Tradition

"إِتَّعِظُوا بِمَنْ كانَ قَبْلَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَتَّعِظَ بِكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدَكُمْ"

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “Take lesson from your predecessors before those who proceed you take lesson from you.”1

Brief Commentary

History is full of lessons for humankind. It is full of guidance, words of wisdom, and good counsel. It is also full of examples of oppression, controversy, disunity, civilizational decline, and a lack of awareness toward one’s environment and time period. In the midst of all this, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is telling us to take lesson and guidance from the people who lived before us and not allow ourselves to become a lesson on how things should not be done by those who will come after us. Life will quickly pass us by and we must take advantage of the time that we have on this earth.

• 1. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 31.