Sermons from Nahjul Balagha

                O’ people, your bodies are together but your desires are divergent. Your talk softens the hard stones and your action attracts your enemy   towards you. You claim in your sittings that you would do this and that, but when fighting approaches, you say (to war), “turn thou away” (i.e. flee  away). If one calls […]

                So now, surely this world has turned its back and announced its departure while the next world has appeared forward and proclaimed its approach. Today is the day of preparation while tomorrow is the day of race. The place to proceed to is Paradise while the place of doom is Hell. Is there no

                Now then, surely jihád is one of the doors of Paradise, which Alláh has opened for His chief friends. It is the dress of piety and the protective armour of Alláh and His trustworthy shield. Whoever abandons it Alláh  covers him with the dress of disgrace and the clothes of distress. He is kicked

                Alláh sent Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) as a warner (against vice) for all the worlds and a trustee of His revelation, while you people of Arabia were following the worst religion and you resided among rough stones and venomous serpents. You drank dirty water and ate filthy food. You shed blood of each other and cared

and his own officers in Yemen namely `Ubaydulláh ibn `Abbás and Sa`íd ibn Nimrán came to him etreating after being overpowered by Busr ibn Abí Artát, he was much disturbed by the slackness of his own men in jihád and their difference with his opinion. Proceeding on to the pulpit he said:                 Nothing (is

                By my life there will be no regard for anyone nor slackening from me in fighting against one who opposes right or gropes in misguidance. O’ creatures of Alláh, fear Alláh and flee unto Alláh from His wrath (seek protection in His Mercy). Tread on the path He has laid down for you and

                Beware! Satan has certainly started instigating his forces and has collected his army in order that oppression may reach its extreme ends and wrong may come back to its position. By Alláh they have not put a correct blame on me, nor have they done justice between me and themselves.                 They are demanding

Your aim (reward or punishment) is before you. Behind your back is the hour (of resurrection) which is driving you on. Keep (yourself) light and overtake (the forward ones). Your last ones are being awaited by the first ones (who have preceded). as-Sayyid ar-Radí says: If this utterance of `Alí (p.b.u.h.) is weighed with any

If you could see that has been seen by those of you who have died, you would be puzzled and troubled. Then you would have listened and obeyed; but what they have seen is yet curtained off from you. Shortly, the curtain would be thrown off. You have been shown, provided you see and you

one of his comrades said on that occasion, “I wish my brother so-and-so had been present and he too would have seen what success and victory Alláh had given you,” whereupon Amír al-mu’minín said:     “Did your brother hold me friend?”     He said: “Yes,”     Then Amír al-mu’minín said:                 In that case he