Imam ‘Ali’s First Treatise On The Islamic Ethics And Education

Author: Zainol Aabideen Qorbani Lahiji

Translator: Mahmud Farrokhpey

Publisher: Ansariyan Publications - Qum

In this book, the author first discusses what ethics essentially is, and the views of various philosophers and schools of thought on it. After explaining the defects of these philosophies, he presents the view of Imam Ali [a] on ethics as derived from a lengthy treatise that he composed.

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Chapters

  1. Preface
  2. A Commentary On Imam ‘Ali's Will To His Son Imam Hasan (as)
  3. The Fourteen Attributes of Imam ‘Ali's Son
  4. 1) My Son, I recommend you to God-wariness
  5. 2) Fulfilment of God's Commands
  6. 3) Inhabit your Heart with God's Remembrance
  7. 4) Adherence to His Cord
  8. 5) Enliven Your Heart with Exhortation
  9. 6) Cause your heart to die through asceticism
  10. 7) Strengthen Your Heart With Certainty
  11. 8) Illuminate your heart with Wisdom
  12. 9) Make your heart submissive with the remembrance of Death
  13. 10) Make your heart acknowledge its mortality
  14. 11) Cause your heart to perceive the calamities of this world
  15. 12) Warn your heart of the assault of time and the evil inconstancy of the nights and days
  16. 13) Present to your heart the reports of the past ones, and remember that you will soon become one of them
  17. 14) Therefore, set right your place of rest and do not sell your Hereafter for your world.
  18. 15) Do not talk about what you do not know or speak about what is not required of you.
  19. 16) Keep away from a path if you fear it will lead you astray, for holding back from the perplexity of misguidance is better than encountering terrifying events
  20. 17. Bid Others to do Good and Reject Evil
  21. 18) Become Learned in Religion
  22. 19) Habituate yourself to patient endurance in afflictions
  23. 20) Commit your self in all your affairs to your God, for you will thus be committing it to a secure Cave and a mighty Protector.
  24. 21. Be sincere in your asking from your Lord, for in His hand is the bestowal and refusal, and ask God frequently for the best.
  25. 22) Understand my testament and do not disregard it, for indeed the best speech is that which is is beneficial.
  26. 23) Know that there is no good in knowledge that is not beneficial, and knowledge that is not worthy of acquisition is not beneficial
  27. 24) Contemplation of Past Nations and Their Actions
  28. 25) God Wariness And Knowledge
  29. 26) Everything is From Allah And Allah Will Return
  30. 27) Take the Prophet as your Guide and Islam as your Religion
  31. 28) The Perilous Road to Doomsday
  32. 29) Supplication and Its Importance
  33. 30) This World is only the path for the Hereafter, so remember Death frequently
  34. 31) Preserve Yourself from the Greedness of this World and remain Free
  35. 32) Silence and Moderation
  36. 33) The Delicate Tasks of a Man towards His Friend
  37. 34) Kinds of Sustenance
  38. 35) Beware of who you consult with
  39. 36) The Last Three Advices of Imam ‘Ali’s Letter

First published on al-islam.org.

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