Muhammad Ali quotes:

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon - there are more Muhammads than anything else. When I joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, they gave me the most famous name because I was the champ.

The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters.

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

Terrorists are not following Islam. Killing people and blowing up people and dropping bombs in places and all this is not the way to spread the word of Islam. So people realize now that all Muslims are not terrorists.

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, 'The Intoxication of Life,' 'The Purpose of Life,' 'The Real Cause of Man's Distress,' 'The Journey to the Goal in Life,' and, one of my favorites, 'The Heart of Man.' They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.

Cassius Clay is a name that white people gave to my slave master. Now that I am free, that I don't belong anymore to anyone, that I'm not a slave anymore, I gave back their white name, and I chose a beautiful African one.

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.

I didn't want to submit to the army and then, on the day of judgment, have God say to me, 'Why did you do that?' This life is a trial, and you realize that what you do is going to be written down for Judgment Day.

God tries you in certain, certain ways. Some people are rich, and they believe in God. They lose the money, things get hard, they get weak and quit going to church. Quit serving God like they did.

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

Ever since I first came here in 1963 to fight Henry Cooper, I have loved the people of England.

I give thanks to God and to all the people in the U.K. who have supported me over the years.

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

The Nation of Islam's main focus was teaching black pride and self-awareness. Why should we keep trying to force ourselves into white restaurants and schools when white people didn't want us? Why not clean up our own neighborhoods and schools instead of trying to move out of them and into white people's neighborhoods?

I'm just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence.

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

No boxer in the history of boxing has had Parkinson's. There's no injury in my brain that suggests that the illness came from boxing.

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.

I'm no leader; I'm a little humble follower.

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.

The only thing that matters is submitting to the will of God.

No intelligent black man or black woman in his or her right black mind wants white boys and white girls coming to their homes to marry their black sons and daughters.

Old age is just a record of one's whole life.

All of us are so mixed. My great-grandfather was white.

When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.

I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.

It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.

White people just don't want their slaves to be free. That's the whole thing.

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.

Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.

You can't keep your mind on fighting when you're thinking about a woman. You can't keep your concentration. You feel like sleeping all the time.

I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.

Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can't talk. The man can't fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he's gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.

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.

The fact is, I was never too bright in school. I ain't ashamed of it, though. I mean, how much do school principals make a month?

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.

Often it isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the little pebble in your shoe.

When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

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."

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.

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

All black Americans have slave names. They have white names; names that the slave master has given to them.

If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.

The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world--Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon--there are more Muhammads than anything else.

Will be a divine fight, a holy war...Armageddon on a miniature scale.

I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'

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.

Whether it's boxing, basketball, or badminton, one must be ready to succeed before entering the arena...long before the lights come up.

Superman don't need no seat belt.

Maybe I was great in the ring, but outside of boxing, I'm just a brother like other people. I want to live a good life, serve God, help everybody I can. And one more thing. I'm still gonna find out who stole my bike when I was 12 years old in Louisville and I'm gonna whup him. That was a good bike.

I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.

The whites have always had the say in America. White people made Jesus white, angels white, the Last Supper white. If I threaten you, I'm blackmailing you. A black cat is bad luck. If you're put out of a club, you're blackballed. Angel's-food cake is white; devil's-food cake is black. Good guys in cowboy movies wear white hats. The bad guys always wore black hats.

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.

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.

Don't count the days, make the days count.

That computer was made in Alabama

When you saw me in the boxing ring fighting, it wasn't just so I could beat my opponent. My fighting had a purpose. I had to be successful in order to get people to listen to the things I had to say.

It's not bragging if you can back it up.

If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Put yourself out on a limb, sucka, like me! - young Cassius Clay to heavily favored thug Sonny Liston during the weigh in before Cassius wins his first title and changes his name to Muhammad Ali.

Every time I look in the mirror, I see that kid from Louisville, Kentucky, staring back at me. His name was Cassius Clay.

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.

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision.

If the culprits are Muslim, they have twisted the teachings of Islam. Whoever performed, or is behind, the terrorist attacks in the United States of America does not represent Islam. God is not behind assassins.

I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.

Who's gonna dare to be great?

I can drown a drink of water. I can kill a dead tree. Don't mess with Muhammad Ali.

Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.

Outrun the people who quit when they feel discomfort, outrun the people who stop because of despair, outrun the people who are delayed because of prejudice, outrun the people who surrender to failure, and outrun the opponent who loses sight of the goal. Because if you want to win, the will can never retire, the race can never stop, and faith can never weaken.

If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.

Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life.

I say get an education. Become an electrician, a mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer, anything but a fighter. In this trade, it's the managers that make the money and last the longest.

I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.

I'll tell you how I'd like to be remembered: As a black man who won the heavyweight title - Who has humorous and who never looked down on those who looked up to him - A man who stood for freedom, justice and equality - And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.

I try not to speak about all the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.

I'm a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I'm no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won't hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.

Fifty years old, 212 fights, and I'm still pretty.

A fighter can condition his body to go hard certain rounds, then to coast certain rounds.

I don't know how many millions I'll make, so I have to give some back to charity. God blesses me with the money, but only if I give some away.

Some people have special resources inside, and when God blesses you to have more than others, you have a responsibility to use it right

There is one hell of a difference between fighting in the ring and going to war in Vietnam.

They say actually every time I enter the ring, in a way, I`m going to the war. They say to me daily, you are a prized fighter, what`s the difference? And I like to say to those critics of the press and the others that there is one hell of a lot of difference in fighting in a ring and going to war in Vietnam.

It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.

Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God.

I predict that this will be the greatest book ever and it will sell more than any other book in history

I've never really resented hard work because I've always liked it. Up every morning for roadwork. Going to the gymnasium every day at 12 o'clock. I never change my pattern.

I hated the sight on TV of big, clumsy, lumbering heavyweights plodding, stalking each other like two Frankenstein monsters, clinging, slugging toe to toe. I knew I could do it better ... circle, dance, shuffle, hit and move ... make an art out of it.

His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.

Why do I want my wife to show off her panties when the wind blows? Horses show their behinds, and cows and mules, not humans

My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I am alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.

I am grateful for all my victories, but I am especially grateful for my losses, because they only made me work harder.

It's the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

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.

This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction.

When your mother dies, it really hurts. But with time, you get used to it. That's nature's way

If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I'll break the news: you never heard of them. Most of them ... can fight almost as good as I can. I'm just saying you never heard of them.

If America were in a just war I'd volunteer for the front line. I'd do the shuffling and win the war.

No black man wants a blue-eyed black child, and no white man wants a kinky-haired white child. Nature didn't mean it to be that way.

I don't look like no kiwi bird

You can go to Japan, China, all the European, African, Arab, and South American countries, and man, they know me. I can't name a nation where they don't know me.

Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise.

In Ali change creation faith growth hope humor life living Muhammad Ali transformation wonder If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.

I just give lip service to being the greatest. He was the greatest.

Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right.

I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road. I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. I am still learning.

No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.

Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?