“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
1. Know your enemy and know yourself. This is the most important lesson in The Art of War. If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.
2. Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak. This is a lesson about deception. By appearing weak when you are strong, you can trick your enemy into underestimating you.
3. Attack where the enemy is unprepared. This is a lesson about surprise. By attacking where the enemy is unprepared, you can gain an advantage.
4. Make use of spies. Spies can provide you with valuable information about your enemy.
5. Use terrain to your advantage. The terrain can be a powerful tool in battle. By understanding the terrain, you can use it to your advantage.
6. Be flexible. The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. You need to be flexible in order to adapt to these changes.
7. Concentrate your forces. Don’t spread your forces too thin. Instead, concentrate your forces on a single point of attack.
8. Strike at the enemy’s heart. The heart of the enemy is their will to fight. If you can break the enemy’s will to fight, you will win the battle.
9. Use deception. Deception is a powerful tool in war. By deceiving your enemy, you can gain an advantage.
10. Know when to retreat. Sometimes, the best course of action is to retreat. By retreating, you can preserve your forces for future battles.
These are just a few of the many lessons that can be learned from The Art of War. This book is a classic for a reason. It is full of wisdom that can be applied to all aspects of life, not just war.
Hazrat Ali (AS) once replied to a group of ten learned men who said, ‘We seek your permission for our putting a question to you.’
Hazrat Ali (AS) replied, ‘You are at perfect liberty.’
They said, ‘of knowledge and wealth, which is better and why. Please give a separate answer to each of us
Hazrat Ali (AS) answered in ten parts:
Knowledge is the legacy of the Prophets; wealth is the inheritance of the Pharaohs. Therefore, knowledge is better than wealth
You are to guard your wealth but knowledge guards you. Therefore, knowledge is better.
A man of wealth has many enemies, while a man of knowledge has many friends. Hence, knowledge is better.
Knowledge is better because it increases with distribution, while wealth decreases by that act.
Knowledge is better because a learned man is apt to be generous while a wealthy person is apt to be miserly.
Knowledge is better because it cannot be stolen while wealth can be stolen.
Knowledge is better because time cannot harm knowledge but wealth rusts in course of time and wears away.
Knowledge is better because it is boundless while wealth is limited and you can keep account of it.
Knowledge is better because it illuminates the mind while wealth is apt to blacken it.
Knowledge is better because knowledge induced the humanity in our Prophet to say to GOD ‘we worship thee as we are your servants,’ while wealth engendered in Pharaoh and Nimrod the vanity which made them claim godhead.
