20 Powerful Quotes from Imam Ali (a.s.) from Nahjul Balagha with References

Imam Ali a.s

1. On Wisdom & Knowledge

📖 “Knowledge is better than wealth. Knowledge guards you, but you have to guard wealth.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 147

2. On Patience

📖 “Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 55

3. On Justice

📖 “The best way to punish an enemy is to do good to him.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 11

4. On Character

📖 “A person is hidden under his tongue.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 148

5. On Generosity

📖 “The wealth of a miser is as useless as a stone in the middle of a river, neither it benefits him nor anyone else.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 123

6. On Gratitude

📖 “One who is not thankful for small blessings will not be thankful for big ones.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 162

7. On Friendship

📖 “The worst friend is he who is only with you when you are wealthy and leaves you when you are poor.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 217

8. On Faith

📖 “Faith stands on four pillars: Patience, Conviction, Justice, and Jihad (struggle in the way of truth).”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 31

9. On Silence

📖 “When wisdom reaches perfection, words become few.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 349

10. On Arrogance

📖 “Pride prevents a man from seeking knowledge.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 263

11. On Envy

📖 “Envy eats away faith just as fire consumes wood.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 38

12. On Time

📖 “Time wears out bodies, renews hopes, brings death closer, and takes away desires.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 114

13. On Hard Work

📖 “Do not be a slave to others when Allah has created you free.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 426

14. On Forgiveness

📖 “The best revenge is to forgive.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 201

15. On Hypocrisy

📖 “The tongue of a wise man is behind his heart, and the heart of a fool is behind his tongue.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 40

16. On Leadership

📖 “He who is greedy is disgraced; he who discloses his hardship is humiliated; he who has no control over his tongue often gets into trouble.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 56

17. On Death

📖 “O People! You are moving fast with the hope that never ends, while death is chasing you.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 28

18. On Charity

📖 “Blessings are connected with gratitude, and gratitude is connected with more giving. The two are tied together, and will never separate.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 138

19. On Intelligence

📖 “A fool’s mind is at the mercy of his tongue, while a wise man’s tongue is controlled by his mind.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Saying 40

20. On Worldly Desires

📖 “This world is like a snake, soft to touch but full of venom.”
📌 Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 112