The sermon of ‘Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, called the Sermon of Means and Connections — Hadith 1

tify that there is no God but Allah (azwj), One, with no Associates for Himself (azwj), and I (asws) testify that Muhammad (saww) is His (azwj) servant and His (azwj) Messenger. These two testimonies elevate the words and increase the deeds. Light is the Scale from which these two are raised from, and heavy is the Scale on which these two are placed. And by these two is the victory of the Paradise, and the salvation from the Fire, and the Permission upon the (crossing of) the Bridge. And it is by the testimony that you will be entering the Paradise, and by the Prayers that you will be consuming the Mercy. Send the greetings frequently upon your Prophet (saww) “[33: 56] Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe! call for (Divine) blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation”. O you people! There is no nobility higher than, nor a prestige more honourable than the piety, nor a stronghold better than devoutness, nor an intercessor more excellent than repentance, nor a robe more majestic than good health, nor a protection more secure than safety, nor a wealth better at dispelling poverty than contentment with conviction/cetainity, nor a treasure more enriching than being satisfied. And the one lives at the subsistence level and the reduction in comfort, so he has made the preparations for the rest, and the desires is the key to the fatigue, and the monopolisation follows from affliction, and the jealousy is a scourge on the Religion, and the greed is an invitation to the indulgence in the sins and the reason for the deprivation, and the transgression is a driver to the destruction, and greed gathers all the defects. Perhaps a failed greed, a false hope leads to the dispossession and a business trade to incur a loss. The one who gets involved in the matters without looking at the consequences will be exposed to misfortunes, and the most evil of the collars (humiliation) for a Believer is the sin. O you people! There is no treasure more beneficial than the knowledge, and no honour higher than the forbearance, and no nobility more eloquent than the ethics, and no affliction greater than anger, and no majesty more decorative than the intellect, and nothing is more disgraceful than the lies, and no protection safer than silence, and no absentee which is nearer than the death. O you people! The one who looks at his own faults will be too pre-occupied to look at the faults of the others, and the one who is contented with the sustenance of Allah (azwj) will not despair upon what is in the hands of t