Ali ibn Abi Talib Islamic Quotations

Be a good man to Allah and a bad man to yourself (desires); and be one of the commoners among the people

Do not be like those on whom advice has no effect and who require punishment to correct themselves.

Had there not been five bad qualities, all the people would have been righteous. Contentment with ignorance; love for worldly life; miserliness inspite of much wealth; ostentation in (good) deeds; and pride in their own intelligence.

Glory is for none but the learned, Guided are they - and proofs for seekers of guidance. Every person is measured based on how much of it (knowledge) he mastered, The ignorant are to the learned their enemies, Succeed with knowledge and live energetically forever, Men are all dead, only the possessors of knowledge are truly alive

Knowledge is of two kinds: that which is absorbed and that which is heard. And that which is heard does not profit if it is not absorbed.

One who is mild rather than forceful has greater capacity for outreach.

Beware of the flight of Blessings, For nothing that runs away is returned.

Allah's Generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in His generosity. The generosity of Allah will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases

Perfecting one's intellect causes one to speak less, and those words spoken will be adorned with wisdom.

The relation of patience to iman is like the relation of the head to the body. If the head is chopped off, the body becomes useless. Then he raised his voice and said: Certainly, the one who has no patience has no iman, and patience is like a riding-beast that nevers gets tired

Oh writer! An Angel watches over all you write. Make your writing meaningful for it will eventually return to you and you will be questioned about what you wrote.

Of all the follies the greatest is to love the world.

Greed takes a person to the watering place but gets him back without letting him drink. It undertakes responsibility but does not fulfill it. Often the drinker gets choked before quenching his thirst. The greater the worth of a thing yearned for, the greater is the grief for its loss. Desires blind the eyes of understanding. The destined share would reach him who does not approach it.

To maintain nice relation with the people is half of intelligence, nice questioning is half of knowledge, and nice domestic arrangements is half of the management of livelihood.

Whoever desires Paradise, proceeds towards goodness; whoever fears Hell, refrains from the impulses of passions; whoever believes firmly in death, detests wordly life; and whoever recognises the worldly life, the trials and tribulations (of life) become slight for him.

Know you that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standards of his worship and obedience. He has favoured it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undoubtable arguments, unchallengeable supremacy and undeniable wisdom. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.

Your souls are precious and can only be equal to the price of Paradise, therefore sell them only at that price

The highest person is he who is of most use to humankind.

Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.

Wealth tends to create enemies, whereas knowledge tends to warm hearts.

The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.

How many lessons there are and how little they are taken

A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested in three occasions: in timeof need, behind your back, and after your death.

Surely silence can sometimes be the most eloquent reply.

Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes excuses for procrastination.

Always consider your intellect to be lacking; otherwise too much faith in it surely leads to error.

Many a spoken word is more piercing than an attack.

Put aside your pride, Set down your arrogance, And remember your grave.

A girl is a good deed and a boy is a bounty. Good deeds are rewarded while people are held accountable for bounties.

Your Remedy is within you, but you do not sense it. Your Sickness is from you, but you do not perceive it. You Presume you are a small entity, But within you is enfolded the entire universe. You are indeed the evident book, By whose alphabet the hidden becomes the manifest. Therefore, you have no need to look beyond yourself, What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.