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

he others, and the one who unsheathes the sword of rebellion will be killed by it, and the one who drills a pit for his brother will fall into it himself, and the one who discloses the veiled (privacy) of others will uncover the privacy of his own house, and the one who forgets his own mistakes will magnify the mistakes of the others, and the one who wonders at his own opinion will go astray, and the one who considers himself to be needless due to his intellect will make mistakes, and the one who is arrogant to the people will be humiliated, and the one who is a fool to the people will be hated, and the one who mixes with the villains will be degraded, and the one who burdens himself with what he cannot endure will be frustrated. O you people! There is no wealth more valuable than the intellect, and no poverty which is more intense than the ignorance, and no preacher which is more profound than the sound advice, and no reasoning like the contemplation, and no worship like the pondering, and no demonstration more reliable than the consultation, and no isolation more severe than the self-conceit, nor piety like refraining from the Prohibitions, and no forbearance like patience and silence. O you people! In the human being there are ten qualities, which are revealed by his tongue and becomes witness to his hidden thoughts, it is a ruler by which he decides between what to be said, and the words by which he returns the answer, and an intercessor (limbs) by which he achieves the needs, and a describer (senses) by which he recognises the things, and a commander (decision) by which he commands for the good, and a preacher by which he prohibits from the ugly (deeds), and a consoler by which he gives solace to the sorrows, and a conscious by which he clears the malice, and an articulator by which he gives pleasure to the ears. O you people! There is no good in keeping silent about the ‘الْحُكْمِ’ (the Command) just as there is no good in speaking out of ignorance. And know, O you people, that the one who does not control his tongue will regret, and the one who does not learn will be ignorant, and the one who does not forbear will not content, and the one who is not deterred does not learn, and the one who does not know is insulted, and the one who is insulted is not respected, and the one who is not respected is taunted, and the one who acquires wealth from where he has no right to do so will spend it extravagantly in other that the right way, and the one who does not desist when he is praised will desist when he is condemned, and th