Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 357
2.1.11. Focusing on knowledge is better
than focusing on voluntary worship
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&>) said: "The scholar is superior to
the one who fasts and prays at night and strives in jihad. When the
scholar dies, a gap appears in the fortress of Islam unless another
scholar takes his place."'73 This advice is indicative of 'Ali's deep
understanding of priorities, because he thought that effort that goes
beyond oneself to benefit other people, which is knowledge, should
take precedence over efforts in worship, which only benefit the
individual himself.
This is some of the good advice given by Amir al-Mu'mineen
'Ali (&) to the seekers of knowledge.
2.2. The asceticism and piety of
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&)
From living the noble Qur'an, staying close to the Prophet (g)
and keeping company with the noble Companions, and from the way
he viewed this life, Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T2lib (&)
understood that this world is the realm of trials and tests. Amir al-
Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) was raised with the Book of Allah, and he
understood the verses that speak of this world and tell us that it is
insignificant and temporary in nature and that it will qnickly come to
an end, as well as the verses that encourage people to focus on the
hereafter and that tell of its honour and eternal reward, such as the
verse in which Allah (&) says:
4And put forward to them the example of the life of this world: it is
like the water [rain] which We send down from the sky, and the
vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green.
But [later] it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter.
And Allah is Able to do everything. Wealth and children are the