Here are some famous sayings of Imam Ali (AS), the first Imam of Shia Muslims:
* I appreciate an old man’s cautious opinion more than the valor of young men.
* How I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him.
* He is the wisest and the most knowing man who advises people not to lose hope and confidence in the Mercy of Allah and not to be too sure and over-confident of immunity from His wrath and punishment.
* Like your body, your mind also gets tired and fagged; in such case find educational diversions for it.
* That knowledge is very superficial which remains only on your tongue; the intrinsic merit and value of knowledge is that you act upon it.
* Whenever a tradition of the holy Prophet (SAW) is related to you, examine it carefully and think over it deeply, do not be satisfied with mere verbatim repetition of the same, because there are many people who repeat the words containing knowledge, but there are few who ponder over them and try to fully grasp the meaning they convey.
* Those who give up religion to better their circumstances in life seldom succeed. The wrath of Allah makes them go through more calamities and losses than the gains they gather for themselves.
* There are many educated people who have ruined their future on account of their ignorance of religion. Their knowledge did not prove of any avail to them.
* Only such a person can establish the Divine Rule, who, where justice and equity are required, will neither feel deficient nor weak and who is not greedy and avaricious.
* When a community is composed of really honest, sober and virtuous people then your forming a bad opinion about any one of its members when nothing wicked has been seen of him is a great injustice to him; on the contrary, in a corrupt society, to form a good opinion of anyone out of those people and to trust him is doing harm to yourself.
* To lose or to waste an opportunity will result in grief and sorrow.
* The world, which offers you vicious pleasures is like a snake, so soft to the touch, but so full of lethal poison. Unwise people are allured by it and drawn towards it and wise men avoid it and keep away from its poisonous effects.
* What difference is there between a deed whose pleasure passes away leaving behind it the pangs of pain and punishment and the deed whose cruel severity or oppressive harshness comes to an end leaving behind it heavenly rewards and blessings.
* Blessings are the man who humbles himself before Allah, whose sources of income are honest, whose intentions are always honorable, whose character is noble, whose habits are sober, who gives away in the name and in the cause of Allah the wealth which is lying surplus with him, who controls his tongue from vicious and useless talk, who abstains from oppression and tyranny, who cheerfully and faithfully follows the traditions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and who keeps himself away from innovation in religion.
Source: shafaqna.com
