Imam Ali’s Sayings on Wealth and Riches
Wealth honours its possessor in this world and abases him in front of Allah the Glorified.
Wealth honours its possessor as long as he spends it and abases him when he is miserly with it.
Wealth and children are the ornaments of this worldly life while good actions is the tillage of the Hereafter.
Wealth elevates its possessor in this world but lowers him in the Hereafter.
Wealth is a burden for its possessor except that which he sends ahead from it [for the hereafter].
Wealth is the tribulation of the soul and the plunder of calamities.
Wealth is reduced by spending [it] whereas knowledge grows when it is given away [and shared with others].
Hold on to wealth according to the extent of your need, and forward the rest for the day of your indegence.
Beware of reserving for yourselv (or concealing) that which all the people have an equal right to and turning a blind eye to what is manifest for the onlookers otherwise it will surely be taken from you and given to someone else.
The best wealth is that by which the freeman becomes enthralled.
The best of all wealth is that by which men become enthralled.
The purest wealth is that which has been earned by its lawful means.
The most beneficial wealth is that by which the obligatory is fulfilled.
The purest wealth is that with which the Hereafter is bought.
The best wealth is that with which the Hereafter is bought.
The best wealth is that which has been earned by its lawful means.
The best wealth is that which has the best effect upon you.
The best wealth is that by which the rights [of others] are fulfilled.
Verily your wealth is for the one who praises you in your lifetime and the one who vilifies you after your death.
Verily a person comes to that which he has sent forward [of his good deeds] and regrets [about]that which he has left behind.
Verily Allah, the Glorified, has ordained the provisions of he poor in the wealth of the rich, so no poor person goes hungry but because of the withholding of he rich, and Allah will question them about this.
Surely the person with the greatest regret on the Day of resurrection will be the man who earns wealth without obeying [the commandments of] Allah then a man inherits his wealth and spends it in obedience to Allah and through it enters Paradise whereas the first one enters Hell because of it.
Verily when a man dies people say: What has he left behind? while the angels say: What has he sent forward? Your forefathers are for Allah!Send some of your wealth forward, so that it may be a provision for you [in the Hereafter], and do not leave all of it behind such that it becomes a [heavy] burden on you.
