Nahj al-Balaghah — sermons, letters and sayings

Nahj al-Balaghah

The sermons, letters and sayings attributed to Imam Ali, read from the published Shia library edition with the Arabic and the published English translation side by side.

Sermons1191 Letters450 Sayings619

Topical chapters

Amīr al-mu’minīn's wisdom on knowledge and virtue 11 True meaning of istighfār in Islam 9 Four pillars of faith and unbelief 8 Believer's anger leads to separation 6 Hypocrisy and spiritual negligence in religious practice 5 Contentment as inexhaustible wealth 4 Amir al-mu'minīn's nocturnal reflections on asceticism 4 Discerning right from wrong in leadership 4 Endurance and divine recompense in grief 4 Divine sustenance and accountability parallels 4 Self-reflection and contentment in Islamic teachings 4 Ali's counsel on restraining lustful gazes 4 Critique of worldliness and its transient nature 3 Ali's lament over his people's disobedience 3 Caliph 'Umar's deliberation on Ka'bah ornaments 3 Exemplary virtues of a devout brother-in-faith 3

Numbers below are this edition's record sequence. Short sayings and long sermons are both split into records, so a sequence number is not the printed sermon, letter or saying number.

Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation

6 passages

Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#614
٤٨٠. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): إِذَا احْتَشَمَ الْمُؤْمِنُ أَخَاهُ فَقَدْ فَارَقَهُ.
480. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: If a believer enrages (iḥtashama) his brother, it means that he leaves him.
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Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#615
قال السيد الرضي: يقال: حشمه وأحشمه: إذا أغضبه، وقيل: أخجله، واحتشمه: طلب ذلك له، وهو مَظِنّة مفارقته.
as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: It is said “ḥashamahu” or “aḥshamahu” to mean “He enraged him”. According to another view it means “He humiliated him”. While “iḥtashamahu” means “He sought these for him”, and that is most likely to cause him to separate.
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Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#616
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Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#617
وهذا حين انتهاء الغاية بنا إلى قطع المختار من كلام أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام، حامدين للّه سبحانه على ما منّ به من توفيقنا لضم ما انتشر من أطرافه، و تقريب ما بعد من أقطاره. وتقرر العزم كما شرطنا أولا على تفضيل أوراق من البياض في آخر كل باب من الأبواب، ليكون لاقتناص الشارد، واستلحاق الوارد، وما عسى أن يظهر لنا بعد الغموض، ويقع إلينا بعد الشذوذ، وما توفيقنا إلا باللّه عليه توكلنا، وهو حسبنا ونعم الوكيل.
This is the end of our selection of the utterances of Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, We are praiseful to Allāh, the Glorified, for having enabled us to collect the scattered utterances from various sides and to bring together from different places the material that was lying far away. We intend, as we stipulated in the beginning, to leave some blank pages at the end of every chapter for the insertion of whatever we may get and the addition of whatever comes to us, for it is possible that some material which is not in our view at present or which is not available may become known to us and fall in our hands. We have no ability save through Allāh. In Him we trust, and He is Sufficient for us. He is the best Supporter.
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Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#618
وذلك في رجب سنة أربع مائة من الهجرة،
This book was completed in the month of Rajab, in the year 400 A.H.
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Sayings · Believer's anger leads to separation#619
وصلى اللّه على سيدنا محمد خاتم الرسل، والهادي إلى خير السبل، وآله الطاهرين، وأصحابه نجوم اليقين.
May Allāh send blessings on our master Muḥammad the last of the prophets who guided us towards the best path, and his chaste descendants and his companions who are the stars of conviction.
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