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Wise Sayings of Khalifah

Imam Ali ibn AbiTalib Al-Hashimi


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No shelter is safer than piety.

By the 4th Rightful Caliph of Islam: Ali ibn AbiTalib



Fear God and you will have no cause to fear any one

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Resignation to the Will of God is the cure of the disease of the heart

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The word of God is the medicine of the heart

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Lead such a life, that, when you die, the people may mourn you, and while you are alive they long for your company

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The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good while you are alive

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Of all the follies the greatest is to love the world

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Opportunity is swift of flight but slow to return

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The most happy is he to whom God has given a good wife

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He who knows himself knows God

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Do not soil your conscience for anything but heaven

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The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body

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To fight against one's desires is the greatest of all fights

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The strongest amongst you is he who subdues his self

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Wealth and greed are the roots of all evils

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Riches without faith are the greatest poverty

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A man's worth depends upon the nobility of his aspirations

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Knowledge enlivens the soul

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The learned lives, although he dies

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The sum total of excellence is knowledge

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To respect the learned is to respect God

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Generosity hides shortcomings

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The wealth of a miser is as useless as a pebble

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Desire is one's most inveterate enemy

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Those who walk on the surface of the earth shall one day be interred in it

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Every breath of man brings him nearer to death

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People are asleep as long as they are alive; they are awakened when they die

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Patience is the fruit of faith

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Virtue never dies

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A man's glory from his virtue is greater than the glory of his pedigree

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No shelter is safer than piety

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A man's behaviour is the index of his mind

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Courtesy costs nothing but buys everything

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Clemency graces power

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Jealousy devours virtue as fire devours fuel

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He that lends a listening ear to reproach is one of those that deserve reproach

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Forgiveness is the crown of greatness

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Carnal appetites are nets spread by the devil

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Every arrow does not hit the mark, nor every prayer granted

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Ostentatiousness spoils prayers

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Fear none but your sins

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He who praises you murders you

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A man who praises himself displays his deficiency of intellect

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Honour your parents and your sons will honour you

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A man is hid under his tongue

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The tongue of a wise man lies behind his heart

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The tongue pierces deeper than the spear

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He who purifies his heart from doubt is a believer

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The opinion of a wise man is an oracle

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To seek counsel is to go to the fountain of guidance

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Association with a fool is tyrannical to the soul

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God hastens the fall of tyrants

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Tyranny leads to moral cowardice

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A tyrant's success is his moral defeat

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It is better to die than to beg

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When a man begs he loses his faith

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Hajj is the Jihad of every believer in faith

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A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend

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Silence is the best reply to a fool

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The best speech is one that is short and reasonable

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Speech is like a medicine, a small dose of which cures but an excess of which kills

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He that has no courage has no religion

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His grief is long whose hope is short

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The right of freedom of speech consists in speaking the truth

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Repentance washes away sins

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Folly is an incurable disease

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To assist the wrong is to oppress the right

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Sinning is a disease, repentance is its medicine, and abstinence from it a sure cure

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Sorrow makes a man old before his time

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Pride impedes progress and mars greatness

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To forgive is the crown of greatness

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He who understands humanity seeks solitude

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Right is the best argument

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Misrepresentation spoils narration

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As a man's wisdom increases, so his desire to speak decreases

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He who seeks to do justice with men, let him desire for them what he desires for himself

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The greatest sin is the sin that the sinner considers to be ordinary

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Contentment is the asset which is never exhausted

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Governments are a trial for men

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He who fights against the truth, the truth will defeat him

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Finding fault in others is one's greatest fault

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Haste is a species of madness

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Greed is perpetual enslavement

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He who does not know his own worth is doomed to destruction

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The best investment is one with which duties are performed

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Anger is a fire kindled, he who restrains anger extinguishes the fire; he who gives vent to it is the first to be consumed by such fire

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Jihad is the highway of prosperity

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None is more solitary than a miser

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Knowledge is the ornament of the rich, and the riches of the poor

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Knowledge is the sum total of excellence

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He who teaches you a letter binds you with a fetter of gratitude

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As long as we do not hope, we do not fret

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He who indulges in jokes and loose fall, loses a part of his wisdom

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Truth is bitter, but its result is sweet; falsehood appears to be sweet but it is poisonous in its effect

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Miserliness is the root of many evils

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Knowledge and practice are twins, and both go together. There is no knowledge without practice, and no practice without knowledge

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He who dissembles plays with his honour [who makes believe with the intent to deceive]

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When God wants to humiliate a person He deprives him of knowledge

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When your power increases, decrease your desires accordingly

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He who listens to a backbiter loses a friend

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It is no justice to decide a case on mere conjecture

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He who does not know his own worth is deemed to ignominy

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He who practices thrift would never be in want

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He who does not know should not be ashamed to learn

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Patience is to faith, what head is to the body, when patience goes, faith goes, when head goes, the body goes

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The grace of God is the best guide

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A good disposition is the best companion

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Wisdom is the best friend

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Good breeding is the best inheritance

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There is nothing more hateful than pride

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Be among men like bee among birds

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Mix with the people with your tongue, but be separate from them in your deeds

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Be generous but do not be a spendthrift

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Do not run after the world; let the world run after you

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A wise man is he who does not despair of the bounty and mercy of God

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He who is aware of his own faults is oblivious of the faults of others

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What the eye sees the heart preserves

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The vision of the eye is limited; the vision of the heart transcends all barriers of time and space

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Do not be misled by appearances for these are apt to be deceptive

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Do not have too many irons in the fire; concentrate on one thing at a time

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What you do not like for your self, do not like it for others

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Contentment is the treasure which is never exhausted

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The advice of old men is dearer than the bravery of young men

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That knowledge is superficial which is merely on the tongue; that knowledge is real which demonstrates itself in your practice

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Waste of time is one's greatest loss

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He who knows to keep his secret knows the way to success

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Foresight is the way to safety

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No relationship is stronger than the relationship that exists between man and God

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Enlighten the heart with prayers

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Strengthen your heart with faith

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Suppress all lust with piety

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Do not sell the Hereafter for the world

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Do not speak in a state of ignorance

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Refrain from unnecessary talk

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Do not tread the path from which you can apprehend the danger of running astray

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In the affairs of God, do not be afraid of the accusations of the evil mongers

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In all that you do seek the protection of God

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Do not covet what is undesirable

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If you seek the truth, neither strays from the right path, nor be assailed by doubts

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Do not become a slave of your desires

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That wealth is no wealth which brings dishonour

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Whatever harm accrues of silence can be remedied but whatever harm is done because of speech cannot be remedied

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It is better to restrain your desires than to stretch your hand before others

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A little that is earned because of honest labour is better than a larger amount gained through dishonest means

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Guard well your secret

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He who seeks more than what is necessary indulges in error

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To oppress the weak is the worst tyranny

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Do not bank on false hopes, for that is the capital of the dead

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A wise man takes a lesson even from a minor lapse

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Overpower desires and suspicions by patience and faith

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He who does not take the middle course strays

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A stranger is he who has no friends

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When hopes are frustrated despair becomes the way of life

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He who trusts the world, the world betrays him

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The one, who knows himself, knows his creator

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If you love God, tear out your heart's love of the world

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The fear of God makes one secure

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How can you rejoice this life that grows shorter each hour?

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A world wide reputation can be undone by an hour's degradation

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Three defects make life miserable; Vindictiveness, Jealousy, A bad character

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One who is proud of worldly possessions in this fleeting existence is ignorant

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Joy is followed by tears

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Each breath of man is a step nearer to death

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The best man among us is he who is most helpful to his fellow men

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One who thinks himself the best is the worst

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The hated person is one who returns evil for good

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Virtue is the key to success

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Learned men live after death; ignorant men are dead although alive

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There is no treasure like knowledge gained

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Knowledge is wisdom and educated man is the wise man

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Experience is knowledge gained

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He who never corrects himself will never correct another

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Listen and you will teach yourself: remain silent, and you risk nothing

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The one, who reflects on God's gifts, succeeds

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Ignorance harms a man more than a cancer

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One of the signs of stupid man is the frequent change of opinion

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Never speak when it is not the time for speech

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Beware of backbiting it sows the seed of bitterness, and separates you from God and man

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The best truth is the keeping of promises

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Better be dumb than lie

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Do not flatter, it is no sign of faith

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A hypocrite's tongue is clean, but there is sickness in his heart.

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Better to be alone than with bad company

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Whoever sows good, reaps his reward

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Sayings of Sayyiduna Ali (Karam Allahu wajhahuu) from the forum:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ala_hazrat/message/3022
- expired link (before 2022-11-22)



"In any case, what Westerners call civilization, the others would call barbarity, because it is precisely lacking in the essential, that is to say, a principle of a higher order."
René Guénon, East And West, 1924

صلّى الله على سيّدنا محمّد و على آله و صحبه و سلّم

The blessings and peace of Allah on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions, ( sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam ) .



AlHambra



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Related texts
link-in Saying of `Ali ibn Abi Talib
link-in ʿAli Bin Abi Tālib's Advice To Kamīl Bin Ziyād
link-in Ett uttalande från Ali bin Abi Talib (karram-Allahu wajhahu)






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* Living Islam – Islamic Tradition *