5. The ideas in this sermon are strongly influenced by the Holy

Quran and the words of the Messenger (g), and they are strongly connected to human life, with deep, sublime and comprehensive meanings. He excelled in choosing words and

'Ali ibn Abi Tirlib putting sentences together, speaking briefly and using images to express meaning. In conclusion, this speech has a special importance because of what it contains of religious, literary and personal references. It represents a powerful indication of the character of its author, Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ihn Ahi mib (&I. It tells of his sound understanding of Islamic concepts that deal with the nature of this world, the goal of human existence and the ultimate destination of humanity. This speech explains the conclusions that Amir al-Mu'miueen 'Ali ibn Ahi T2ib (&) reached concerning that, and it tells us of the deep insight that he had. This is supported by his clarity of mind and purity of heart, in addition to other sublime spiritual and intellectual qualities that were granted to him as a result of his piety, his adherence to the teachings of Islam, his relying on his Lord and his feeling content with His decree. All of that helped him to attain this high literaq level in this piece of prose. Thus in the field of literature, he was indeed a knight of the word and a leader of literary expression, as he was a just and ascetic leader, a wise and experienced rnler, and a knight whom no one could resist.379 Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) , . paid attention to making use of different occasions to exhort and remind the people; he did not limit it to Friday sermons only. When he walked with the funeral procession and heard the voices of the bereaved family raised in weeping as the body was placed in the niche in the grave, he would say: "Why are you weeping? By Allah, if they could see what your deceased one is seeing, they would be distracted from their deceased one by what they see. Death will come back again and again, until none of them is left. So fear Allah, 0 slaves of Allah, and strive hard in righteous deeds. Hasten to do good deeds before death, the destroyer of pleasures, comes. The pleasures of this world will not last, and you cannot feel secure against the calamities of this world, for it is The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way of 1ij"e fleeting and deceitful and cannot be relied on. Learn the lessons, 0 slaves of Allah, and heed the exhortation, for soon you will die and will be buried. Soon the Tnunpet will be blown, and the occupants of the graves will be raised and driven to the arena of gathering for the Reckoning. Everything is under the control of the Almighty. Every person will have an angel to drive him and an angel to bear witness to his deeds. $And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord [Allah], when He will come to judge among men, and the Book will he placed [open], and the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward, and it will be judged between them with truth, and they will not be wronged.) (Quran 39: 69) " From this exhortation, we notice the following ways of how to make a speech have an impact: