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1. God, Gabriel and Ali
2. Sayings of Saint Ali - by Razi
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#1
"MICHEAL, GABRIEL AND ALI"
Sayyad Saclain. [Manchester, U.K. 2009]
With the Name of Most High the Kind and Merciful.
Vala is something that the Creator gives to His loyal friends. It is the power of the Light Sabre, given to some chosen Peacemakers of the Throne. This is the story of one righteous family that was chosen for the Power of Light on the Night of Power. Light seekers with hearts can feel the force. Though the purest things remain hidden, still many a wonderful revelation gets written. Their cool reason sees things supreme. Yet for heedless the beauty veiled in unseen.
God dispatched two Jedis, Master Gabriel and Master Michael across the seven galaxies to be with their Master and to guard him. Holy Gabriel is a mighty Angel of the Lord. Made of light, and a true Jedi, he is the trustworthiest messenger of God in heaven. He bears God’s message and brings it down to those men on Earth who are chosen by God. He is the Holy Spirit and blessed of God. Gabriel served Master Nabi Mohamed. Whenever Nabi called for him, he came. At one time, when holy Nabi was worried for Ali, he sent Gabriel back to heaven three times to seek Kaza to intervene and provide divine safety to him.
Also, in night of hijrat Gabriel protected Ali in the year 622. The people of Maka hated Nabi. They gave him endless troubles. When enemies of God plotted to kill Nabi, he turned to Ali. Under persecution Nabi chose to leave his city. He asked Ali to sleep on his bed to confuse the assassins. Ali agreed. Angels of the Mighty Throne were seeing the events as they happened. God said to the Angels, ‘Look at Earth. There is Ali and there is Mohamed. Ali is getting ready to die for his brother Mohamed.’ The Angels were seeing Ali bid farewell to his master and wished his master well. Ali was getting ready to sacrifice his life for his brother and master Mohamed. Almighty God said to Gabriel and Michael, ‘Go down on Earth both of you and protect Ali against any harm.’
The Angels knew that they had one watch to reach Solar System and save Ali. They asked Almighty Lord for Soltan so that they can move at one radian. There was no other way they could to get from the edge of the Cosmos to Maka in less than a watch. The Mighest Lord could have stopped the killers immediately. By the might of His knowledge He knew earlier what the killers would do. But that is not how things are done up there. Premptive attack is an act of the scared. Almighty is not weak. He cares. He is not careful. When decisions are made, then the decisions are made. As soon as Gabrial and Micheal received Soltan, the both angels flew across the seven galaxies at speeds unimaginable. They travelled passed the Forbidden Zones, and the Immense Voids like Kaprikonus. They crossed the great Walls Coma and Slon, and flew passed fifty thousand blue and green earths and civilisations. They went into the Leyman forest and then past the Terrible Attractor. Along the way, they picked up some dark matter. They broke the light barrier many folds as they travelled and crossed the heavens heading towards earth.
Hijrat night was a night of grave danger. Ali risked his life for Nabi in order to allow him to escape the swords of the killers. When Ali slept on his master’s bed, the assassins were confused. Nabi said to Ali, ‘O Ali, there is great danger this night.’ Ali asked, ‘If I sleep would you be safe my master.’ Nabi said, ‘O Ali, this night is grave.’ Ali said to Nabi, ‘ O Master, would your life be spared if I die.’ Nabi replied, ‘Yes, O Ali, when you lie on my bed I will live. I will be alright when you stay tonight.’ That was all that mattered to the faithful young boy. Ali put his life in danger so that his brother lives. He bade Godspeed to his master. Ali hugged Nabi. The sacred lips of Nabi toughed Ali. He then left the house without being noticed. This night Ali saved Nabi. Ali used his master’s chader and lay quietly on the bed. Ali was asleep under his brother’s cloak. Nabi went out of the city and into the night desert. He looked back towards his house. There lay his Ali in shadows of assassins swords. Nabi wept tears of love. He looked at the night sky asked the God for Ali’s safety. Nabi then headed for Koba. A short time later, the two Angels landed on the Mountain on Light. They resized and went into the house of Nabi Mohamed. They covered the vision of assassins with dark dust. The destination of the two Angels was the bed. There lay the desire of their Lord Most Supreme. At Ali’s feet stood Master Michael, and Master Gabriel stood guard near Ali’s head. They praised God in fourth and fifth highest known praises. They glorified God for His Love for young Ali on this night and they sent greeting and blessings on Ali. They said, ‘Wow Ali wow, who can ever be like you. God in Heaven is proud of you and He is marvelling your self-sacrifice before the Angels.’
Both mighty Angels sang the praises of Ali and guarded him all night. On that night God was so happy with Ali that He granted him Divine Wish, the Vala, a gift of love most pure and perfect. This divine decree is the Valaya or guardianship by which the chosen one becomes God’s ruler over the creation. Vala is the divine right trusted to the desired. They keys to the Universe were given to Ali, blessed be he. Ali became the first of Twelve Guardians of Justice appointed by God as Imams, the Leaders for humanity. Their holy names are Ali, Al Hasan, Al Husayn, Al Sajaad, Al Baqir, Al Sadiq, Al Kazim, Al Reza, Al Taqi, Al Naqi, Al Askari, and Al Mahdi. In heavens, all the Angels of the Lord say, ‘God bless Mohamed and his descendents’. Peace be upon Gabriel and Michael.
The Divine Rule and Guardianship, or Valaya was by the Will of God Almighty. It began at Ghadir when God ordered His Nabi to anoint Ali as the first Leader of Justice, the Imam. It was Gabriel who came down from the heavens to tell Nabi that God said it was time to designate Ali the master of the universe. This appointment was to bring balance to the Force of Believers. That day destroyed the hopes of people of the dark side. The year was 632.
God’s Messenger Mohamed left Medina to perform Haj. Except for Valaya, he had already announced God’s commandments to the people. Then Angel Gabriel came down and said:
‘O Mohamed, God sends peace on you, and says: “I have never taken the soul of any messenger until I have completed the Path and established My Proof. Two things still remain which you need to show to the people, the need to do Haj, and the need to recognise Valaya of your successor. I have never left My Earth empty of a Proof; nor will I ever leave it empty. Go, therefore, on Haj with the Bedouins. Show them how to do Haj like you taught them other things”.’
Nabi told his caller and he announced to the people to prepare for the journey to Haj. Over seventy thousand people gathered; the same number as those who went with Musa and accepted Haroon with a pledge. But later they broke their promise and followed Samri and made themselves a cow for worship. Similarly, Nabi took pledge for Ali from the people. But these too broke it later, and followed a Cow and a Samri of their time. They were just like the people who rejected Musa.
Nabi Mohamed performed all the rituals of Haj. At Mina, the Angel Gabriel came down and said:
‘O Mohamed, your Lord sends greeting to you and says: “Time has come for you to come to Me. Therefore, make your last will earlier. Pass your weapon and all the knowledge to your executive and successor, Ali son of Abu Talib, who is My greatest Proof for My creation, and My Logic against them. To him is My Peace. Raise him high as a guiding standard before the people. Remind them of obeying him, and again take the oath from them about My Ambassador, Ali son of Abu Talib, the Master of all believers, men and women. I have never taken the soul of any prophet until I have perfected My Path and completed My favour by establishing Obedience to My Friends and Wrath on My Enemies. Following Ali is the height of My Towheed, the belief in my Path, and completion of My Blessing on My creation. Whoever obeys him has obeyed Me. Whoever denies Ali and accepts the rule of any other person is a Mushrik, a Kafir [an idolator, an infidel]. I will give Hell to those who dislike him and I will give Paradise to those who accept him. Therefore, raise him as a standard because soon I will take you to Myself ”.’
Nabi Mohamed was concerned about the enemies of Ali and their plots, that they would lead many people back to the days of ignorance. Therefore, Nabi asked Gabriel to go back to God and seek guarantee and protection against evil the conspirators. Nabi waited until Gabriel obtained the promise of security from God. Gabriel went and returned, but without God’s promise of protection. Nabi again sent Gabriel back saying, ‘O Gabriel I am worried for Ali. Evil people will not accept him and harm him’. [Gabriel went back to God to ask for what Nabi wished for Ali.]
[In the mean time] Nabi left Maka and headed for Medina. He reached the place Ghadir Khum at ten in the morning. Here Gabriel descended from the heavens and said:
‘O Mohamed, the Almighty God sends His greetings to you, and says: “O Messenger, deliver what your Lord has given to you – about Ali – and if you cannot then you would not have proclaimed His message; and [do not worry] God will protect you against those people”.’
Nabi now called on all the pilgrims to gather together for a sermon. He ordered that a temporary pulpit be constructed for him. Nabi climbed on to the pulpit and stood to deliver the sermon. He said:
"Praise is to God, who is exalted in His unity, near in His uniqueness, sublime in His power, great in His dominance, and knower of all things... There is no other god except Him. Indeed Gabriel came down three times to give me order that I stand in this place and reveal to everyone, black and white, that Ali son of Abu Talib is my brother, my excutive and my successor, and the Imam after me. Next to God and Mohamed, he is your guardian. Know that God has designated him guardian and leader for you. Choose him because God has chosen him, and turn to him, because God has appointed him. He is the Imam from God. O mankind, take Ali, because after I am gone, he is the best person in the world. I am leaving behind for you two important things, the holy book of God, and my pure family. If you hold fast to these two precious things, then you will never go astray. I will be asked about them and you will be asked. I remind you of God regarding my family. I remind you of God regarding my family. I remind you of God regarding my family. Therefore, see how you treat them. These two great things will remain together; and they will never separate from each other till they meet me at the Fountain in Heaven. After me there will be leaders who will take people to the fire. On the day of judgement no one will help them. God and I are both clear of them; they will be in the lowest depths of hell. So too will be their supporters, and their followers. Evil indeed is the home of the arrogant. Some people will usurp and replace it with their own kingdom. May God curse the usurpers who dispossess. Indeed your guardian is God Almighty; and your guardian is Mohamed who is now addressing you; and then, after me, by the command of God your Lord, your guardian and leader is Ali. There is no knowledge except what I taught Ali. He is Imam al Mobeen. God Almighty has more right over my life than I do myself; and I have more right over the lives of believers than they have themselves. And I am master of those whose take Ali as their master. I am their master to whom master is Ali. O God, love those who love him and be an enemy to those who hate him; help those who help him; and leave those who leave him! I have now delivered God’s message to you. I have made you hear. O Lord! I ask you to bear witness that I have announced it. [Pause]. God has just sent down to me this message: ‘This day I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My Blessing on you, and chosen Peace as your Way.' O mankind, the honourable and majestic God has perfected your religion through Ali’s leadership. So, now those of you who does not follow him and the Imams of my lineage, till Judgement Day when deeds are shown are presented to God the honourable and majestic, they are the ones whose deeds shall become fruitless and vain, and they shall live in fire forever. This is Ali, my brother, and executor, and the vessel of my knowledge, and my successor. He is the Captain of the Believers, the Imam of Guidance. Your Nabi is the best Nabi and your Wasi is the best Wasi. I am the warner and Ali is the guide. I am the Nabi and Ali is the Wasi. The last of the Imams will be the awaited Mehdi the Messiah. He will restore God’s Kindgom on Earth and all of our rights. On behalf of the Almighty God, I ask you now to swear the oath of allegiance to Ali. So, fear God and give your pledge of loyalty to Ali, Ameer Al Momineen, God’s blessings are upon him and on Hasan and Husayn, and to the Imams after them. God will destroy the treacherous, and He will show mercy to the loyal. Say what I have said, and greet Ali as the Captain of the Believers, and say, ‘we hear and we obey, forgive us O Lord, to You is our return’. And say: 'Praise be to God who has guided us to this; because without guidance from God we would never have been guided.’ O mankind, whoever obeys God and His messenger and Ali and the Imams will attain a great victory. O Lord! Forgive the believers, and send Your wrath upon the disbelievers; and Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds."
This is part of the speech of Nabi at Ghadir. Ancients books record a very long three hours sermon. The Holy Family of Nabi celebrated the day of Ghadir as a Divine Blessing on them and on the entire Creation.
The fifth Imam said, “God’s Way [religion] is based on five things: Salah, Zakah, Sawm, Haj, and Valaya. Nothing was commanded like Valaya was commanded. But people accepted first four and left the Valaya.”
The eighth Imam said, “Example of believers in accepting Valaya of [Ali] the Leader of the Believers on the day of Ghadir is like that of Angels in bowing to Adam; and, the example of disbelievers who left Valaya of the Leader of Believers [Ali] on day of Ghadir is like that of [Satan] Eblees.”
Holy Lady al Zahra said, “After Ghadir, God has left no argument for anyone.” Her father Master Mohammed said, “Transmitting the Ghadir sermon is the greatest act of Amr bil Maruf [calling people towards good]”, and, he also said, “Day of Ghadir Khumm is the greatest Celebration Festival of believers. It was the day God Almighty ordered me to designate His Zikr, my brother, Ali son of Abu Talib as the standard of believers. Through him they will be guided after me. It was the day God perfected the true Religion and completed His blessing on believers. He is happy that Submission to God be their Way.”
The sixth Imam said, “Fasting on day of Ghadir is greater in value than fasting for the entire age of the world. It is the greatest celebration of God. God has not appointed any Nabi but to celebrate this day as Joy. They are all aware of its holiness. In heavens it is known as the Day of the Covenant. You might think that the honourable and majestic God may have created a day more holy than this. Never. By God. Never. By God. Never. By God.”
The eighth Imam said, “Truly the day of Ghadir is more popular in Heavens than it is on Earth. By God, if mankind really knew the value and greatness of this day, the Angels would come and shake hands with them ten times a day.”
Historians also record that Master Mohamed said Ali is Mowla of all pious people, 'If I am your master than take Ali as your master; O Lord, love those who love Ali and hate those who hate Ali, help those who help Ali and leave those who abandon Ali, and turn the truth to where Ali turns.'
After the sermon of Ghadir, the Angel Gabriel flew back to the heavens very happy and praising Ali, his master.
THE HOLY FAMILY
The Holy Family lived from the sixth century to the ninth century. And they consisted of Divine Leaders who succeeded God’s Holy Messenger Mohamed. This Sacred House was chosen by God to lead mankind from darkness into the light. Even fifteen centuries later their light affects the earth and those who live upon her. This is glory and power of God that he has manifested to His creation.
People today believe that the Sacred Family began with Master Nabi Ebraheem. It was made up of some of his descendents. After him God continued it with Master Nabi Mohamed and some of his descendents. These are the Elite of God, chosen to be the Saviours of Humanity.
Shias accept only Nabi Mohamed, his daughter, and the Twelve Holy Imams. They say these are the real members of the Divine Family. These fourteen are perfect human beings. Their lived a life completely free from sin. They are made sinless and enlightened by God. They are appointed as the highest among His creation. But some people ask why did humanity need such a perfect family; why did God create these holy people.
Nabi Mohamed was born in 570. He had taught humanity all that was good and moral. He had given them true knowledge about their Creator, the Almighty God, and he taught them God’s Will for mankind.
Nabi said that God Almighty is the Creator of mankind and their Provider. He alone created the entire Universe and He alone is its Sustainer. He is the sole Originator of all that came to be. He is one God, merciful and compassionate. There is no other God except Him.
If any person looks around, they will see that mankind is always in desperate need of proper guidance. They are lost without the Divine Light. People need guidance and God their Creator gives it to them. He does not like to see men led astray by evil people who pretend to be nice in order to take humanity away from God. God does not want mankind to listen to Satan and his evil followers who are bent on misguiding everyone. Therefore, without God’s guidance, people are utterly lost. They go ahead and chose their own bad leaders. They make up their own laws, which they come to regret later on. Their own selected leaders hurt them, as can be seen wherever it happens. That is why in order to save people from harming themselves; God guides and leads them with His own pious men. These divinely chosen leaders are for entire humanity, and not just for one nation or region.
God loves mankind. He is their Guide and their Guardian. To guide humanity, God sends Nabis and gives them His Message. These Nabis bear God’s Will for mankind. They instruct people in Divine Knowledge and show them how to live their loves in the best way possible. They show people how to be saved from misery and destruction. When the mission of Nabis is over, God chooses His Governors. These men God purifies of all sin and wrong. Humanity now has perfect leaders from God. He is their Creator. His Nabis are His Ambassadors. And His Imams are the Governors, or Leaders. That is how God protects humanity from evil and destruction. Those who believe and obey the Will of God are successful. They attain complete happiness in the heart and live fulfilled lives here on Earth. And after death, they are granted eternal Paradise. They are the friends of God. They are His Believers. In them is no fear and in them is no regret. He loves them and makes them
victorious. They are men and women to whom He gives honour. Their Guardian is God Almighty, and His Messenger Nabi Mohamed and His Imams. They love God. They obey all the Nabis, and they follow the Imams as their Leaders. Ali was the first of these Twelve Divine Leaders. The name of God’s elect are: Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Sajaad, Baqir, Sadiq, Kazim, Reza, Taqi, Naqi, Askari, and Mahdi, who will be sent by God at the end of time and rule the Earth. This is the holy family of Master Nabi Mohamed. God bless Nabi, Ali, Fatima the pure family.
Nabi died in 632. But before he left this world, he appointed Ali as his successor. He assembled the people in a large gathering to show them their leader. However, only the believers understood the significance of what God’s Holy Nabi was doing. They were loyal to God, and they remained loyal to Nabi. And after him, they stuck with Ali. The doubters and the hypocrites did not want to understand the words of God. They were materialistic engrossed in gathering wealth and neglecting the spiritual needs of the soul. They did not properly heed Nabi. They neither loved the Divine Message nor the Divine Messenger. Hence, they rejected the Divine Leaders appointed for them. Hence, after Nabi died, they usurped the right of Imam Ali, on whom be eternal peace and blessing of God. They met secretly and chose their own man to govern them.
Ahl al Bayt - The Sacred House
The Almighty referring to the House of Ebraheem said: “God’s Mercy and His Blessing are on you, O people of the house”.
Bayt means a house, tent or a building; and Ahl means people within a house, a clan, or a party. It can mean your wife, children, relatives, friends and so on. In Arabic the word ALL means children and progeny of a person.
The Sacred House started when God chose Master Ebraheem and his descendents. And it continues with Master Mohamed and his holy lineage. This is the Pious Family that God loves. The descendents of Master Mohamed are also called Alay Mohamed. People today send greetings upon this House. In every prayer, men and women, old and young, say: “God Bless Mohamed and his family as He Blessed Ebraheem and his family.” The bloodline of both Masters was believed to be sanctified by God. It is known as Ahl Al Bayt, Holy People of the House.
Nabi Mohamed had used the term "Ahl al Bayt" to mean special members of his family, namely his daughter, her husband, and their two sons. Nabi and these four together are often called the Holy Five. Therefore, when Shias believers use the word Ahl al Bayt, they refer to Nabi Mohamed, the Holy Lady Al Zahra, Ali, Al Hasan, and Al Husayn, on them all be God’s peace and blessings, light and bounty.
Some books quote Nabi praying for Ali and for Fatima. Historians write that Nabi often asked for God’s blessing upon them. They record that even before Ali married Fatima, Nabi prayed God keep safe and protected against all impurities. He also used to warn the people not to hurt his pious family, ‘I am a friend of whoever is their friend, and an enemy to those who are their enemy’.
God Almighty had chosen Nabi and him He raised high. His family was also elevated above all the people to a status most holy and pure. In the divine book it is written that God chose five people to make a model family.
“God wishes nothing but to keep dirt away from you, O people of the house, and to purify you with a full purification.”
This verse is very famous among the Shias. It is known as Aiat Tataheer [Purity Verse]. In ancient books it is written that Nabi identified those for whom God had revealed the verse of purity:
”Omme Salma, the wife of Nabi Mohamed, says the verse of Purity was revealed in my house. At that time, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn were in her house. Nabi placed his cloak over them and said, ‘these are the members of my household, God has purified them’." [from Historian Soyoti]
Nabi placed his chader over his beloved kin and then prayed for them. Shia believers say that the Ahl al Bayt in this verse does not include wives of Nabi Mohamed. God Himself excluded the wives. A disciple of Nabi called Zaid also thought that the wives are not regarded as the Pure members of his holy house. The reason being that a wife only lives there in the house with her husband for a while and if she gets divorced, she heads back to her parents. It is said that this verse came down only for the five holy people who were under the scared black cloak of Nabi Mohamed. This event is known as the Hadith-e-Kisa, [ Incident of the Cloak ].
Other books mention similar traditions about the chader over the holy family.
“Omme Salma said Nabi was eating a meal in my house. When Fatima came in, he told her to call her husband and her two sons. Hence Ali, Hasan and Husayn came and all sat down to eat with him. Then angel Gabriel from heaven and said ‘God wishes nothing but to keep uncleanness away from you, O people of the house, and to purify you with a full purification.’ Nabi covered them with his cloak and raised his hands towards the sky and said, ‘O God, these are my Ahl al Bayt, so keep them pure from all uncleanness'. I asked my husband whether I was included among you. He said, ‘You are on good and piety’.” [Historian Ibn Hanbal]
By gathering four people under his chador, Nabi had shown who the special family was. They were Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He sat them under his chader and said: "These are the members of my household, and God has purified them against every error and sin."
To many people the verse of purity is an evidence of the sinlessness and infallibility of the Nabi Mohamed’s family. God had decreed that they be completely free of sin. Shia believers refuse to accept any wife of Nabi among the Pure Family. They believe that during the life of Nabi, only the High Five were Infallible and Sinless. They say that no wife of Nabi was immaculate. His wives did not reach the status held by Fatima, Ali, Hasan and Husayn. The wives may have been part of the ordinary house, but they were not part of Nabi’s inner circle, an exclusive club the Pure People of the Household.
The Cloaked Ones
Tradition of the holy family gathered under the cloak of God’s messenger Nabi Mohamed is well known among the people. Some historians write that the two Holy Angels Gabriel and Michael also went into the Sacred Cloak on that day. They also wanted to be among Nabi’s special beloveds. Angels are created of Light. When they came down from heavens, the house of Omme Salma was full of immense brightness. It was light upon light. Her home was filled with colours of the divine rainbow.
Lady Omme Salma loved Nabi and she loved those whom he loved. She honoured everyone whom her husband honoured. Today, she was witnessing a highly unusual event. Angels of the Lord were in her home. Right before her eyes, God’s most beloved personalities were gathering. This was something very special. There was so much Divine Energy in her house. She was a highly intelligent and wise lady. She could feel the Sacred Force flow through her. She could control herself no longer. She wished to be part of this scene of brilliance. Omme Salma felt she had to speak. Therefore, she asked Nabi what is going on. What was this Spectacle of Light she was beholding. She asked whether she might join in. She waited for any sign from her master. And as soon as Nabi said to his beloved wife that she was also on the side of good, this was enough of a signal for her. Bless her, she rushed into the cloak.
From this account, some ancient historians, therefore, include Omme Salma among the Pure Family. They write that Nabi allowed her to sit with Fatima under his cloak.
“Omme Salma once said, may God curse the Iraqis who deceived Husayn, may God destroy the Iraqis who killed Husayn. I had seen Nabi cover Husayn, and Fatima, and Hasan and Ali, all under his cloak. Ali sat on his right and Fatima on his left. Nabi held one corner of his cloak with his left hand and raised his right hand to the sky asking the Almighty, ‘O God, keep them clean of every sin; O God this is my Family; keep them pure of every wrong; O God, you yourself cleanse them for they are my household.’ I asked, O Master, am I also one of your household? He said, ‘You too can come under the chader.’ And, I went into his cloak; but this was only after he had ended his prayer for his cousin, his two sons, and for Fatima, peace be upon them.” [from Historian Tabari]
Shias say Nabi allowed her to come under the cloak, but he did so only after he had specified his Household by saying, ‘O God this is my Family.’ Initially, Nabi did not invite his wife her as he had invited the others. Lady Omme Salma simply cloak-crashed. Bless her, she just loved to be in the scene of light unfolding before her. Omme Salma was a good woman, pious and honourable. She was loyal to the end towards God and towards her husband, the messenger of God.
Now, another wife of Nabi was Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first ruler of the people selected immediately after Nabi died. Unlike Omme Salma, Aisha did not like Ali and Fatima very much. Nevertheless, she too admits that the verse of purity refers to them and their children.
"Aisha said Nabi one morning left the house wearing a black cloak. Later on, Hasan came and Nabi covered him with his cloak, then came Fatima and Husayn and Ali; and they too were cloaked by Nabi, who then read the verse, ‘God only desires to keep away uncleanness from you, O people of the house, and to purify you with a proper purification’. " [from Historians Zamakshari and Razi ]
Shias believe that God is saying that He had decreed to purify to perfection the family of His holy messenger Mohamed. He willed it that they be protected against every sin and error. This family is the House of Cloaked Perfection. Nabi’s chader covered them from every evil. They are the Veiled Lights of God. People who can recognise them are part of God’s family and they receive honour and success in this world and in the next.
Historians account of Nabi Cloaking the Family is very significant in terms of belief. It becomes part of Eman [faith] of any believer to view Hasan, Husayn, Fatima and Ali as equal to Nabi in their purity and infallibility. Like the Master himself, they too would be without any stain. Therefore, the doctrine is that these members his family are of the same high position of sinlessness and immaculation as held by Nabi. The Five are one in receiving God’s sanctifying grace. They are equally preserved from sin. They deserve our utmost respect and reverence because they are at all times pure. They are free from every stain of sin at every moment. God desires for you O Fatima, O Nabi O Ali, O Hasan O Husayn. His wish is that comes near you no stain, to keep you pure, and in His domain. God loves the house of Nabi Mohamed. They are Holy and Fine. The Five are Desire of the Divine. He created them especially for His Divine Love. And He grants salvation to those who recognise His chosen ones and then remain loyal to them.
Some ancient books mention that God said that entire world and everything in it is indebted to these five pure personalities. In fact, some books state that the Universe was created for their sake. The Five were God’s very first creation. He made them for Himself and everything else was made for them. Historians record many reports in this regard.
All followers of Nabi, therefore, acknowledge the holiness of his House. Historians say that Nabi had indeed gathered the four of his nearest family members under his black chader. It is written in some books that even before his grandsons were born, Nabi used to recite the purity verse on the house of Ali and Fatima as he passed their residence. He prayed to God to give them holy sons.
One disciple Abu Saeed Khudri says that after the marriage of Fatima with Ali, the holy Nabi used to stand outside their home and pray for them.
"Every morning for eight months, Nabi went to the house of Ali and recited, ‘God only wishes to keep all stains away from you O people of the house, and purify you to a purification’." [From Historian Soyoti]
Another historian records that Nabi began this standing prayer outside the house of Ali and Fatima about five weeks after their marriage.
"From the fortieth day after marriage of Ali and Fatima, every morning Nabi went to their house and said: ‘Peace be upon you, O my Family, and Mercy and Blessings of God. I will oppose whoever opposes you and I will be happy with whoever accepts you. God wishes nothing but to cleanse you from all evil and to purify you thoroughly’."
Another disciple, Ibn Abbas tells us that Nabi continued praying every morning outside the home of Ali and Fatima for nine months. After his grandsons were born, Nabi’s family was now complete. God ordered him to clearly identify them and show the status that God had granted them. Hence, Nabi called his daughter, her husband and their sons to his home where Omme Salma lived and placed his sacred cloak upon them.
Religious jurist Shafee in ninth century used to love the people of the cloak so much that anti-Ali authorities accused him of blasphemy. But Shafee did not mind such critics. He used to say: ‘If love for the Pure Family is heresy, then bear witness O world that I am a heretic.’
Nabi loved these four holy and pure members of his family. They were his nearest and dearest. God asked Nabi to make their love mandatory upon the world. They should be revered and sanctified. God commanded Nabi to tell his Sahabas that if they love God and His Messenger then they must also love these four perfect Cloaked Saints.
“Tell them: I do not ask for any compensation from you except that you love those nearest to me.” [chapter 42:23]
One disciple, Ibn Abbas, said that when God commanded the people to love Nabi’s closest relatives, the Sahabas went to him and asked, ‘O Nabi, who are your nearest to be loved?’ He said, ‘Ali, Fatima and their sons’.” [Historian Zamakshari]
Nabi Mohamed’s reply excludes everyone else who might have assumed to among the chosen family. His answer to the Sahabas makes it clear that the verse of reward refers to only Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn. Only their love is required on the order of God. Only they are the members of the Pure Family. Only they and none other are the chosen ones of God. Whoever loves them and stays with them is under God’s protection. Love for Holy Five us essential for salvation. Loving them is the only way for humanity to succeed and be saved from destruction.
There are other verses in the book of God that refer to Ali and his descendents. Nabi himself also often lauded the Stainless Family. Ancient books report how Nabi expressed his love and praise for his holy family. Nabi used to say that his daughter is most beloved of God in His creation, ‘O Fatima, God Almighty is happy when you are happy and He is angry when you are upset.’ Nabi told the people about the status of his daughter, ‘Fatima part of my body. Whoever hurts her hurts me.’ He said, ‘Fatima is the highest among women of this world and the next world.’ He also said, ‘Fatima and her mother are greatest ladies of humanity’.
Historians give many accounts of how God showed His love for the Holy Family. Ancient books tell us that some Sahabas proposed to marry Fatima al Zahra. When she grew up, Abu Bakr and Omar wanted to marry her. Both had given their daughters to Nabi in marriage. Now they were pinning their hopes on his daughter. But Nabi declined their request saying, ‘I am awaiting God’s decision’. However, when Ali asked for Fatima’s hand, Nabi placed Fatima in hand of Ali. The blessed lady was given by Nabi to Ali. People asked and Nabi said, ‘God wished that Fatima be married to Ali.’ God saw that no one else besides Ali was good enough for Al Zahra. Historians tell us that Fatima’s wedding was planned in the heavens and conducted here on Earth. God chose her husband Ali for her. The choice was Divine. From on High was planned the Family of Five. It was the most natural selection ever. The books say that this was an arranged marriage by Divine Will. It was decreed that the Lady of Light was to wed the Lion of God.
Nabi used to call Ali my brother, my helper, and my soul. He said, ‘Ali is my brother in this world and the next.’ He told his Sahabas that Ali was originally made from light, ‘I and Ali were created from one Light.’ He said Ali and I are one and same. ‘Ali is from me and I am from Ali.’ Even at a young age Ali had impressive qualities . His courage, wisdom and loyalty were unequalled. Historians tell us that at age fourteen, this young Ali was made executor of Nabi. God does not play dice. For enemies He left nothing to win. Commentators and historians say that God has made obedience to Nabi and Ali an obligatory act on all the people who inhabit God’s Earth. They write that Nabi declared Ali the new Aaron. Aaron is Haroon. Bible tells us that Master Haroon was the brother of Master Musa. God bless them both. And Nabi Mohamed said, ‘Ali is to me as Haroon was to Musa.’ Nabi even spoke of Ali as being Noah’s Ark. Hence, developing love for the impeccable bloodline of Nabi Mohamed is one of the basic commandments from God.
THE NEW ARK - Safina tul Najat [ Ship of Safety ]
Nabi Mohamed compared his Pure Family to the ship of Nuh [Noah].
Nuh had built an enormous Ark under the instructions of God. This Holy Boat called Safina was to save mankind from the flood that was about to engulf the region. Nuh called upon his people to get on board the Divine Ship if they wished to be saved. He warned them on the impending doom. Those who believed God’s holy messenger Nuh and boarded the Sacred Safina were saved. Those who mocked him and left the Holy Ship were drowned.
Centuries later, God built another Holy Ark to save the world. He asked Nabi to announce the new saviours of the people. Nabi Mohamed told the people that his Family is like the Safina of Nuh, whoever loves them is saved and whoever rejects them is destroyed. God will not protect anyone who violates their sanctity. Therefore, Ali is the New Ark – Holy Family the Divine Ship. Fatima, Ali, Hasan and Husayn are the Safina - The Ship of Salvation Created by God Himself.
Jurist Shafee said, ‘When I saw people in an ocean of ignorance and error, I boarded the Safina in the name of God. This Safina is the Sacred House of Nabi.’ He also said, ‘O holy family, your glory if enough that God does not accept prayers until you are blessed. Your love is mandatory.’ People believe that God does not grant prayers of seekers who do not bless the Pure Family. Lady Omme Salma tells us that Nabi Mohamed used to compare Ali with Jesus. Ali is the new Esa. Ali is Ship of Nu. The followers of Ali are the real successful ones. They were given good news of eternal life of happiness. ‘O Ali, you and your followers will live forever in Paradise.’ Of all the Lord’s creation, Ali and his lovers are the highest beings. ‘O Ali, you and your Shias are best of created things.’ Son of Abu Talib is like son of Mary. ‘O Ali, you are like Esa son of Meryam.’ Nabi said, ‘O Ali, you and your followers are best creation of God; and on Judgement Day you are those
who love you will be successful.’[Historian Abu Naeem]
Shias believe that he who has seen Ali has seen the real God. Ali is best Sign of God on Earth. Ali is God’s Proof. From simply seeing the creation, one can know the creator. Similarly, by knowing the honourable and sinless Imam, a person can know the Perfect God. Without knowing Ali, no person can truly know God. Ali himself said that 'God cannot be seen by the two eyes. He is seen by the heart through the light of true belief.' And his son Husayn said, 'To know God means to know the Imam of your time.' Therefore, to recognise the true Imam is the greatest form of knowledge and worship of the true God. Imams themselves said, ‘It is through us that God can be known and served.' Hence, the holy Imams are the means to knowing God, and they are means of reaching Him. To love them is to win God's favour. They are like Noah’s Ark that saved people from the flood.
"Nabi Mohamed said: ‘My Pure Family is like Safina-e-Nuh. Whoever gets on it is saved and whoever deserts it is drowned’." [Historian Hakim]
"Nabi said: We are the Ark of Salvation. Whoever holds fast to this Ark will reach salvation and whoever abandons it will be destroyed. Whoever wants God to grant him something, they should resort to the Pure Family."
Shias, therefore, believe that after Nabi left this Earth, it was Ali who was God’s Saviour for Humanity. They also say that the Pure Family were created before the creation of Adam and before the Universe.
"Adam saw five figures bowing to God, and so he inquired about them. God said, ‘These are five of your offspring. I have named them after Me. I am Mamood so this Mohamed. I am Ala so this is Ali. I am Fatir so this is Fatima, I am Ehsan so this is Hasan, and I am Mohsin so this is Husain. If it were not for them, I would have not created you. If it were not for them, I would have not created Heaven and Hell, nor Earths or the Galaxies, nor the Angels, nor Humans, nor Jinns. I swear by My Glory, whoever bears even an atom's weight of grudge against them, I will throw him in the Fire of Hell. O Adam! I have chosen them. It is for their their sake that I will protect some people and destroy others. If you want anything from Me, then go to these Five’."
God had made the holy family is a source of guidance and security for the people on Earth.
"Nabi Mohamed said, ‘The stars are a refuge for inhabitants in the sky. When stars die out, the people of the skies are destroyed. My holy family are a source of refuge for people of the Earth. When they die, humanity will be no more’."
Therefore, this was the Pure Family, clean and pure, the divinely chosen leaders and the best role models for humanity. Nabi himself was the head of this Sacred Household. And after Nabi its Ali.
This was God’s mercy and bounty to mankind. He had given them best of the best. Now it was up to them to accept them or betray them. God does not force any person to believe. He gives choice between truth and falsehood, between error and guidance. He asked Nabi to leave behind for humanity the Holy Book of God and Ali as the New Ark of Salvation. Ali was the Captain of the Ship. Nabi named him Ameer al Momineen, the Captain of the Believers. But his enemies stole this title and used it for themselves and for every thug, thief and tyrant. They rejected the Divine Ark and met secretly to elected their own captains one after the other. Nabi’s daughter Fatima was also denied her rights. She was greatly grieved. She went and asked for her father’s inheritance, especially his property of the garden of Fadak. But they rejected her claim saying that she is making things up. Nabi Mohamed died in June 632. As his holy body lay in his house, the people gathered in Safiqa for a power grab.
Before his death, the holy Nabi had clearly appointed Ali as his successor. He told the people to love him and obey him. That he was their leader chosen by God after him.
After twenty three years of mission, Nabi Mohamed called upon his people to accept God’s chosen leader, an Imam, to be his successor and executive for them. A man who would rule over them, and guide them and protect them. Nabi appointed him towards the end of his life during his last Haj. The books of history contain evidence of this.
God, Ali and Khum-e-Ghadir
God is the Creator of mankind. And Master Mohamed is His messenger. He said he was sent to guide humanity. He told people about one true God, about His Worship, and about God’s Will on Earth.
Towards the end of his life, Nabi Mohamed told the people that God had now chosen for you a leader after me. Nabi left for the people his family as role models - for women, his daughter Fatima; and for men, Ali as a guide and ruler. He warned his people that if do not follow God’s chosen ones, they will certainly go astray; they will be destroyed.
God told His Nabi that his soul would soon be taken and he would have to leave Earth. Therefore, it was time to unveil the Light. God asked His Nabi to deliver Ali to mankind. It was A.D. 632.
This is how the Messenger of God designated the Imam from God. These are the last few weeks of his life.
Ancients books of history contain a lot of information regarding this issue. Here are some selections from old books and what is written in them.
The Farewell Pilgrimage.
When time came for Nabi to leave this world, he ordered his believers to call all the tribes of Arabia scattered in different places to come and join him in his last Haj. They all came in greats multitudes. On this sacred journey Nabi Mohamed taught the people how to properly perform the pilgrimage in the way that pleases God. A large number of people came with Nabi and others joined him at Maka. Over seventy thousand was gathered to do the Haj. Some historians say that there were one hundred and twenty four thousand people on that Haj, the same as the number of messengers God had sent to humanity.
Here, God’s Holy Angel Gabriel came down from the sky to tell Nabi that this is the time when God wants you reveal Ali’s Divine Status to the people. Nabi was told that he would not be with them next year because God will take your soul and call you to Himself. Divine religion would be incomplete and people would remain unguided if they had no leader from God to protect them against enemies of truth and justice. Failure to leave a Divine Successor would ruin the entire mission of God and destroy all the hard work done for the past ten thousand years. Struggle of all Nabis would fail if the people had no infallible guide to save them.
Hence, God says in His Sacred Book:
"O Messenger! Deliver what is revealed to you from your Lord; and if you don't, then you would have not delivered His message (at all). God will protect you from the (evil) people." (chapter 5:67)
Therefore, in accordance with this instruction, Nabi prepared to deliver Ali to the people. But before he could appoint for them their true protector, he first carried out the final rituals of his last Haj.
Initially, Nabi was anxious about enemy plots against Ali; but now God had guaranteed to foil any schemes against Nabi’s brother Ali. God would safeguard Ali against any harm. Nabi’s worry was no more. For Nabi, God made Ali safe. Nabi ended the Haj and left Maka. He halted at a cross roads of Ghadir Khum from where travellers from different provinces used to bid farewells before heading home. It was 18 of Zolheja. According to Christians calendar, March 632 A.D.
At this place, Nabi decided to appoint his executive and successor for humanity. Ghadir was a very hot and dry place. Sun was baking the sand. Nabi nevertheless asked Salman to make him a mimbar. This pulpit was constructed using rocks and saddles from horses and camels. He then gave a long speech, some three hours long. In this speech, Nabi appointed Ali as his successor. Nabi said master is Ali to all those who believed in God and His Messenger.
"At Ghadir Nabi asked the Sahabas, ‘Do I not have more right over you than you have yourself?’ They said, ‘Indeed you do.’ Then Nabi held up Ali’s hand and said, ‘I am Mowla to whom this Ali is Mowla. I am Mowla to whom Ali is Mowla. I am Mowla to whom Ali is Mowla. O Almighty God, love those who love him and hate those who dislike him; help those who help him and leave those who leave him; and turn the truth to where turns Ali ’."
In other words, Nabi is saying that if you had accepted me as your mowla, then you will take Ali as your mowla. The word Mowla in means ‘Master, Protector’. These were the significant parts of the speech.
Many hypocrites who pretended to be followers of Nabi Mohamed had infiltrated his circles and deceived many people. For Ali they hated Nabi. For Nabi they hated God. They had no love for God. They had no respect for Nabi. They did not like Ali to be heir of Nabi. Even decades later in late seventh and early centuries, historians tried to hide the event of Ghadir. Some reporters were always engaged in trying to lower Ali’s divine status. They made up false and absurd stories about Ali’s rivals and attributed them to Nabi. These paid servants of the tyrants who ruled Damishk and Baghdad fabricated all sorts of falsehood against Nabi and his holy family. They even made up lies against God Almighty. It is believed that Angels call on God’s curses upon enemies of the pure family of Nabi. However, not all people fell into the trap of the enemies of God. Historians record the crucial words uttered by Nabi: ‘I am Mowla to whom Ali is Mowla.’
“mankunto mowlahu fa Ali yun mowlahu”
[ ‘I am protector of him whose protector is this Ali’ ]
Nabi Mohamed also prayed for the new Leader of the Believers, ‘O Lord, love those who love him and hate those who dislike him. Help those who help him and abandon those who abandon him; and make the truth turn to where Ali turns.’
Nabi then spent two more hours taking oath of allegiance from pilgrims for Ali. He asked Sahabas to shake Ali’s hands. He ordered the people to make the pledge of loyalty to their new leader. He told his companions them that after him, God had chosen Ali as their guardian, and made him the highest authority.
Omar, who did not use to like Ali very much, congratulated him nevertheless, albeit reluctantly, “O son of Abu Talib, today you have become the leader of all men and women that believe.” Thus ended the speech of Nabi Mohamed; and that was how he followed God’s order and designated Ali as Mowla-e-Kainat, Master of the Universe.
While the people were lining up to swear oaths of allegiance to Ali, one of the disciples and a poet of Nabi Mohamed, asked permission to say a few lines in Ali’s honour. Nabi replied, with God blessings say them O Hassan.
Hassan bin Sabit stood up and said, O tribesmen I follow what Nabi ordered because he spoke for God:
"Their Nabi shows them on the day of Ghadir
In this Pond calls the Messenger so do heed
He said who are then your Vali and your Mowla
Not in blindness they said God and you our leader
Among us is none who to you is traitor
Im happy he said so stand O Ali
I make thee after me Imam and Hadi
Tis is Mowla to whom I am Mowla
In real be ye with him his supporter
Lord love his friend and Thou be Hadi
And be Thou enemy to enemy of Ali"
Believers had no doubts about significance of this day. They said that here is Nabi showing to the people God’s appointed successor, the master who would be the only legitimate leader on Earth. It is the day on which by name Nabi designated Ali as his executive.
On the day of Ghadir, 18 of Zolheja, Master Mohamed finished his sermon. The Holy Angel Gabriel then came down from the heavens with this verse from God:
"Today, I have perfected your religion and completed My favour upon you. I have chosen Peace as your Way." (chapter 5:3)
This verse clearly shows that the Path of Peace was completed only after the Master appointed his successor Ali. Shias believe that Ali’s Coronation Perfected the Natural Peace – the Divine Way – the True Religion of God.
All followers of truth accept the event of Ghadir. They acknowledge that Nabi spoke about his two great legacies he left behind – Sacred Book and the Holy Family.
The Holy Saying of Master Mohamed about his family and the Divine Book is known as Hadith al Thaqalayn - [Tradition of the Two Major Legacies] - It refers to holy saying about the Two Heavy Weights, the important things that he was to leave behind for the world.
Hadith al Thaqalayn: Saying of Nabi about the Two Weights (Thaqalayn)
"Nabi Mohamed said: ‘It seems the time has come when I will leave you. I am leaving behind for you Two Precious Things. If you hold on to both of them you will never go astray. They are the Book of God and the Holy Family, my Descendents. These two will not separate from each other until they come to me at the Fountain of Koser in Paradise’."
Historians say that one disciple Zaid bin Arkam was there at Ghadir:
"Zaid bin Arkam who was at Ghadir said the messenger of God on whom be peace and blessings addressed us near a pond called Khum. He glorified God and reminded us of our obligations saying ‘O people, I am only a human being and I am about to respond to the call of my Lord and go to Him. I am leaving behind Two Heavy Weights for you. One is the Book of God containing light and guidance. Hold on to it. And the second is my family. I remind you of God about my family; I remind you of God about my family; I remind you of God about my family’." [From the book Jami al Sahih]
In another book, Zaid reports the same thing:
"Zaid bin Arkam said that while returning from his last Haj, the messenger of God on whom be peace and blessings, came down at Ghadir Khum and gathered us near big trees and said, ‘I am about to answer the call (of death). I have left behind Two Precious things for you, the Book of God and my lineage. So watch out how you treat these two after me, because they will not separate from each other until they come back to me by the side of the Koser fountain in heaven. Truly, God Almighty is my master, and I am the master of every believer, and this [Ali] is the master of him to whom I am master. O Lord, love those who love him and be the enemy of his enemies’." [From the book Mustadrak by Hakim]
Another disciple Jabir tell us the same thing:
"Jabir bin Abdullah said during the Haj on the day of Arafat I saw Nabi on whom be peace and blessings. He was sitting on his camel called Kaswa giving a speech saying: 'O people, I am leaving for you the holy book and my family, if you hold fast to them you shall never go astray’." [from the book Sunan al Tirmidhi]
Old books tell us that Nabi spoke about these two significant things at four places. He told people about them at Arafat; and he also repeated this saying at Ghadir, and also in his Holy Masjid at Medina, and again for the final time on his deathbed during his last illness. Nabi kept making the point because people were simply not getting the message. Some of them were claiming that God’s Book was enough for guidance. Therefore, Nabi wanted to put his Will into writing but some people prevented him from doing so. I have not included here all the traditions from various different books regarding this issue. It is too upsetting to talk about the holy messenger of God being hurt while he was dying.
Haris who was an enemy of Ali, mocked Master Nabi Mohamed and Master Ali. He dared them to call on God’s wrath so to prove that they are not lying:
"After Ghadir where Nabi had said ‘Ali is master of those who take me as master’, the news spread all over Arabia. Haris rushed to Medina and said to Nabi, ‘You asked us to obey you and accept one God. We did that. You ordered us to pray like you and we did. You told us to fast in Ramadan and we did. You told us to do Haj and we went on Haj. But that were not enough. You were still not happy. Now you have installed your cousin over us. Was this also from God or your own whim!’ Nabi said to him, ‘It was from Almighty God.’ Haris was angry and in fury stormed out yelling ‘If Mohamed is right then may the heaven punish us!’ He had not yet reached his camel when a stone from sky struck on his head and went out from his other end. He died on the spot. God said: ‘A questioner questioned about the doom about to fall on the infidel which no one can divert. It is from God, the Lord of the Stairways to Heaven’.” [70:2]
Therefore, God’s holy messenger, Master Mohamed left Imam Ali and his family as guides and leaders for mankind. People rejected them and elected their own leaders. Today, centuries later, people are still yet to recognise the true status and greatness of Imam Ali.
The End.
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See above for the full sermon, or,
read Saclain's text at:
www.ukshias.blogspot.com
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#2
Saintly Wisdom
The sacred sayings and holy wisdom of saint Ali:
· 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.
· For those who refused to side with any party, they have forsaken God and are of no use to Satan either.
· 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.
· Avarice is disgrace; cowardice is a defect; poverty often disables an intelligent man from arguing his case; a poor man is a stranger in his own town; misfortune and helplessness are calamities; patience is a kind of bravery; to sever attachments with the wicked world is the greatest wealth; piety is the best weapon of defence.
· Surrender to God's Will is the best companion; wisdom is the noblest heritage; theoretical and practical knowledge are the best signs of distinction; deep thinking will present the clearest picture of every problem.
· The mind of a wise man is the safest custody of secrets; cheerfulness is the key to friendship; patience and forbearance will conceal many defects.
· Conceited, and self-admiring person is disliked by others; charity and alms are the best remedy for ailments and calamities; one has to account in the next world for the deeds that he has done in this world.
· Man is a wonderful creature; he sees through the layers of fat (eyes), hears through a bone (ears) and speaks through a lump of flesh (tongue).
· When this world favours somebody, it lends him the attributes, and surpassing merits of others and when it turns its face away from him it snatches away even his own excellences and fame.
· If you overpower your enemy, then pardon him by way of thankfulness to God, for being able to subdue him.
· Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere friends during his life and more unfortunate is the one who has gained them and then lost them (through his behaviour).
· When some blessings come to you, do not drive them away through thanklessness.
· He who is deserted by friends and relatives will often find help and sympathy from strangers.
· Every person who is tempted to go astray does not deserve punishment.
· Our affairs are attached to the destiny decreed by God; even our best plans may lead us to destruction.
· One who rushes madly after inordinate desire runs the risk of encountering destruction and death.
· Overlook and forgive the weaknesses of the generous people because if they fall down, God will help them.
· Failures are often the results of timidity and fears; disappointments are the results of bashfulness; hours of leisure pass away like summer-clouds, therefore, do not waste opportunity of doing good.
· If the right usurped from us is given back to us we shall take it, otherwise we shall go on claiming it.
· If someone's deeds lower his position, his pedigree cannot elevate it.
· To render relief to the distressed and to help the oppressed make amends for great sins.
· You should fear Him when you see that your Lord, the Glorified, bestows His Favours on you while you disobey Him.
· Often your utterances and expressions of your face leak out the secrets of your hidden thoughts.
· When you get ill do not get nervous about it and try as much as possible to be hopeful.
· The best form of devotion to the service of God is not to make a show of it.
· When you have to depart from this world and have to meet death, then why wish delay.
· Take warning! He has not exposed so many of your sinful activities that it appears as if He has forgiven you.
· Saint Ali was asked about faith. He said faith endurance, conviction, justice, and resistance. Endurance is composed of four attributes: eagerness, fear, piety and hope. So whoever is eager for Heaven will ignore temptations; who ever fears the fire of Hell will abstain from sins; whoever practices piety will easily bear the difficulties of life and whoever anticipates death will hasten towards good deeds. Conviction has also four aspects to guard oneself against infatuations of sin; to search for explanation of truth through knowledge; to gain lessons from instructive things and to follow the precedent of the past people, because whoever wants to guard himself against vices and sins will have to search for the true causes of infatuation and the true ways of combating them out and to find those true ways one has to search them with the help of knowledge, whoever gets fully acquainted with various branches of knowledge will take lessons from life and whoever tries to take lessons from life is actually engaged in the study of the causes of rise and fall of previous civilizations. Justice also has four aspects depth of understanding, profoundness of knowledge, fairness of judgment and dearness of mind; because whoever tries his best to understand a problem will have to study it, whoever has the practice of studying the subject he is to deal with, will develop a clear mind and will always come to correct decisions, whoever tries to achieve all this will have to develop ample patience and forbearance and whoever does this has done justice to the cause of religion and has led a life of good repute and fame. Struggle, or resistence [for peace] is divided into four branches: to persuade people to be obedient to God; to prohibit them from sin and vice; to struggle (in God’s way) sincerely and firmly on all occasions and to detest the vicious. Whoever persuades people to obey the orders of God provides strength to the believers; whoever dissuades them from vices and sins humiliates the unbelievers; whoever struggles on all occasions discharges all his obligations and whoever detests the vicious only for the sake of God, then God will take revenge on his enemies and will be pleased with Him on the Day of Judgment.
· There are four causes of infidelity and loss of belief in God: hankering after whims, a passion to dispute every argument, deviation from truth; and dissension: Because whoever hankers after whims does not incline towards truth; whoever keeps on disputing every argument on account of his ignorance, will always remain blind to truth, whoever deviates from truth because of ignorance, will always take good for evil and evil for good and he will always remain intoxicated with misguidance. And whoever abandons (God), his path becomes difficult, his affairs will become complicated and his way to salvation will be uncertain. Similarly, doubt has also four aspects absurd reasoning; fear; vacillation and hesitation; and unreasonable surrender to infidelity, because one who has accustomed himself to unreasonable and absurd discussions will never see the Light of Truth and will always live in the darkness of ignorance. One who is afraid to face facts will always turn away from ultimate reality, one who allows doubts and uncertainties to vacillate him will always be under the control of Satan and one who surrenders himself to infidelity accepts damnation in both the worlds.
· Saint Ali once said to his son, my son learn four things from me and through them you will learn four more. If you keep them in mind your actions will not bring any harm to you: The greatest wealth is Wisdom; the greatest poverty is stupidity; the worst unsocial thing is that of vanity and self-glorification; and the best nobility of descent exhibits itself in politeness and in refinement of manner. The next four things, my son, are: "Do not make friendship with a fool because when he will try to do you good he will do you harm; do not make a miser your friend because he will run away from you at the time of your dire need; do not be friendly with a vicious and wicked person because he will sell you and your friendship at the cheapest price and do not make friend of a liar because like a mirage he will make you visualize very near the things which lie at a great distance and will make you see at the great distance the things which are near to you".
· When one of his companions fell ill, Saint Ali called upon him and thus advised him: "Be thankful to God. He has made this illness a thing to atone your sins because a disease in itself has nothing to bring reward to anyone, it merely expiates one's sins and so far as reward is concerned, one has to earn it with his good words and good deeds. The Almighty Lord grants Heaven to his creatures on account of their piety and noble thoughts".
· Blessed is the man who always kept the life after death in his view, who remembered the Day of Judgment through all his deeds, who led a contented life and who was happy with the lot that God had destined for him. If I cut a faithful Devotee into pieces to make him hate me, he will not turn into my enemy and if I give all the wealth of this world to a hypocrite to make him my friend he will not befriend me. It is so because the divine messenger has said: " O Ali! No faithful Devotee will ever be your enemy and no hypocrite will ever be your friend."
· Recommended prayers cannot attain the pleasures of God for you when obligatory prayers are left unattended.
· A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.
· A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue and a wise man's tongue is under the control of his mind.
· A virtuous person is better then virtue, and a vicious person is worse than vice.
· Be generous but not extravagant, be frugal but not miserly.
· The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.
· One who says unpleasant things about others; he himself will quickly become a target of their scandal.
· One who hopes inordinately impairs his deeds.
· The sin, which makes you sad and repentant, is more liked by God than the good deed which turns you arrogant.
· Value of a man depends upon his courage; his veracity depends upon his self-respect and his chastity depends upon his sense of honour.
· Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself.
· Be afraid of a gentleman when he is hungry, and of a mean person when his stomach is full.
· Hearts of people are like wild beasts. They attach themselves to those who love and train them.
· So long as fortune is favouring you, your defects will remain covered.
· Only he who has the power to punish can pardon.
· Generosity is to help a deserving person without his request, and if you help him after his request, then it is either out of self-respect or to avoid rebuke.
· There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.
· Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.
· Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land.
· Contentment is the wealth, which will never diminish.
· Wealth is the fountainhead of passions.
· Whoever warns you against sins and vices is like the one who gives you good tidings.
· Tongue is a beast, if it is let loose, it devours.
· Woman is a scorpion whose grip is sweet.
· If you are greeted then return the greetings more warmly. If you are favoured, then repay the obligation manifold; but he who takes the initiative will always excel in merit.
· The source of success of a claimant is the mediator.
· People in this world are like travellers whose journey is going on though they are asleep.
· Lack of friends means, stranger in one's own country.
· Not to have a thing is less humiliating than to beg it.
· Do not feel ashamed if the amount of charity is small because to refuse the needy is an act of greater shame.
· To refrain from unlawful and impious source of pleasures is an ornament to the poor and to be thankful for the riches granted is the adornment of wealth.
· If you cannot get things as much as you desire than be contented with what you have.
· An ignorant person will always overdo a thing or neglect it totally.
· The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.
· Time wears out bodies, renews hopes, brings death nearer and takes away aspirations. Whoever gets anything from the world lives in anxiety for holding it and whoever loses anything passes his days grieving over the loss.
· Whoever wants to be a leader should educate himself before educating others. Before preaching to others he should first practice himself. Whoever educates himself and improves his own morals is superior to the man who tries to teach and train others.
· Every breath you take is a step towards death.
· Anything that can be counted is finite and will come to an end.
· If matters get mixed up then scrutinize the cause and you will know what the effects will be.
· Acquire wisdom and truth from whomever you can because even an apostate can have them but unless they are passed over to a faithful Devotee and become part of wisdom and truth that he possesses, they have a confused existence in the minds of apostates.
· Knowledge and wisdom are really the privilege of a faithful Devotee. If you have lost them, get them back even though you may have to get them from the apostates.
· Value of each man depends upon the art and skill, which he has attained.
· I want to teach you five of those things, which deserve your greatest anxiety to acquire them: Have hope only in God. Be afraid of nothing but sins. If you do know a thing, never feel ashamed to admit ignorance. If you do know a thing, never hesitate or feel ashamed to learn it. Acquire patience and endurance because their relation with true faith is that of a head to a body, a body is of no use without a head, similarly true faith can be of no use without attributes of resignation, endurance and patience.
· A man hypocritically started praising Saint Ali, though he had no faith in him and Saint Ali hearing these praises from him said "I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me".
· Those who have come alive out of a blood bath live longer and have more children.
· One who imagines himself to be all knowing will surely suffer on account of his ignorance.
· I appreciate an old man's cautious opinion more than the valour of a young man.
· I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him.
· There were two things in this world, which softened the Wrath of God and prevented its descent upon man: One has been taken away from you; hold the other steadfastly. The one which has been taken away from men is the divine messenger and the one which is still left with them and which they must hold steadfastly is repentance and atonement for sins because God at one place in the Sacred Book addressed the divine messenger and said God would not punish them while you were among them nor while they were asking for forgiveness.
· Whoever keeps in order his affairs with God; God will also put his affairs with men in order. Whoever makes arrangement for his salvation; God will arrange his worldly affair. Whoever is a preacher, God will also protect him.
· He is the wisest and the most knowing man who advises people not to lose hope and faith in the Mercy of God and not to be too sure and over-confident of immunity from His Wrath and Punishment.
· Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings.
· That knowledge which remains only on your tongue is very superficial. The intrinsic value of knowledge is that you act upon it.
· Take care and do not pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord! I pray to You to protect and guard me from temptations and trials", for there is none who is not tempted and tried. But beseech Him to guard you against such temptation as may lead you towards wickedness and sins because God says in His Sacred Book, Know that your wealth and children are temptations. It means God tried people through wealth and children so that it may be tested as to who is content with what he gets honestly and who is thankful to God for the position he is placed in with regard to his children. Though God knows them better than even they know themselves, yet those trials and tests are for the purpose of their realizing and knowing those deeds which merit reward or which deserve punishment. There are some people who love to have male children and hate daughters and there are some who simply crave for wealth and hate poverty.
· Saint Ali was asked the meaning of being well off, or well provided for. Saint Ali replied: Your welfare does not lie in your having enormous wealth and numerous children but it rests in your being highly educated and forbearing and in your being proud of your obedience to God. If you do a good deed then thank God for it and if you commit a sin then repent and atone for it. In this world there is a real welfare for two kinds of people, one is the person who, when commits a sin, atones for it and the other is anxious to do good as much as possible.
· Importance of the deeds that you have done with fear of God cannot be minimized and how can the deeds, which are acceptable to God, be considered unimportant.
· The best friend of our Divine messenger is he who, though not related to him, obeys the orders of God and his greatest enemy is the man who though related to him, disobeys God.
· To sleep with having sincere faith in religion and God is better than to pray with wavering faith.
· Whenever a tradition of the divine messenger is related to you, scrutinize it, do not be satisfied with mere verbatim repetition of the same because there are many people who repeat the words containing knowledge but only few ponder over them and try to fully grasp the meaning they convey.
· Our declaring that we belong to God indicates that we accept Him as our Master, Owner and Lord. And when we say that our return is towards God indicates that we accept our mortality.
· Some people praised Saint Ali on his face. He replied, "God knows me very well and I also know myself more than you. Please, Lord! Make me better than what they imagine me to be and please excuse those Weaknesses of mine which they are not aware of".
· To secure for you fame, credit as well as blessings, the help that you give to men in need, should possess the following attributes: whatever its extent, it should be considered by you as trifling so that it may be granted a high status; it should be given secretly, God will manifest it; and it must be given immediately so that it becomes pleasant.
· Your society will pass through a period when cunning and crafty intriguers will be favoured by status, when profligates will be considered as well-bred, well-behaved and elegant elites of the society, when just and honest persons will be considered as weaklings, when charity will be considered as a loss to wealth and property, when support and help to each other will be considered as favour and benevolence and when prayers and love to God will be taken up for the sake of show to gain popularity and higher status, at such times regimes will be run under the advice of women and the youngsters will be the rulers and counsellors of the State.
· Saint Ali's garment was very old with patches on it. When somebody drew his attention towards it, he replied, " Such dresses, when worn by men of status make them submissive to God and kind-hearted towards others and the faithful Devotees can conveniently follow the example ".
· Vicious pleasures of this world and salvation are like two enemies or two roads running in opposite directions or towards opposite poles, one to the North and the other to the South.
· Whoever likes to gain the pleasures and pomp of this world will hate austerity in life, which is necessary to gain salvation. Reverse will be the attitude of a man desirous of achieving Eternal Bliss. One has to adopt either of the two ways of life, and as they both cannot be brought together, a man has to choose one of them.
· Those are the fortunate people who adopt piety as the principle of their lives and are fully attentive to their welfare for the Hereafter. They accept bare earth as the most comfortable bed and water as the most pleasant drink. They adopt the sacred book and prayers as their guide and protector and like Jesus they forsake the world and its vicious pleasure.
· Those who give up religion to better their lot in life seldom succeed. The Wrath of God 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.
· More wonderful than man himself is that part of his body, which is connected with his trunk with muscles. It is his brain (mind). Look what good and bad tendencies arise from it. On the one hand it holds treasures of knowledge and wisdom and on the other it is found to harbour very ugly desires. If a man sees even a tiny gleam of success, then greed forces him to humiliate himself. If he gives way to avarice, then inordinate desires ruin him, if he is disappointed, then despondency almost kills him. If he is excited, then he loses temper and gets angry. If he is pleased, then he gives up precaution. Sudden fear makes him dull and nervous, and he is unable to think and find a way out of the situation. During the times of peace and prosperity he becomes careless and unmindful of the future. If he acquires wealth, then he becomes haughty and arrogant. If he is plunged in distress, then his agitation, impatience and nervousness disgrace him. If he is overtaken by poverty, then he finds himself in a very sad plight, hunger makes him weak, and over-feeding harms him equally. In short every kind of loss and gain makes his mind unbalanced.
· During civil unrest, 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.
· Divine rule can be established only by a man who where justice and equity are required, feels neither deficient, nor weak, and who is not greedy and avaricious.
· Anyone who loves us the Sacred Family must be ready to face a life of austerity.
· No wealth is more useful than intelligence and wisdom; no solitude is more horrible than when people avoid you on account of your vanity and conceit or when you wrongly consider yourself above everybody to confide and consult; no eminence is more exalting than piety; no companion can prove more useful than politeness; no heritage is better than culture; no leader is superior to Divine Guidance; no deal is more profitable than good deeds; no profit is greater than Divine Reward; no abstinence is better than to restrain one's mind from doubts; no virtue is better than refraining from prohibited deeds; no knowledge is superior to deep thinking and prudence; no love or prayers are more sacred than fulfilment of obligations and duties, no religious faith is loftier than feeling ashamed of doing wrong and bearing calamities patiently; no eminence is greater than to adopt humbleness; no exaltation is superior to knowledge; nothing is more respectable than forgiveness and forbearance; no support and defence are stronger than consultation.
· When a community is composed of honest, sober and virtuous people, your forming a bad opinion about anyone 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 good opinion of anyone of them and to trust him is to harm yourself.
· When somebody asked Saint Ali as to how he was getting on, he replied: "What do you want to know about a person whose life is leading him towards ultimate death, whose health is the first stage towards illness and whom society has forced out of his retreat".
· There are many persons whom constant grants of His Bounties turn them wicked and fit for His punishment and there are many more who have become vain and self deceptive because the Merciful God has not exposed their weaknesses and vices to the world and the people speak highly about them. All this is an opportunity. No trial of the Lord is more severe than the time He allows (us to chose).
· Saint Ali said; Two kinds of people will be damned on my account. Those who exaggerate my status, and those who hate me and lower my status.
· To lose or to waste an opportunity will result in grief and sorrow.
· She world is like a serpent, so soft to 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 a difference is there between a deed whose pleasure passes away leaving behind it the pangs of pain and punishment and the deed whose oppressive harshness comes to an end leaving behind Divine blessings!
· Saint Ali was following a funeral and as it was passing along a road, somebody laughed loudly (a sign of disrespect). Hearing this laugh, Saint Ali remarked, " Some of us feel that death is meant for everybody except themselves or it is destined to others and not to themselves or those whom we see dying around us are only travellers going on a journey and will come back to us. It is a sad sight to see that in one moment we commit them to earth and in the next we take hold of the things left by them as if we are going to remain permanently in this world after them. The fact is that we forget sensible advice given to us and become victim of every calamity.
· Blessings are for the man who humbles himself before God, whose sources of income are honest, whose intentions are always honourable, whose character is noble, whose habits are sober, who gives away in the cause and in the Name of God, the wealth which is lying surplus with him, who controls his tongue from vicious and useless talk, who abstains from oppression, who faithfully follows the traditions of the divine messenger and who keeps himself away from innovation in religion.
· Jealousy in woman is unpardonable, but in man it is a sign of his faith in religion.
· I wonder at the mentality of a miser, fearing poverty he takes to stinginess and thus hastily pushes himself headlong into a state of want and destitution, he madly desires plenty and ease, but throws it away without understanding. In this world he, of his own free will, leads the life of a a beggar and in the next world he will have to submit an account like the rich.
· I wonder at the arrogance of a haughty and vain person. Yesterday he was only a drop of semen and tomorrow he will turn into a corpse. I wonder at the man who observes the Universe created by God and doubts His Being and Existence. I wonder at the man who sees people dying around him and yet he has forgotten his end. I wonder at the man who understands the marvel of genesis of creation and refuses to accept that he will be brought back to life again. I wonder at the man who takes great pains to decorate and to make comfortable this mortal habitat and totally forgets his permanent abode.
· Whoever is not diligent in his work, will suffer; whoever has no share of God in his wealth and in his life then there is no place for him in His Realm.
· Be very cautious of cold in the beginning of winter and welcome it at the close of the season because cold season effects your bodies exactly as it effects the trees; in the early season its severity makes them shrivel and shed their leaves and at the end it helps them to revive.
· If you understand God's Majesty, then you will not attach any importance to the creatures.
· Saint Ali addressing the graves said: "O you, who are lying in horrible and deserted houses. O you, who are shut up in the dark graves, who are alone in their abodes, strangers to the places assigned to them; you have gone ahead and preceded us, while we are also following your steps and shall shortly join you. Do you know what has happened after you? Others took up your houses and property, your widows have remarried, this is what we can tell you of this world. Can you give us some news about things around you?" Saying this, Saint Ali turned to his companions and said, "If they are permitted to speak they will inform you that the best provision for the next world is piety and virtue".
· Saint Ali heard someone abusing and blaming the world and said to him, "O you, who are blaming the world, who have been allured and enticed by it, and have been tempted by its false pretences. You allowed yourself to be enamoured of, to be captivated by it and then you accuse and blame it. Have you any reason or right to accuse it and to call it a sinner and seducer? Or is the world not justified in calling you a wicked knave and a sinning hypocrite? When did it make you lose your intelligence and reasoning? And how did it cheat you or snake false pretences to you? Did it conceal from you the fact of the ultimate end of everything that it holds, the fact of the sway of death, decay and destruction in its domain? Did it keep you in the dark about the fate of your forefathers and their final abode under the earth? Did it keep the resting place of your mothers a secret from you? Do you not know that they have returned to dust? Many a time you must have attended the sick persons and many of them you must have seen beyond the scope of medicine. Neither the science of healing nor could your nursing and attendance nor your prayers and weeping prolonged the span of their lives, and they died. You were anxious for them, you procured the best medical aid, and you gathered famous physicians and provided best medicines for them. Death could not be held back and life could not be prolonged. In this drama and in this tragedy did the world not present you with a lesson and a moral?
· Certainly, this world is a house of truth for those who look into it carefully, an abode of peace and rest for those who understand its ways and moods and it is the best working ground for those who want to procure rewards for life in the Hereafter. It is a place of acquiring knowledge and wisdom for those who want to acquire them, a place of love for the friends of God and for Angels. It is the place where holy messengers received revelations of God. It is the place for virtuous people and saints to do good deeds and to be assigned with rewards for the same. Only in this world they could trade with God's Favours and Blessings and only while living here they could barter their good deeds with His Blessings and Rewards. Where else could all this be done? Who are you to abuse the world when it has openly declared its mortality and mortality of everything connected with it, when it has given everyone of its inhabitants to understand that all of them are to face death, when through its ways it has given them all an idea of calamities they have to face here, and through the sight of its temporary and fading pleasures it has given them glimpses of eternal pleasures of Heaven and suggested them to wish and work for the same. If you study it properly you will find that simply to warn and frighten you of the consequences of evil deeds and to persuade you towards good actions, every night it raises new hopes of peace and prosperity in you and every morning it places new anxieties and new worries before you. Those who passed such lives are ashamed of and repent the time so passed abuse this world. But there are people who will praise this world on the Day of Judgment that it reminded them of the Hereafter and they took advantage of these reminders. It informed them of the effects of good deeds and they made correct use of the information it advised them and they were benefited by its advice".
· An Angel announces daily: "Birth of more human beings means so many more will die, collection of more wealth means of much more will be destroyed, erection of more buildings means so many more ruins will come".
· This world is not a permanent place, it is a passage, a road on which you are passing. There are two kinds of people here: One is the kind of those who have sold their souls for eternal damnation, the other is of those who have purchased their souls and freed them from damnation.
· A friend cannot be considered a friend unless he is tested on three occasions: in time of need, behind your back and after your death.
· Anyone who has been granted four attributes will not be deprived of their (four) effects; one who prays to God and implores to Him will not be deprived of granting of his prayers; one who repents for his thoughts and deeds will not be refused acceptance of the repentance; one who has atoned for his sins will not be debarred from salvation and one who thanks God for the Blessings and Bounties will not be denied the increase in them.
· The sacred book attests the truth of these facts. God says ask me and I shall accept your prayers. About repentance He says: Whoever has done a bad deed or has indulged in sin and then repents and asks for His forgiveness will find God most Forgiving and Merciful. About being thankful He says if you are thankful for what you are given, I shall increase My Bounties and Blessings. About atonement of sin He says God accepts the repentance of those who have ignorantly committed vice and then soon repent for it, God accepts such repentance's, He is Wise and Omniscient.
· Daily prayers are the best medium through which one can seek the nearness to God. Pilgrimage is sacred effort for every weak person. For everything that you own there is charity, and of body it is fasting. The sacred struggle of a woman is to afford pleasant company to her husband.
· If you want to pray to God for better means of subsistence, then first give something in charity
· When someone is sure of the returns, then he shows generosity.
· Aid (from God) is in proportion to the trouble.
· He who practices moderation and frugality will never be threatened with poverty.
· One of the conveniences in life is to have less children.
· Loving one another is half of wisdom.
· Grief is half of old age.
· Grant of patience (from God) is in proportion to the extent of calamity you are passing through. If you exhibit fretfulness, irritation, and despair in calamities, then your patience and your exertions are wasted.
· Many persons get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst; many more get nothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless nights. Wise and sagacious persons are praiseworthy even if they do not fast and sleep during the nights.
· Defend your faith (in God) with the help of charity. Protect your wealth with the aid of charity. Let the prayers guard you from calamities and disasters.
· Saint Ali said to Komail: “Hearts are containers of the secrets of knowledge and wisdom and the best container is the one which can hold the most and what it holds, it can preserve and protect in the best way. Therefore, remember carefully what I am telling you. Remember that there are three kinds of people: one kind is of those learned people who are highly versed in the ethics of truth and philosophy of religion, second is the kind of those who are acquiring the above knowledge and the third is that class of people who are uneducated. They follow every pretender and accept every slogan, they have neither acquired any knowledge nor have they secured any support of firm and rational convictions. Remember, knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you have to guard wealth. It decreases if you keep on spending it but the more you make use of knowledge the more it increases. What you get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you. Knowledge is power and it can command obedience. A man of knowledge during his lifetime can make people obey and follow him and he is praised and venerated after his death. Remember that knowledge is a ruler and wealth is its subject. Those who amass wealth, though alive, are dead to realities of life, and those who achieve knowledge, will remain alive through their knowledge and wisdom even after their death, though their faces may disappear from the community of living beings, yet their ideas, the knowledge which they had left behind and their memory, will remain in the minds of people. Here [in my heart] I hold stores and treasures of knowledge. I wish I could find somebody to share it with me. Yes, I found a few, but one of them, though quite intelligent, was untrustworthy, he would sell his salvation to get hold of the world and its pleasures, he would make religion a pretence to grasp worldly power and wealth, he would make this Blessing of God serve him to get supremacy and control over friends of God and he would through knowledge exploit and suppress other human beings. The other person was such that he apparently obeyed truth and knowledge, yet his mind had not achieved the true light of religion, at the slightest ambiguity or doubt he would get suspicious of truth, mistrust religion and would rush towards scepticism. So neither of them was capable of acquiring the superior knowledge that I can impart. Besides these two I find some other person One of them is a slave of self and greedy for inordinate desires, which can easily drag him away from the path of religion, the other is an avaricious, grasping and acquisitive miser who will risk his life to grasp and hold wealth, none of these two will be of any use to religion or man, both of them resemble beasts having appetite for food. If sensible trustees of knowledge and wisdom totally disappear from human society then both knowledge and wisdom will suffer severely, may bring harm to humanity and may even die out. But this earth will never be without those persons who will prove the universality of truth as disclosed by God, they may be well-known persons, openly and fearlessly declaring the things revealed to them or they may, under fear of harm, injury or deaths hide themselves from the public gaze and may carry on their mission privately so that the reasons proving the reality of truth as preached by religion and as demonstrated by divine messenger may not totally disappear. How many are they and where could they be found? I swear by God that they are very few in number but their worth and their ranks before God are very high. Through them God preserves His Guidance so that they, while departing, may hand over these truths to persons like themselves. The knowledge, which they have acquired has made them see the realities and visualize the truth and has instilled into them the spirit of faith and trust. The duties, which were decreed as hard and unbearable by them. They feel happy in the company and association of things, which frighten the ignorant and uneducated. They live in this world like everybody else but their souls soar to the heights of Divine Eminence. They are media of God on this earth and they invite people towards Him. How I love to meet them. I have told you all that I have to say, you can go back to your place whenever you like.”
· Somebody requested Saint Ali to advise him how to lead a useful and sober life. Saint Ali thereupon advised him thus: "Do not be among those people who want to gain good returns without working hard for them, who have long hopes and keep on postponing repentance and penance, who talk like pious persons but run after vicious pleasures. Do not be among those who are not satisfied if they get more in life and are not content if their lot in life's pleasures is less (they are never satisfied), who never thank God for what they get and keep on constantly demanding increase in what is left with them; who advise others to such good deeds that they themselves refrain from; who appreciate good people but do not follow their ways of life; who hate bad and vicious people but follow their ways of life; who, on account of their excessive sins hate death but do not give up the sinful ways of life; who, if fallen ill, repent their ways of life and on regaining their health fearlessly readopt the same frivolous ways; who get despondent and lose all hopes, but on gaining health, become arrogant and careless; who, if faced with misfortunes, dangers or afflictions, turn to God and keep on beseeching Him for relief and when relieved or favoured with comfort and ease they are deceived by the comfortable conditions they found themselves in and forget God and forsake prayers; whose minds are allured by day dreams and forlorn hopes and who abhor to face realities of life; who fear for others the enormous repercussions of vices and sins but for their own deeds expect very high rewards or very light disciplinary actions. Riches make such people arrogant, rebellious and wicked, and poverty makes them despondent and lethargic. If they have to work, they work lazily and if they put up a demand they do it stubbornly.
· Under the influence of inordinate cravings, they commit sins in quick succession and keep on postponing repentance. Calamities and adversities make them give up the distinguished characteristics of Devotees. They advise people with narrations of events and facts but do not take any lesson from them. They are good at preaching but bad at practice, therefore they always talk of lofty deeds but their actions belie their words. They are keen to acquire temporal pleasures but are careless and slow to achieve permanent benefits. They think well for themselves the things which are actually injurious to them and regard harmful the things which really benefit them. They are afraid of death but waste their time and do not resort to good deeds before death overtakes them. The vices, which they regard as enormous sins for others, they consider as minor shortcomings for themselves. Similarly, they attach great importance to their obedience to the orders of God and belittle similar actions in others. Therefore, they often criticize others and speak very highly of their own deeds. They are happy to spend their time in society of rich persons, wasting it in luxuries and vices but are averse to employing for useful purposes in company of the poor and pious people: They are quick and free to pass verdicts against others but they never pass a verdict against their own vicious deeds. They force others to obey them but they never obey God. They collect their dues carefully but never pay the dues they owe.” They are not afraid of God but fear powerful men".
· A man can be valued through his sayings.
· One who does not realize his own value is condemned to utter failure. (Know Thy worth).
· Everyone has an end; it may be pleasant or sorrowful.
· Everyone, who is born, has to die and once dead he is as good as having not come into existence.
· One, who adopts patience, will never be deprived of success though it may take a long time to reach him.
· One who assents or subscribes to the actions of a group or a party is as good as having committed the deed himself. A man who joins a sinful deed makes himself responsible for two-fold punishments, one for doing the deed and the other for assenting and subscribing to it.
· Accept promises of only those persons who can steadfastly-adhere to their pledges.
· You are ordained to recognize the Saints (Divine Leaders) and to obey them.
· You have been shown, if you only care to see; you have been advised if you care to take advantage of advice; you have been told if you care to listen to good counsels.
· Admonish your brother by good deeds and kind regards, and ward off his evil by favouring him.
· One, who enters the places of evil repute has no right to complain against a man who speaks ill of him.
· One, who acquires power, cannot avoid favouritism.
· One, who is wilful and conceited, will suffer losses and calamities and one who seeks advice can secure advantages of many counsels.
· One, who guards his secrets has complete control over his affairs.
· Poverty is the worst form of death.
· One, who serves a person from whom he gets no reciprocal performance of duties, in fact, loves him.
· One should not obey anyone against the commands of God.
· Do not blame a man who delays in securing what are his just rights but blame lies on him who grasps the rights which do not belong to him.
· Conceit is a barrier to progress and improvement.
· Death is near and our mutual company is short.
· There is enough light for one who wants to see.
· It is wiser to abstain then to repent.
· Often inordinate desire to secure a single gain acts as a hindrance for the quest of many profitable pursuits.
· People often hate those things, which they do not know or cannot understand.
· One, who seeks advice learns to realize his mistakes.
· One who struggles for the cause of God secures victory over His enemies.
· When you feel afraid or nervous to do a thing then do it because the real harm, which you may thus receive, is less poignant than its expectation and fear.
· Your supremacy over others is in proportion to the extent of your knowledge and wisdom.
· The best way to punish an evildoer is to reward handsomely a good person for his good deeds.
· If you want to remove evil from the minds of others then first give up evil intentions yourself.
· Obstinacy will prevent you from a correct decision.
· Greed is permanent slavery.
· Deficiency will result in shame and sorrow but caution and foresight will bring peace and security.
· To keep silent when you can say something wise and useful is as bad as keeping on propagating foolish and unwise thoughts.
· If two opposite theories are propagated one will be wrong.
· When truth was revealed to me I never doubted it.
· .I never lied and the things revealed to me were not false I never misled anybody nor was I misled.
· One, who starts tyranny, will repent soon.
· Death is never very far.
· One who forsakes truth earns eternal damnation.
· One who cannot benefit by patience will die in grief.
· I define Religion of Peace for you in a way that nobody dared do it before me. Religion of Peace means obedience to God, obedience to God means having sincere faith in Him, such a faith means to believe in His Power, belief in His Power means recognizing and accepting His Majesty, acceptance of His Majesty means fulfilling the obligations laid down by Him and fulfilment of obligations means actions. (Religion of Peace is belief as well as deeds).
· In this world, man is a target of death, an easy prey to calamities, here every morsel and every draught is liable to choke one, here one never receives a favour until he loses another instead, here every additional day in one's life is a day reduced from the total span of his existence, when death is the natural outcome of life, how can we expect immortality?
· If you have collected anything in excess of your actual need, you will act only as its trustee for someone else to use it.
· Hearts have the tendency of likes and dislikes and are liable to be energetic and lethargic, therefore, make them work when they are energetic because if hearts are forced (to do a thing) they will be blinded.
· When I feel angry with a person how and when should I satisfy my anger, whether at a time when I am not in a position to retaliate and people may advise me to bear patiently or when I have power to punish and I forgive.
· Minds get tired like bodies. When you feel that your; mind is tired, then invigorate it with sober advice.
· If you find that somebody is not grateful for all that you have done for him, then do not get disappointed because often you will find that someone else feels under your obligation though you have done nothing for him and thus your good deeds will be compensated, and God will reward you for your goodness.
· The first fruit of forbearance is that people will sympathize with you and they will go against the man who offended you arrogantly.
· One who takes account of his shortcomings will always gain by it; one who is unmindful of them will always suffer. One, who is afraid of the Day of Judgment, is safe from the Wrath of God.
· One who takes lessons from the events of life, gets vision, one who acquires vision becomes wise and one who attains wisdom achieves knowledge.
· Bear sorrows and calamities patiently, otherwise you will never be happy.
· One who comes into power often oppresses.
· Adversities often bring good qualities to the front.
· If a friend envies you, then he is not a true friend.
· Avarice dulls the faculties of judgment and wisdom.
· Oppression and tyranny are the worse companions for the Hereafter.
· The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.
· Silence will create respect and dignity; justice and fair play will bring more friends; benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position; courtesy will draw benevolence; service of mankind will secure leadership and good words will overcome powerful enemies.
· A greedy man will always find himself in the shackles of humility.
· There are people who love God to gain His Favours, this is the love of traders; while there are some who love Him to keep themselves free from His Wrath, this is the love of slaves; a few who obey Him out of their sense of gratitude and obligations, this is the love of free and noble men. [These holy words were taken from the book called Peak of Eloquence which contains the sermons and sayings and letters of saint Ali who went to heaven in the year 661.]
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