Muhammad Ali has left this world. A poet, a civil rights champion, a proud Muslim and, oh yes, “The Greatest” heavyweight boxer of all time, Ali was also revered for his quick wit and outspokenness, which made him an oft-quoted public figure.
“I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him… who stood up for his beliefs… who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love,” he once said.
“And if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.”
After a decades-long fight with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali died Friday in a hospital in Arizona, U.S., after being admitted for respiratory problems. He leaves behind nine children.
I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.
If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.
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.
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
The man who has no imagination has no wings.
Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
I’d rather be punished here in this life than the hereafter.
Don’t count the days; make the days count.
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.
Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.
Life is short; we get old so fast. It doesn’t make sense to waste time on hating.
I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.
Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.
I am Muhammad Ali, a free name – it means beloved of God – and I insist people use it when speaking to me and of me.
What’s really hurting me – the name Islam is involved, and Muslim is involved and causing trouble and starting hate and violence. Islam is not a killer religion, Islam means peace. I couldn’t just sit home and watch people label Muslims as the reason for this problem. (Referring to 9/11)
Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams — they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do — they all contain truths.
God’s got me here for something. I can feel it. I was born for everything that I’m doing now.
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.
Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
My principles are more important than the money or my title.
I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.
Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.
I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way, but if I have changed even one life for the better, I haven’t lived in vain.
WE SAID THIS: May he rest in peace.