Words from Husayn ibn ʿAlī That Fall Upon the Heart
The wisdoms of Husayn ibn ʿAlī are a selection of brief sayings that touch the heart, character, and inner discipline of a person. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental issues such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (etiquette), and the maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
“The most generous of people is the one who gives without being asked, and the most noble is the one who forgives when he has the power to take revenge.”
02
“Compete in good deeds and hasten to attain spiritual gains.”
03
“Some worship Allah (God) in hope of something from Him; this is the worship of traders. Some worship out of fear; this is the worship of slaves. Some, however, worship Allah out of shukr (gratitude); this is the worship of free people, and this is the most virtuous worship.”
04
“Allah’s way of seizing His servant through istidrāj (gradual entrapment) is to grant him abundant blessings while making him fail in shukr (gratitude); he becomes preoccupied with the blessing until he misses the opportunity, and does not remember the Benefactor.”
05
“Do you not see that the truth is not acted upon and falsehood is not avoided? In such a situation, it is right for the mu’min (believer) to desire death. I see death as felicity, and living with oppressors as baseness.”
06
“The one who loves you warns you against evil deeds; the one who hates you encourages you towards them.”
07
“When a man said to the Imam (peace be upon him) without greeting: ‘How are you? May Allah grant you well-being,’ he replied: ‘First the greeting, then the words. May Allah grant you well-being as well.’ Then he said: ‘Do not allow anyone to speak to you unless they have given the greeting (salām).’”
08
“Just as Allah does not demand obedience from one whose strength He has taken away, He also lifts the burden of obligation from him.”
09
“Do not ask anything of anyone except these three: the religious, the courageous, and the noble. For the religious will fulfill your need to protect his religion; the courageous will be ashamed to disappoint you, and the noble, knowing that you have been compelled to ask, will not send you away empty-handed in order to preserve your dignity.”
10
“Salām (greeting of peace) has seventy rewards; sixty-nine are for the one who initiates the greeting, and one is for the one who replies.”
11
“The intellect is perfected only by following the truth.”
12
“The truly stingy person is the one who is stingy in giving salām (greeting of peace).”
13
“The generous one is exalted, while the miser is abased.”
14
“Alas! Humiliation and submission are far from us.”
15
“Brothers are of four kinds: 1—those who benefit both you and themselves; 2—those who benefit you; 3—those who harm you; 4—those who benefit neither you nor themselves.”
16
“Weeping out of fear of Allah leads to salvation from the fire of Hell.”
17
“To a man who was backbiting in his presence, he said: ‘O man! Refrain from backbiting, for backbiting is the food of the dogs of Hell.’”
18
“When a man came and asked the Imam (peace be upon him) for help, the Imam said: ‘It is not right to ask except for a heavy debt, an overwhelming indemnity, or humiliating poverty.’ When the man replied, ‘I have come for one of these,’ the Imam (peace be upon him) ordered that he be given one hundred dinars.”
19
“On the Day of Resurrection, only the one who feared Allah in this world will be safe.”
20
“Refrain from actions for which you must apologize. For a mu’min (believer) neither commits a sin nor apologizes, but a hypocrite commits sins every day and apologizes.”
21
“Whoever seeks something by disobeying Allah, distances himself from what he hopes for and draws nearer to what he fears.”
22
“One of the signs of a scholar is that he critiques his own words and is aware of the realities of differing opinions.”
23
“People are slaves of the world; religion is but a phrase upon their tongues. As long as their livelihood is secured through religion, they protect and observe it; but when they are tested with hardship, the truly religious become few.”
24
“The Imam (peace be upon him) said to his son Sajjād (peace be upon him): ‘O my son! Beware of oppressing one who has no helper except Allah.’”
25
“When they set out towards Karbala, he said: ‘Indeed, this world has changed and become unrecognizable, and has turned its back on all goodness; nothing remains but a little dregs of water at the bottom of a vessel and a base life like that in a pasture with meager grass and heavy air.’”