The Sayings And Preaching of Al-Imam Ali (p.b.u.h)
Hadith n. 235
235. It was said to Amir a’-mu’minin, peace be upon him: Describe the wise to us; and he said: The wise is one who places things in their proper positions. Then, he was asked: Describe the ignorant to us; and he said: I have already done so.
As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: The meaning is that the ignorant is one who does not place things in their proper positions. In this way, Amir al-mu’minin’s abstention from describing was a way of describing him because the attributes of the ignorant are the opposite of the wise.
Hadith n. 236
236. Amir al-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: By Allah, this world of yours is more lowly in my view than the (left over) bone of a pig in the hand of a leper.
Hadith n. 237
237. Amir al-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: A group of people worshipped Allah out of desire for reward surely, this is the worship of traders. Another group worshipped Allah out of fear; this is the worship of slaves. Still another group worshipped Allah out of gratefulness; this is the worship of free men.
Hadith n. 238
238. Amir a’-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: Woman is evil, all in all; and the worst of it is that one cannot do without her.
Hadith n. 239
239. Amir a’-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: He who is a sluggard loses his rights and he who believes in the backbiter loses his friend.
Hadith n. 240
240. Amir al-mu’minin, peace be. upon him, said: One ill-gotten piece of stone in a house is a guarantee for its ruin.
As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: In one tradition this saying is attributed to the Prophet. It is no wonder that the two sayings should resemble each other because they are driven from the same source and dispersed through the same means.
Hadith n. 241
241. Amir al-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: The day of the oppressed over the oppressor will be severer than the day of the oppressor over the oppressed. 57
Source: https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-2-letters-and-sayings
