7th Century Arabs

"Death is never very far."

"One who forsakes truth earns eternal damnation."

"O son of Adam, if you have collected anything in excess of your actual need, you will act only as its trustee for someone else to use it."

"There are people who worship Allah to gain His Favors, this is the worship of traders; while there are some who worship Him to keep themselves free from His Wrath, this is the worship of slaves; a few who obey Him out' of their sense of gratitude and obligations, this is the worship of free and noble men."

"Through us you got guidance in the darkness and secured high position, and through us you got out of the gloomy night. The ears which do not listen to the cries may become deaf. How can one who remained deaf to the loud cries (of the Qur'an and the Prophet) listen to (my) feeble voice. The heart that has ever palpitated (with fear of Allah) may get peace."

"So now, surely this world has turned its back and announced its departure while the next world has appeared forward and proclaimed its approach. Today is the day of preparation while tomorrow is the day of race. The place to proceed to is Paradise while the place of doom is Hell. Is there no one to offer repentance over his faults before his death? Or is there no one to perform virtuous acts before the day of trial?"

"O' my Allah! Sustainer of the high sky and the suspended firmament which Thou hast made a shelter for the night and the day, an orbit for the sun and the moon and a path for the rotating stars, and for populating it Thou hast created a group of Thy angels who do not get weary of worshipping Thee. O' Sustainer of this earth which Thou hast made an abode for people and a place for the movement of insects and beasts and countless other creatures seen and unseen. O' Sustainer of strong mountains which Thou hast made as pegs for the earth and (a means of) support for people. If Thou givest us victory over our enemy, save us from excesses and keep us on the straight path of truth. But if Thou givest them victory over us, then grant us martyrdom and save us from mischief."

"Where are those who protect honour, and those self-respecting persons who defend respectable persons in the time of hardship? Shame is behind you while Paradise is in front of you."

"Allah seeks you to thank Him and assigns to you His affairs. He has allowed time in the limited field (of life) so that you may vie with each other in seeking the reward (of Paradise). Therefore, tight up your girdles and wrap up the skirts. High courage and dinners do not go together. Sleep causes weakness in the big affairs of the day and (its) darkness obliterates the memories of courage."

"During civil disturbance adopt such an attitude that people do not attach any importance to you — they neither burden you with complicated affairs, nor try to derive any advantage out of you."

"Every person who is tempted to go astray, does not deserve punishment."

"Our affairs are attached to the destiny decreed by Allah, even our best plans may lead us to destruction."

"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."

"When Imam Ali was asked about Faith in Religion, he replied that the structure of faith is supported by four pillars endurance, conviction, justice and jihad."

"Endurance is composed of four attributes: eagerness, fear, piety and anticipation (of death). so whoever is eager for Paradise will ignore temptations; whoever 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. Jihad is divided into four branches: to persuade people to be obedient to Allah; to prohibit them from sin and vice; to struggle (in the cause of Allah) sincerely and firmly on all occasions and to detest the vicious. Whoever persuades people to obey the orders of Allah 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 Allah, then Allah will take revenge on his enemies and will be pleased with Him on the Day of Judgment."

"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."

"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."

"A moment of patience in the moment of anger prevents thousands of moments of regret."

"Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety. It is only in the darkest nights that the stars shine more brilliantly."

"Obstinacy will prevent you from a correct decision."

"It is wiser to abstain than to repent."

"There is enough light for one who wants to see."

"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 loves us Ahlul Bayt must be ready to face a life of austerity."

"Whenever a tradition of the Holy Prophet 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."

"Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings."

"Every breath you take is a step towards death."

"Value of a man depends upon his courage; his veracity depends upon his self-respect and his chastity depends upon his sense of honor."

"Recommended prayers cannot attain the pleasures of Allah for you when obligatory prayers are left unattended."

"A virtuous person is better than virtue and a vicious person is worse than vice."

"There are four causes of infidelity and loss of belief in Allah: 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 makes a breach (with Allah and His Messenger) 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 (of life, death and the life after death) 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."

"O son of Adam, when you see that your Lord, the Glorified, bestows His Favors on you while you disobey Him, you should fear Him (take warning that His Wrath may not turn those very blessings into misfortunes)."

"The wealth of a miser is as useless as a pebble."

"Tongue is a beast, if it is let loose, it devours."

"Whoever warns you against sins and vices is like the one who gives you good tidings."

"Wealth is the fountain head of passions."

"Contentment is the capital which will never diminish."

"Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land."

"Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet."

"There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation."

"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."

"Only he who has the power to punish can pardon."

"So long as fortune is favouring you, your defects will remain covered."

"Hearts of people are like wild beasts. They attach themselves to those who love and train them."