- Fulfilment of (others’) needs becomes a lasting virtue in three ways:– regarding it small so that it attains bigness, concealing it so that it may manifest itself, and doing it quickly so that it becomes pleasant.
- Shortly a time will come for people when high positions will be given only to those who defame others, when vicious people will be regarded as witty and just will be regarded as weak. People will regard charity as a loss, consideration for kinship as an obligation, and worship grounds for claiming greatness among others. At this time, authority will be exercised through counsel of women, posting of young boys in high positions and running of the administration by eunuchs.
- Imam was seen in worn-out clothes with patches and when it was pointed out to him he said: With it the heart fears, the mind feels humble and the believers emulate it. Certainly, this world and the next are two enemies against each other and two paths in different directions. Whoever likes this world and loves it hates the next arid is its enemy. These two are like East and West. If the walker between them gets near to one, he gets farther from the other. After all, they are like two fellow wives.
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It is related by Nawf al-Bikali that: I saw that one night Imam came out from his bed and looked at the stars, then he said to me: “O’ Nawf, are you awake or sleeping?” I said: “I am awake, O, Ameerul Momineen.” Then he said:
O’ Nawf! blessed be those who abstain from this world and are eager for the next world. They are the people who regard this earth as a floor; its dust as their bed-cloth; and its water as their perfume; they recite the Quran in low tones and supplicate in high tones and then they are cut off from the world like ‘Isa (Jesus). O’ Nawf! The prophet Dawud (David), peace be upon him, rose up at a similar hour one night and said, “This is the hour when whatever a person prays for is granted to him unless he is a tax-collector, an intelligence man, a police officer, a lute player or a drummer.
- Allah has placed on you some obligations which you should not ignore, has laid down for you limits which you should not transgress, has prohibited you from certain things which you should hot violate, and has kept quiet about certain things, but He has not left them out by mistake so that you should not find them.
- If people give up something relating to religion to set right their worldly affairs, Allah will inflict upon them something more harmful than that.
- Often the ignorance of a learned man ruins him while the knowledge he has does not avail him.
- In man there is a piece of flesh attached to him with a vein and it is the strangest thing in him. It is the heart. It has a store of wisdom and things contrary to wisdom. If it sees a ray of hope, eagerness humiliates it and when eagerness increases, greed ruins it. If disappointment overtakes it, grief kills it. If anger rises in it, a serious rage develops. If it is blessed with pleasure, it forgets to be cautious. If it becomes fearing, it becomes heedless. If peace extends all round, it becomes neglectful. If it earns wealth, freedom from care puts it in the wrong. if trouble befalls it, impatience makes it humble. If it faces starvation, distress overtakes it. If hunger attacks it, weakness makes it sit down. If its eating increases, heaviness of stomach pains it. Thus, every shortness is harmful to it and every excess is injurious to it.
- We (the members of the Prophet’s family) are like the pillow in the middle. He who lags behind has to come forward to meet it while he who has exceeded the bounds has to return to it.
- No one can establish the rule of Allah, the Glorified, except he who shows no relenting (in the matter of right), who does not behave like wrong doers and who does-not run after objects of greed.
