A Treasury of Virtues - Sayings of the Caliph 'Ali

A Treasury of Virtues – Sayings of the Caliph ‘Ali

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40 H/661 AD) was one of the most important figures in early Islamic history. The cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, he would become the fourth Caliph in the year 656. However, his reign was marked with internal division among the Muslim community, and in the year 661 he was assassinated by a former follower.

In the following centuries the sayings and sermons attributed to ‘Ali were collected by various Islamic scholars. A Treasury of Virtues is one of the largest collections, created in te 11th century by the Fatimid judge al-Qudaʿi. Hundreds of sayings are included here, which deal with a wide range of topics. Here are a few selected portions:

You can read a full edition of this work in A Treasury of Virtues: Sayings, Sermons, and Teachings of Ali, with the One Hundred Proverbs, attributed to al-Jahiz, edited and Translated by Tahera Qutbuddin and published in 2013 by New York University Press. Tahera Qutbuddin is the Associate Professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Chicago. To learn more about this book, please read her interview with the Library of Arabic Literature.