"And so the unopinionated, unsassuming Qasim whom I knew in 1958 gradually got the taste of being the only man in the country. In other words, we built a dictator... Our people are in truth builders of dictators."

"Unlike other so-called Iraqi leaders he was not pretentious: he did not live in the Prime Minister's usual residence but in his modest house in the Al Batawein district. He did not amass wealth. He put his salary in his pocket so he could distribute it to the poor. When he was executed he only had a dinar and a quarter on him."

"He apparently believed he was destined by fate to fulfill a great mission assigned to him by Allah; his dedication finally reached the martyr-complex stage."

"His supporters view him as a defender of the poor who fought for the state’s rights against the interests of the West. His detractors view him as the first in a series of disastrous would-be strongmen who led Iraq on to the path to instability that culminated in dictator Saddam Hussein."

"We must consider him a good example for politicians and leaders in the government... Each official in the current state of Iraq should review what this man has done for Iraq."

"He himself was living in the depths of a barracks from which he would not emerge, and among squads of soldiers from which he himself did not know whether they were still loyal to him. His system was like a house made of boards, damaged from the inside by woodworms, and it itself was mined by the weight of worries. It was bareley impossible to have a consistent, sustained conversation with him. He was nervous like no other, and he moved from one topic to another every ten minutes. He would get up and wander aimlessly around the room, and would hardly sit back down before he would get up again. It was clear that this man's nerves were bad. Perhaps his mind was injured as well. He could no longer control himself. As for his political concepts, to the extent that I was able to understand them, they were amazing"

"We cooperate with our brotherly Arab states... on the basis of the individual interests of those Arab states."

"Death to the imperialist! Return Kuwait to its homeland!"

"The Iraqi people consist of brotherly nationalities which have amalgamated in order to defend the existence of the eternal Iraqi Republic. [This is] why we always declare 'long live true Iraqi unity, for in it lies our strength."

"People, I am the son of the people. I pledge before God that I will sacrifice myself for your sake. I shall offer my life in defence of the Iraqi people."

"I am with all the parties of all trends if their aims are to serve the homeland, freedom and peace. Nothing will keep me far from them, neither religion, political parties, language nor nationality; I am with them and we will always march forward hand in hand in the procession of freedom and peace."

"I had previously announced that I am above trends and leanings, above party politics and political parties. This is because I strive for the people as a whole to serve them."

"The freedom of an individual merges in the freedom of all and serves the freedom of all."

"Brothers! I have the honour and I am proud to be in your ranks, and I pledge the Almighty that I will always struggle for the sake of peace. As for the forces of the Army which we have prepared, we prepared them to face those who attacks [sic] peace. We are a peaceful and a neutral state. We attack no one, but anyone who attacks us and starts aggression, we will stop him."

"No doubt, I am proud of the people. I am from the people and I am the son of the people. I will work for the sake of the people. I will sacrifice my life for the liberty of this people and safeguarding, protecting and preserving it from all evils."

"Peace is victorious always and for ever. Do you remember that aggression gained success and was not crushed by the last blow? Aggression, whether collective or unilateral, is inevitably to be crushed. If you just glance at courts and judges you will see that these courts and judges were formed to crush aggression or anyone who things of aggression. These courts and judges are only working for the sake of peace and ending aggression. This noble idea should prevail all over the world."

"We, the people, were denied of the right even to mention the word peace or peace partisans and everyone related to them had to suffer from imprisonment as if it were an unpardonable crime. But now, after the people have been liberated from slavery, and after July 14 has dawned on us, this Republic and her sons have been liberated and have been marching on the path of freedom ever since."

"I do not wish parties or tendencies, whatever the color, to penetrate into the ranks of the armed forces under any circumstances."

"I don't want to be the joke of the world, and I don't want to be thought of as another Hitler swallowing up people."

"Having a period of - well, austerity, shall we say - certainly humbles you."

"Technology's rapid development and our ever-changing lifestyles created a fundamentally new and exhilarating backdrop for building, and in this new world context I felt we must reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism – not to resurrect them, but to unveil new fields of building."

"All scientists must communicate their work, for what is the point of learning new things about how the world works if you don't tell anyone about them?"

"Save yourself from the wrath of Allah (swt), and do not abandon speaking the truth, even though it (apparently) causes your destruction. Know that truth does not lead into your annihilation; rather it is a saviour. Always let go of the untruth; even though it (apparently) saves you. Untruth is never a saviour, and it eventually leads into annihilation."

"The best means by which a slave seeks proximity to God after recognising Him, is praying, benevolence to the parents, and abandonment of envy, self-conceit and vaunting."

"A believer is as the two pans of a scale, that whenever his faith increases his afflictions increase."

"Everything has a tax, and the tax for the bodies is recommended fasting."

"The most reasonable way of blessings and honesties will be obtained through opposing sensuality."

"Consultation with a wise advisor is a blessing, grace, guidance and success."

"The sleep of a wise man is far better than the worship of an ignorant one during the night."

"Association with a learned one in the slums, is by far better than sitting with an ignorant person on sumptuous and luxurious carpets."

"Silence is a great wisdom."

"Learn sciences which offer you both your corrective destinies and corrective threats."

"Human beings have not been given anything higher than wisdom and intellect."

"The likeness of this world is as the water of the sea - however much a thirsty person drinks from it, his thirst increases so much so that the water kills him."

"Cheerfulness and good nature, purge hatred and rancour."

"Anger is the key to any evil."

""You [i.e., the Shia] have nothing to do with analogical reasoning (qiyas); those who came before you perished because of such reasoning. When it comes to a case about which you have received information, speak about it; otherwise, keep silent.":15"

""The occultation of the Lord of this Cause (Sahib al-zaman, i.e., Muhammad al-Mahdi) is inevitable so that those who profess this cause may withdraw from it. This is a painful test that God has given to His creatures.":114"

""Our Shias [i.e., followers] see through the light (nur) of God and move through the mercy of God and succeed through the grace (beneficence, karama) of God.":171"

""How base is the world for people, unless God gives them joy; and how great is this life, if God is not angry with them.":157"

"Quoting Ali ibn Abi Talib, "God is not served through a thing better than reason. Man's reason is not perfect unless it has various qualities: unbelief and evil from him are safe [nonexistent]. Reason and good from him are hoped. The surplus of his money is spent [on charity]. The surplus of his speech is prevented. His share of the world is only daily bread. ... Abasement along with God is more beloved to him than exaltedness along with other than Him. Humbleness is more beloved to him than high rank. He regards as much the little good from other than him and as little his own good. He sees all men better than him, and that he is the most wicked of them in his soul.":132"

""Good neighbor is not refraining from harm, but good neighbor is showing patience toward harm.":152"

""Silence is among the doors to wisdom; it brings about love and is a proof of all good things.":151"

""Misfortune is one for the patient and two for the impatient.":151"

""The generous and polite is under the protection of God; He does not leave him until He makes him enter the Garden. God sends out none as a prophet except the generous.":151"

""Tell yourselves of neither poverty nor a long lifetime, for whoever tells himself of poverty becomes miserly. Whoever tells himself of a long lifetime becomes greedy.":309"

""Try hard that your time may be four hours: one hour is for supplicating God, one hour for the affairs of the livelihood, one hour for associating with the brothers (friends) and the reliable ones who let you know your defects and who are inwardly loyal to you, and one hour for that you are alone with yourselves (and) for non-forbidden things. Through this hour you have power over the three hours.":309"

""Little work from a scholar is doubly accepted; much work from the men of low desire and ignorance is refused.":309"

""Believers are few and the unbelievers are legion.":162"

""God has two proofs over men: outward proof and inward one. As for the outward proof, it is the messengers, the prophets, and the imams. As for the inward proof, it is reason.":309"