1. Knowledge is better than (worldly) wealth because: -"Knowledge is the legacy of the Prophets; wealth is the legacy of the pharaohs."
"Knowledge induces humanity in Prophets to say,'O Allah! We worship Thee and are Thine servants;'while wealth 'induces the pharaohs and the nimrods to claim godhead for themselves."
"You have to guard your wealth, but knowledge guards you."
"When knowledge is distributed it increases, but when wealth is distributed it decreases."
"A man of wealth has many enemies, but a man of knowledge has many friends. "
"A man of knowledge has a wider outlook and is apt to be generous, but a man of wealth is apt to be mean and miserly."
"Knowledge gains in depth and dimension with lapse of time, but wealth in the forms of hoarded coins and currency become rusty and loose its value."
"You can keep an account of wealth because it' limited but you cannot keep is it an account of knowledge because it is boundless."
"Knowledge illuminates the mind, but wealth is apt to darken it."
2. The highest purpose of knowledge is the awakening of latent spiritual faculties whereby one is enabled to discover his true and inner self.
3. Any form of knowledge which failed to show the infinite reality in man was useless, because it could not fill that vacuun of which the aching soul of every individual was so pathetically conscious."
Selected Sayings of Imam Ali
1. You are ordained to recognize the Imam and obey.
2. Anyone who has four attributes will not be deprived of their (four) effects:
-one who prays to Allah and implores to Him, will not be deprived of the 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;
-one who thanks Allah for His blessings and bounties, will not be denied, for their thanks increase them.
The truth of this is attested by al-Quran:
-As far as prayers are concerned, Allah says, "Pray thee to me and I shall accept thy prayers."
-About repentance He says, " ftoever has done a bad deed or has persuaded himself to sin, and then repents and asks for His forgiveness, he willfind Allah most Forgiving and MercifuL "
-About being thankful He says, "Ifyou are thankfulfor what you are given then I shall increase My Bounties and Blessings. " -About atonement of sins He says, "Allah accepts the atonement ofthose who have committed a vice without realizing its enormity and then atonefor it.Allah accepts such attunements, He is Wise and Omniscient."
3 . Half of the success in life is to acquire friends and sympathizers.
4. This world is not a place of permanent abode. It is a passage, a road on which you are passing. There are two kinds of people: -those who have sold their souls for eternal damnation; and those who have bought their souls and freed them from damnation.
5. Minds get tired like bodies. When you feel that your mind is tired,then invigorate it with advice.
6. Obstinacy and stubbornness will not let you arrive at the correct decision.
7. In this world man is a target to the arrow of death, an easy prey of calamities and adversities:
-here every morsel and every draught is liable to choke one; -here one never receives a favor 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 then can one expect immortality!
8. No wealth has more usefulness than intelligence and wisdom.,
-No solitude is more horrible than people avoiding you on account of your vanity and conceit or when you think your are above everybody to confide and consult.
-No eminence is more exalting than pity.
-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 heavenly reward.
-No abstinence is better than refraining from indulging in doubts (about religion).
-No virtue is better than refraining from prohibited deeds.
-No knowledge is superior to deep thinking and prudence.
-No worship or prayers are more sacred than fulfillment of obligations and duties.
-No religious faith is loftier than feeling ashamed to do wrong and bearing calamities patiently.
-No eminence is greater than humility.
-No exaltation or grandeur is superior to learning and knowledge.
-Nothing is more respectable than forgiveness and forbearance.
-No support and defense is stronger than consultation and counsel.
9.Anyone who loves us (Able Bait) must be ready to accept a life of austerity.
