Wise Sayings of Imam Ali Al-Rida (a)

Some Wise Sayings of
Imam Ali bin Musa al-Rida

His Full Name: Imam Ali al-Rida b. Imam Musa al-Kazim b. Imam Jafar al-Sadiq b. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir b. Imam Ali Zainul-'Abdeen b. Imam Hussein al-Shahid b. Imam Ali al-Murtada

The best and most respected virtue of a man is to do good and to fulfill the desires of the needy.
The honest man has not betrayed you, but you consider the betrayer as the honest one.
You had better avoid the munificence that results in the greater loss to you than the benefits received by your brethren.
True faith means: Oral acknowledgement, heart-felt knowledge and the good practise.
The highest degree of wisdom is self-cognition.
He who is sure about the divine rewards will be more generous.
He who adopts someone as a brother in order to provide Allah's consent will be given a chamber in paradise.
Giving alms is the most valuable savings.
Good temper could be divided into two catagories: 1. Intrinsic 2. Voluntary: The possessor of which is considered to be the better person.
To be parient in the face of hard-ships is a virtue but to refrain from forbidden deeds is a greater one.
Patience and resignation are considered as the worthiest devotions.
True devotion not only means excessive sayings of prayers and keeping fasts. One ought to meditate on the divinity profoundly.
Be modest before your friends and be prudent while encountering an enemy. Be pleasant with everyone.
I wonder at one who purchases the slaves and releases them. Why doesn't he try to make the free people indebted by his good conduct?
It is much better to be uninterested in other's properties than to be munificent.
To help the disabled is much better than to give alms.
Beast wealth is that which provides a good name for its owner.
There is no better milk for the baby's nourishment than its mother's.
He who exposes himself to an open accusation should not blame those who may suspect him.
The oppressors will finally be punished.
He who wishes to be the most needless, should put his full trust in Allah.
He who shows patience in providing Allah's consent will no doubt get more than what he has lost.
He who desires to postpone the time of his decease and wishes to have his sustenance increased should observe ties of kinship.
Allah will make happy on the day of judgement the person who has removed the grief from the heart of a believer.
Be good companions of blessings because they are fleeting: once gone away, will not return.
To use scent is a manner of the holy Prophet (S). Cleanliness is characteristic of prophets.
One who breaks his promise will not be left safe and sound in the unpleasant events.
If the men of knowledge present their knowledge to the ignorant people, they have spoiled it.
Do not get angry when you are informed of the truth.
One ought to see his guests off to the gate.
True faith means the accomplishment of the religious obligations along with the avoidance of the forbidden acts.
He who causes Allah's wrath in order to provide a king's consent is an apostate.
Nothing is more worthy than good temper.
You who can not satisfy people with your riches had better try to make them happy with a king-like face and good manners.
Silence is one of the gates to wisdom.
Man's intellect is his friend and his ignorance, his enemy.
As soon as the intimacy appears the awe vanishes. Requisition for help is the beginning of misfortune.
Almightiness is reserved for Allah the One. He who claims the possession of this status will be perished by Allah.
If a person holds a malthought towards another believer, then Allah will not accept his religious deeds.
Keep aloof from avarice and envy. These two qualities have already destroyed the peoples gone by.
One ought to be open-handed towards his household, lest they wish for his death.
He who does not offer his thanks to his benefactor has not actually praised Allah the Greatest and the Glorious.
A generous man will eat other's food so that they might partake of his food. A miser refuses to eat the food of others in order to deprive them of his own food.
He who blames time should spend a long time blaming.
The generous are the masters of the people in this world, while the pious are their chiefs on doomsday.
Be patient in the face of truth, bitter though it might taste to thee.
Your mouth is one of the channels through which you make contact with Allah. You had better keep it clean by brushing your teeth.
Pure piety is not but avoidance of mortal sins and abstinence from persecuting the faithful.
He who assesses himself carfeully will finally benefit: the negligent will lose out.
He who acts with no insight looks like a pedestrian who travels on a wrong path. The faster he walks, the more deviated he becomes from the staright path.
Allah liketh not the person who has not defended his assailed house.
The forgiving warriors will enjoy divine victory in the battlefield.
He who wishes to be the most dear to the people must be virtuous both in public and in secret.
Human intellect is a divine blessing but politeness is aquired through endeavoring.
Prudence keeps repentance away.
Reflection is the mirror into which you can look and see your virtues and your evils.
Magnanimity is unstable. Trust in Allah will give it stability.
Gifts cast out hatred from the heart.
Humbleness means treating others the same way as you expect them to treat you.
He who tries to keep himself immaculate for forty days, Allah will let the waves of wisdom flow froom his heart to his tongue.
Giving alms repels the certain catastophe.
He who wishes to be the strongest of all should rely on Allah.
The believer who is endowed with a good temper will have the strongest faith.
Perfection in intellect is primarily to have faith in Allah and secondly to behave well towards others.
Penalty in intellect is primarily to have faith in Allah and secondly to behave well towards others.
Penalty for ingratitude occurs instantly.
Remission is good when not accompanied by blame.
Treasures of beneficence include concealment of your good deeds, tolerance in hardships and reticence in disasters.
A faithful Muslim never exceeds his legitimate right when he is in power.
The believer's fury will not deviate him from the right path.
He who begins his day without being concerned about improving the Muslim's affairs should not be called a Muslim.
The true Muslim never teases others with his hand or tongue.
He who recognizes his merit will not easily perish.
He who is ambitious will perish. Presidency must be owned by those who are worthy of it.
He who chooses his path properly will not slip down. He will never confront a deadlock in case he falls.
A generous man is close to Allah, close to paradise, and close to everyone.
Keeping other's secrets, patience in hardships and tolerance towards others are all signs of faith.
Tolerance, knowledge and silence are the signs found in a jurisprudent.
To bear enmity towards the people is the worst provision for the journey to the hereafter.
He who betrays his brethren, causes them losses and deceives them, is not one of us.
One who torments his neighbor is not one of us.
Never become angry with others and do not ask anything from them. Wish for the people whatever you wish for yourself.
Wine and other intoxicating beverages are strictly prohibited by the religious legislation. One sip of such drinks is as illegitimate as a whole barrel is.
To be friendly with others denotes one half of wisdom.
A wealthy person ought to be generous to his family.
A Muslim should not frighten his brethren.
He who reveals his poverty before others will disgrace himself.
To be in the company of villains will result in suspecting the good.
Resignation, beneficence and certitude are the most precious blessings descended by Heaven.
A man asked Imam Ali al-Rida: "What do you say about the Quran?" Imam said: Quran is the speech of Allah. Do not step ahead of it. And do not seek the guidance, except from Quran, for, you will go astray.
A man asked Imam Ali al-Rida: "who are the best of the servants?" Imam replied: "Those who get happy when they perform a good deed & whenever they do a bad and evil work, they ask forgiveness from Allah. And whenever they are given any benediction (boon) they thank (for it) Allah. And while they get angry, they overlook it."
There are few stages of self-admiration. One of those is that the bad actions of a person get so very decorated in his eyes that he admires them (as virtues). And another one is that a servant aquires faith in Allah, and boasts of a favor to him (Allah). And Allah has done a favor to him (the servant) in that (faith).
Allah has commanded three things alongwith three others (in Quran). Prayers are with alms. Thus, one who prays and does not give alms, his prayers are not approved. The thank giving to Allah is ordered alongwith thank giving and gratitude to the parents. Therefore, one who does not thank his parents, he has not thanked Allah. piety has been commanded along with observing the ties of kinship. Therefore, one who does not observe the ties of kinship has not adopted piety (towards Allah).
Allah has enmity with, and dislikes the futile talk and wasting of money and much begging and requesting.
The miser does not have comfort and the jealous one has no joy and enjoyment, kings are unfaithful, and a liar has no manliness (courage).
Do not acquire the company of a drinker and do not salute him.
See and visit each other so as to get friendlier.
One who repents (upon a sin) is like the one who does not have a sin.
Silence is a gate from the gates of wisdom. Verily silence geuerates lone and it is a guide to all virtues.
Fulfill the rights of your relatives with as little as providing a drink of water. The best way of fulfilling the rights of relatives is to refrain from harming them.
Faith is one degree superior to islam, Piety is superior by one degree to faith, and certitude (conviction) is a station superior to piety. Nothing better has been bestowed upon human beings than certitude.

al-Ma'soomeen [ 1 ] .. [ 2 ] .. [ 3 ] .. [ 4 ]
Imam Ali al-Rida - Historical and Biographical Research .. [ 1 ] .. [ 2 ]
Imam Ali al-Rida, A Brief Look Into His Life
Imam al-Rida - His Distinctions and Characteristics
Imam Ali Al-Rida .. [ 1 ] .. [ 2 ] .. [ 3 ]
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