They were not granted their portions because of intellect when the lots were cast; rather, they received them by divine decree. (1)

How many a cultured, discerning man finds no help, while a dolt attains his worldly share with little effort!
If sustenance were gained through strength or by overpowering others, the hawks would fly off with the provision of the sparrows.

Al-Asmaʿī said: Salamah ibn Bilāl narrated to us, from Mujālid, from al-Shaʿbī, who said: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said to a man whose companionship with another he disapproved of (2):

Do not befriend the brother of ignorance; beware of him—and of yourself with him.
For how many an ignorant man has brought ruin upon a forbearing one once they became companions.
A person is measured by the one he keeps company with; whenever a man mirrors another, comparison is inevitable.
Everything is gauged against its like—there are standards and counterparts for every thing.
And one heart signals to another the moment they meet.

Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ narrated, from his father, who said: ʿAlī stood beside Fāṭimah’s grave and recited (3):

I remembered Abā Arwā, and I spent the night as though appointed to ward off bygone cares. (4)
For every meeting of two dear friends there is a separation, and all that precedes death is but little.
My losing one companion after another (5) is proof that no friend endures forever.
People will turn away from my memory, my affection will be forgotten, and after me a new friend will arise (6) for the one who was once my friend. (7)
When the span of my life is cut short one day, the lament of the mourners will be of scant avail. (8)

Someone also recited, attributing it to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—(9):

He who is destined to die has every reason to be humble,
And a modest portion of sustenance is enough of this world for any man.
Why, then, does a person rise each morning laden with worries
And with a greed no description can ever satisfy?