
harm to anyone so that dur-
ing life he should attract oth-
ers and after death too he
should be remembered in
good words.
5. Amir al-muminin, peace be
upon him, said: The conse-
......... The Seeker • First Year • No. 1 • February 2004 ■
quence of fear is disap-
pointment and of bashful-
ness is frustration.
Opportunity passes away
like the cloud. Therefore,
make use of good opportu-
nities.
If a man fears that people
may think him ignorant and
therefore feels bashful in
asking an important and nec-
essary issue then this mis-
placed bashfulness would
result in his being deprived
of knowledge. Therefore, no
sane person should feel bash-
ful about making enquiries.
Thus, an old man who was
learning despite old age was
asked whether he did not feel
ashamed of learning in old
age and he replied: “I do not
feel shame for ignorance dur-
ing old age, then how can I
feel shame for learning in old
age.” Of course, to feel
shame in doing things which
are really bad and mischie-
vous is the essence of
humanity and nobility; for
instance, those immoral acts
which are bad according to
religion, intelligence and
ethics. In any case, the first
kind of bashfulness is bad
and the second one is good.
In this connection, the Holy
Prophet’s saying is that:
Bashfulness is of two kinds,
bashfulness of intelligence
and bashfulness of foolish-
ness. The bashfulness of
intelligence is knowledge
whereas the bashfulness of
foolishness is ignorance.
75
 IN THE NAME OF ALLAH
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76 ■ ......... The Seeker • First Year • No. 1 • February 2004