Alone with the Alone

Quote No. 17 from Ali Ibn Abi Talib

On Virtue and Self-Mastery

فمن علامةِ أحدِهم... إنِ استصعبت عليهِ نفسُهُ فيما تكرهُ لم يُعطِها سؤلَها فيما تُحِب. يمزجُ الحلمَ بالعلمِ، والقولَ بالعمل. تراهُ قريبًا أملُهُ، قليلًا زللُهُ، خاشعًا قلبُهُ، قانعةً نفسُهُ، منزورًا أكلُهُ، سهلًا أمرُهُ، حريزًا دينُهُ، ميّتةً شهوتُهُ، مكظومًا غيظُه. الخيرُ منهُ مأمولٌ، والشرُّ منهُ مأمونٌ. يعفو عمّن ظلمهُ، ويُعطي من حرمهُ، ويصلُ من قطعه.

The pious person does not grant their soul what it desires, even when it resists. They blend forbear- ance with knowledge, and words with deeds. You see them with grounded hopes, few stumbles, a humble heart, a contented soul; sparse in their eat- ing, easy in their manner, steadfast in their faith; their desires extinguished, their anger suppressed. Good is expected from them, evil is never feared from them. They pardon those who wrong them, give to those who deprive them, and reach out to those who shun them.

No. 17

These quotes come from Alone with the Alone, a 264-page bilingual hardcover of 113 quotes from Ali Ibn Abi Talib, with footnotes and an afterword.

See the book