Nahj al-Balāgha

Nahj al-balāgha

The book Nahj al-Balāgha(or Nahjul Balāgha) is a compilation of the sermons, letters, and short sayings of Amīrul Mu’minīn Imam Ali (a) by Sayyid Abū al-Hasan al- Musawī, known as Sayyid al-Radī also referred as Sharīf al-Radī (AH 4th/10th CE century) and completed in Rajab 400 AH.

The Nahjul Balāgha does not contain all the sermons letters and sayings of Imam Ali (a). Al-Mas‘ūdī (d. 345/956) in his book Murūj al-dhahab says that the sermons of Imam Ali which have been preserved number more than 480.  Out of these Sayyid Radī could get only about 245 sermons. He also collected about 75 letters and more than 200 sayings.

Al-Radī was a great Arabic poet and a man of literature. His mother was Fātima, a descendant of Imam Ali Zaynul ‘Ābidīn (a). She was a pious and noble lady and at her request Shaykh al-Mufīd compiled the book Ahkām al-Nisā, which contains fiqhī rules for women. Imam’s sermons, letters and maxims inspired him. He thought that Nahj al-balagha (the pathway of rhetoric) would be an appropriate title of the compilation.

Almost all the sermons, letters and sayings collected in Nahjul Balāgha are found in books of authors who died before Sayyid al-Radī was born, while some are found in works of authors who were his contemporaries but were older to him. Ibn Abi al- Hadīd (d. 650/1253), a renowned commentator of Nahj al-Balāgha says about Imam Ali, ‘He (a) was the leader of eloquent ones and the master of rhetoric and about his speech, they say, ‘lower than the Creator’s words and above the creatures’ words’.

Shahīd Murtadhā Mutahharī said, ‘I treasure my acquaintance with Nahjul Balāgha as one of the most precious experiences of my life, which I would not exchange for anything.’

Nahjul Balāgha is the greatest literary and theological composition in Islam after the Holy Quran and the Sunnah . . . the words of Imam Ali (a) are considered to be the peak of Arabic eloquence (Ahlul-Bayt Assembly of America, 1986).