Imam Ali (a.s)

Today marks the day when Imam Ali​ was mortally wounded due to a blow to a head  by another (so) called Muslim while he was leading the morning prayer at a mosque in Kufa. Imam Ali is widely recognized by most Sufi orders as the father of Sufism, by all Muslims as the fourth Caliph of the Muslim umma and by the Shia's as the father of Ithna Ashri sect of Islam (Shiaism).
To me personally, his words are the inspiration behind my faith in God, behind the work I do and behind how I should live my life. There are thousands of his sayings that one could quote but for some reason the one that springs to mind right now is from the letter he wrote to his appointed Governor of Egypt in which while instructing him on how to rule, he says:

Remember your subjects are only of two types "Either your brother in faith, or your equal in humanity".

The sad part is that people all over the world especially Muslims today, have forgotten the latter part of this statement. I hope I never forget it though. I hope I always remember that no matter how different someone might be from me, no matter what the color of their skin might be, no mater what they might believe or not believe in, no matter how poor or rich they might be, I always treat them as my equal in humanity.