Muhammad Ali Quotes

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.

Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.

(On the Day of Judgment, a group would be seen in the most excellent and honourable of states. They would be asked if they were of the Angels or of the Prophets. In reply they would state): "We are‑neither Angels nor Prophets but of the indigent ones from the ummah of Muhammad (S.A.W.)". They would then be asked: "How then did you achieve this lofty and honourable status?" They would reply: "We did not perform very many good deeds nor did we pass all the days in a state of fasting or all the nights in a state of worship but yes, we used to offer our (daily) prayers (regularly) and whenever we used to hear the mention of Muhammad (S.A.W.), tears would roll down our cheeks".

You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.

It is better for any of you to carry a load of firewood on his own back than to beg from someone else.

Allah's Apostle said, "Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords."

Ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took me by the shoulder and said, "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller on the road."

If a person abandons his prayer such that he neither desires its rewards nor fears its chastisement, for such a person I do not care if he dies a Jew, a Christian or a Magian.

One version has, "Who is fearful of Allah and spares people from his evil."

Last night I had a dream, When I got to Africa,
I had one hell of a rumble.
I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first,
For claiming to be King of the Jungle.
For this fight, I’ve wrestled with alligators,
I’ve tussled with a whale.
I done handcuffed lightning
And throw thunder in jail.
You know I’m bad. just last week, I murdered a rock,
Injured a stone, Hospitalized a brick.
I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.
I’m so fast, man,
I can run through a hurricane and don't get wet.
When George Foreman meets me,
He’ll pay his debt.
I can drown the drink of water, and kill a dead tree.
Wait till you see Muhammad Ali.

I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.

Ibn 'Umar said, "When we used to give allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to hear and obey, he would say to us, 'In so far as you are able.'"

'Adi ibn Hatim reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even if with only half a date. If you cannot manage even that, then with a good word."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The very poor man is not the one who goes around to people to ask for a bite or two to eat or a date or two, but the one who does not have enough for himself but is too shy to ask so that he is given sadaqa - or does not beg from people importunately."

All kinds of things set us back, but life goes on. You don’t shoot yourself. Soon this will be old news. People got lives to live, bills to pay, mouths to feed. Maybe a plane will go down with ninety people on it. Or a great man will be assassinated. That will be more important than Ali losing. I never wanted to lose, never thought I would, but the thing that matters is how you lose. I’m not crying. My friends should not cry.