The best revenge is to improve yourself.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Never explain yourself to anyone, because the one who likes you would not need it, and the one dislikes you wouldn’t believe it.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Silence is the best reply to a fool.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Be like a flower that gives its fragrance even to the hand that crushed it.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Body is purified by water. Ego by tears. Intellect is purified by knowledge. And soul is purified with love.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A hopeless man sees difficulties in every chance, but a hopeful person sees chances in every difficulty.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
People are of two types, they are either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Beautiful people are not always good, but good people are always beautiful.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The one who has no control over his desires has no control over his mind.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The word of God is the medicine of the heart.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not feel lonely on the road of righteousness Because of the fewness of the walkers on it.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A moment of patience in a moment of anger prevents a thousand moments of regret.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Hide the good you do, and make known the good done to you.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
He who trusts the world, the world betrays him.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Greed is permanent slavery.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Don’t engage your heart in grief over the past or you wont be ready for what is coming.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The vision of the eye is limited; the vision of the heart transcends all barriers of time and space.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
I will be patient till even patience tires of my patience.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
No wealth like education and no poverty like ignorance.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Authority, power, and wealth do not change a man; they only reveal him.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Your souls are precious and can only be equal to the price of Paradise, therefore sell them only at that price.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
When proven wrong, the wise man will correct himself and the ignorant will keep arguing.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not take someone’s silence as his pride, perhaps he is busy fighting with his self.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Courtesy costs nothing, but buys everything.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Fear only the will of God and you will have no cause to fear anyone else.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The worst of our faults is our interest in other people’s faults.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
He who understands humanity seeks solitude.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Nothing hurts a good soul and kind heart more than to live amongst people who can’t understand it.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not use the sharpness of your speech on your mother who taught you how to speak.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do for this life as if you live forever, do for the afterlife as if you will die tomorrow.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The sin which makes you sad and repentant is more liked by Allah than the good deed which turns you arrogant.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good while you are alive.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Fear the sins that you commit in secret, because the Witness of those sins is the Judge Himself!
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Recitation of the Qur’an without contemplation and thought is futile.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
To fight against one’s desires is the greatest of all fights.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The highest person is he who is of most use to humankind.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Stubbornness destroys good advice.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Asceticism is not that you should not own anything, but that nothing should own you.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
It is better to listen to a wise enemy than to seek counsel from a foolish friend.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Not every man with a heart is understanding, nor every man with an ear a listener, and nor every man with eyes able to see.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Always consider your intellect to be lacking; otherwise too much faith in it surely leads to error.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Man comes from a drop of semen and leaves as a piece of dust. He doesn’t know when he came and he doesn’t know when he’s leaving, yet he walks on the earth thinking he knows everything.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Understanding the knowledge and wisdom of the Qur’an is by far, higher than memorizing.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Surely silence can sometimes be the most eloquent reply.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Safety lies in silence. It is easier to rectify what you miss by silence, than to secure what you lose by speaking.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
True friends are a single soul divided between different bodies.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
An alert and learned man will take advice from any event.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Vanity prevents improvement.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There are three signs of a knowledgeable person: knowledge, forbearance and silence.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not be too hard, lest you be broken; do not be too soft, lest you be squeezed.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Happiness comes towards those which believe in him.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Two things cause people to be destroyed: fear of poverty and seeking superiority through pride.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The most helpless person is the one who is helpless in reforming himself.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Of all the follies the greatest is to love the world.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
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.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A man’s worth depends upon the nobility of his aspirations.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There is no capital more useful than intellect and wisdom, and there is no indigence more injurious than ignorance and unawareness.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Know thyself, and thou shalt know God.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Lead such a life, that, when you die, the people may mourn you, and while you are alive they long for your company.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Contentment is a wealth that is never exhausted.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
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.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Bear sorrows and calamities patiently, otherwise you will never be happy.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The outcome of fear is disappointment and shyness is frustration.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
How many lessons there are and how little they are taken.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
He who busies himself with things other than improvement of his own self becomes perplexed in darkness and entangled in ruin. His evil spirits immerse him deep in vices and make his bad actions seem handsome.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There is no rest for the person who has envy, and there is no love for the person who has bad manners.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
He who guards his secrets retains control in his own hands.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not be like those on whom advice has no effect and who require punishment to correct themselves.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Poverty is the worst form of death.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Riches without faith are the greatest poverty.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
To whatever extent a person’s knowledge increases, his attention will be turned more towards his soul.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Blessed is he whose own faults keep him from seeing the faults of others.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Associating with the wise and the knowledgeable people adds to the prestige of a person.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
He who is greedy is disgraced; he who discloses his hardship will always be humiliated; he who has no control over his tongue will often have to face discomfort.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
To make one good action succeed another, is the perfection of goodness.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Wealth tends to create enemies, whereas knowledge tends to warm hearts.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Patience to faith is like the head to the body. The person who has no patience has not faith.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
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.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Let me alone, and go in search of someone else.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There is no nobility with bad manners.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There is no knowledge and science like pondering and thought; and there is no prosperity and advancement like knowledge and science.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
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.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not be misled by appearances for these are apt to be deceptive.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A calamity does not descend except due to a sin and it is not lifted except with repentance.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A man’s behavior is the index of the man, and his discourse is the index of his understanding.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Either you are just or unjust. If you are just, then you will not keep aloof from the people, but will listen to them and meet their requirements. But if you are unjust, the people themselves will keep away from you.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Many a spoken word is more piercing than an attack.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not share the knowledge with which you have been blessed with everyone in general, as you do with some people in particular; and know that there are some men in whom Allah, may He he glorified, has placed hidden secrets, which they are forbidden to reveal.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The best companion and helper is admirable morals.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
During civil disturbance adopt such an attitude that people do not attach any importance to you – they neither burden you with complicated affairs, nor try to derive any advantage out of you.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Be afraid of a dignified man when he is hungry and a wicked man when his belly is full.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A True friend is one who sees a fault, gives you advice and who defends you in your absence.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
One who rushes madly after inordinate desire, runs the risk of encountering destruction and death.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The one from among the Muslims who recites the Qur’an but in the end finds his way to hell, is considerd to be among those that have taken the word of Allah in jest.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Never make a decision in anger and never make a promise in happiness.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The nourishment of body is food, while the nourishment of the soul is feeding others.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested in three occasions: in timeof need, behind your back, and after your death.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes excuses for procrastination.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A man is hid under his tongue.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Live amongst people in such a manner that if you die they weep over you and if you are alive they crave for your company.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Do not hate what you do not know, for the greater part of knowledge consists of what you do not know.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Dislike in yourself what you dislike in others.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Loving one another is half of wisdom.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
The weakest man is the one who is able to correct his moral defects, but doesn’t take action.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Often your utterances and expressions of your face leak out the secrets of your hidden thoughts.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Perfecting one’s intellect causes one to speak less, and those words spoken will be adorned with wisdom.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
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.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
O World, try to deceive someone else. Are you trying to tempt me or attract me? No way! I divorce you irrevocably. Your time is short and you are insignificant. Alas! The provision is little, the journey is long and the way is lonely.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
When wisdom reaches the acme of perfection, it will suppress the vicious instincts and injurious desires.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
One who is mild rather than forceful has greater capacity for outreach.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Reciter and listener of the Qur’an are alike in prize and reward.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
I was not created to be occupied by eating delicious foods like tied up cattle.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
If you are greeted then return the greetings more warmly. If you are favored, then repay the obligation manifold; but he who takes the initiative will always excel in merit.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
One who thinks and reflects develops his foresight and vision.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Thy lot or portion of life is seeking after thee; therefore be at rest from seeking after it.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
People’s hearts are like wild animals. They attach their selves to those that love and train them.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
There are so many highly esteemed ones who became miserable and humiliated just because of their bad temper and morals; and humble people who have attained eminence and the highest honors because of good temper and morals.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
No one has ever suffered from his people as I have.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
A girl is a good deed and a boy is a bounty. Good deeds are rewarded while people are held accountable for bounties.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
Abstinence from sins is better than seeking help afterwards.
— Ali ibn Abi Talib
