The compiler of this book is Sayyid-e Radhī, Abul-Hasan Muhammad son of Husein Mūsawī (359-406 Hegira).This noble book contains premium sermons, letters, and aphorisms of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (Master of the Faithful) & Amir-ul-Bayān (Proficient of Rhetoric), i.e. Imām Alī son of Abī-Tālib (A.S.), which have been stated by His Holiness on various occasions, or written to different people.
The Holy Prophet of Islam (S.A.) left behind himself two precious things for humankind, the Holy Qur'ān and Itrat (Ahl-ul-Bayt, or infallible Household of the Holy Prophet S.A). Among the Ahl-ul-Bayt, Amir-ul-Mu'menīn Alī (A.S.) enjoys a specific position, since the Holy Qur'ān has introduced him as the very soul (Nafs) of the Holy Prophet (S.A.); and his virtues and merits are countless.
A distinguished feature of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.), which neither friends nor foes can deny, is the significant eloquence, fluency and brilliant decorum in his speech, and his prominent rhetorical capability.
First, its matchless rhetorical beauty, eloquence, and consistency, which turns it into wonderful words that are called superior to the words of human, and inferior to the words of Creator', and second is its wonderful impression and influence which affects everyone even after passing fourteen centuries.
In order to recognize the value of Nahj-ul-Balāghah it would be sufficient to know that it is called Akh-ul-Qur'ān (the brother of Holy Qur'ān): the Holy Qur'ān in several cases has challenged the opponents and infidels to bring forward a single equivalent or parallel verse to that of Qur'ān if they could! The same fact is applicable to Nahj-ul-Balāghah because Nahj-ul-Balāghah also implicitly calls the rivals to present a comparable text if they could.
Nahj-ul-Balāghah is such a noble book that the greatest eloquent lecturers throughout the history have been proud of taking advantage of it.
However, Nahj-ul-Balāghah is a book, which is not only placed at the peak of eloquence, but also its contents and essence is second to the Holy Qur'ān.
In his introduction to Nahj-ul-Balāghah, Sayyid-e Radhī (may Allah bless his soul) has stated: "Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) has uttered words and sermons in very many subjects and branches. When someone studies the words of His Holiness on a specific subject, he gets an impression that such comments belong to a person who undoubtedly spent his entire life just in that particular field. For example, when Imām Alī (A.S.) speaks of piety, it strikes the mind that he has been a man who has spent his life in an isolated nook of a mountain, far from people, and had nothing to do but prayer and worship. No one would believe that these words are the words of the same person who conducted those braveries in the holy wars, beheaded the tyrannical rebellions, and killed the heroes of disbelievers; but at the same time he is the most pious and most upright man on the earth. These are surprising features of an extraordinary man who has been able to gather round all these incongruous characteristics in one single being."
Due to the high dignity and nobility of Imām Alī (A.S.) and the attractiveness of his words, since the 1st century Hegira his disciples and companions tried to collect and keep the sermons of His Holiness, and transfer them to the next generations. In the meantime, a group decided to preserve such a precious treasure by writing them down, and therefore some pamphlets and books were left for the generations to come. As a result, there were approximately 120 different books before compilation of Nahj-ul-Balāghah, all or parts of which had been allocated to the valuable words of Imām Alī (A.S.). The first person who collected the words of His Holiness in a volume was his disciple Zayd son of Wahab' (died in 96 Hegira). This book was named as Khutab-e Amir-ul-Mu'menīn A.S. (Sermons of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn). After him, dignitaries such as Nasr son of Muzāhim (died in 202 Hegira), Ismā'īl son of Mehrān (died in 200 Hegira), Wāqidī (died in 207 Hegira), and Mus'adah son of Sadaqah are those who have presented some works in this field.
Who is Sayyid-e Radhī?
The most important and most well known available collection of words of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) is Nahj-ul-Balāghah, which is compiled by Sayyid-e Radhī. He was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of his age, and further he was measured as an outstanding poet and a brilliant man of letters. He was born in 359 Hegira in Baghdād, and died in 406 Hegira in the same city. His body was buried in the vicinity of the holy shrine of Kāzimayn (Imām Kazim & Imam Jawād A.S.) near Baghdād.
There are some basic incentives for compilation of Nahj-ul-Balāghah in the 4th century Hegira. Thanks to the tendency and efforts of Shi'as in recording and safeguarding the words of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.), the most lasting piece of works in this regard was formed in the 4th century. Hereunder are mentioned some factors and causes in this regard:
* Ghaybat-e Kubrā (major occultation of Imām-e Asr Mahdī, may Allāh hasten his reappearance) started in the 4th century, and Shi'as who were encountered with occultation of their Imām, decided to take actions for preservation of precious treasure and glorious patrimony of their infallible Imāms (A.S.) in order to restore and promulgate their school of thought and withstand the storms of events.
The movement of Shi'as in that era was so significant that the 4th century Hegira is known as the century of compilation, translation, and codification of Islamic books. In that era lots of Islamic seminaries (Hawzah Ilmīyyah) were established in the Islamic countries and great Ulamā (Islamic scholars) made their utmost efforts to train competent scholars and promulgate the knowledge of Ahl-ul-Bayt (A.S.).
* The 4th century was the time of formation of the first Shi'a government in the world of Islam. Āl-e Būyeh, a Shi'a dynasty, conquered Baghdād in 334 Hegira, and the Shi'a scholars with their utmost effort got the opportunity to publicize the Shi'a thought. Under the patronage of these governments Shi'a Muslims could abandon their isolation and freely declare their ideas and religious prescripts.
* The 4th century was the age of literary and poetical prosperity, and Sayyid-e Radhī was among the renowned and outstanding figures of the same period. During the 4th century, the number of libraries grew and flourished. The library of Sayyid-e Murtadhā in Baghdād by itself contained 80,000 books. Dār-ul-Hikmah library in Baghdād was complete with 10,000 exquisite manuscripts and thousands of various books. The emancipation of Shi'a was to the extent that about 80,000 people took part in the funeral ceremony of Sheikh-e Mufīd (the mentor and distinguished teacher of Sayyid-e Radhī), a number that had no precedence up to that time.
The abovementioned conditions discloses the very favorable situation for Sayyid-e Radhī to offer the most important and lasting book of Shi'a - after the Holy Qur'ān. Sayyid-e Radhī with an extreme care and tolerance compiled Nahj-ul-Balāghah by using the valuable resources on hand.
Sayyid-e Radhī in the preface of Nahj-ul-Balāghah declares his incentive as follows:
" When I was young, I began to compile a book about characteristics of the infallible Imams (A.S.) to prepare an anthology of selected stories and sayings of those great luminaries. When I finished collection of characteristics of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.), some difficulties prevented me to complete the work. At the very last chapter of that book I had mentioned aphorisms of Imām Alī (A.S.) but no sermons or long letters of His Holiness were mentioned therein.
When some of my friends saw this very chapter of my book, they found it very interesting and asked me to compile another book particularly on precious words and sayings of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn(A.S.) in different subjects.
Lack of such a collection made me to start the compilation of this great book and named it Nahj-ul-Balāghah."
Why Nahj-ul-Balāghah??
The reason why Sayyid Rdhī named his book Nahj-ul-Balāghah is indicated in the preface of the book. Sayyid-e Radhī, as a competent poet and literary man, recognized the miraculous eloquence, fluency and decorum in Amir-ul-Mu'menīn's words, and decided to prove the glory of His Holiness in this aspect along with all his other virtues. By compilation of this book, Sayyid-e Radhī provided evidence that Imām Ali (A.S.) is the sole contender and torchbearer of battlefields, pioneer in politics, master of piety and worship, and the very first and most exalted Muslim, who reached the apogee of eloquence and literature, and was in such a position that no other human being had been able to achieve that miraculous position (of course, the Holy Prophet of Islam S.A. whom Imām Ali A.S. is his soul is an exception in this regard).
Since the purpose of Sayyid-e Radhī was to prove the literary sublimity of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.), hence he chose the name of Nahj-ul-Balāghah, which means the bright way of eloquence'. That's why Sayyid-e Radhī has disregarded any thematic order in this book, and in many cases has just extracted some parts of sermons and letters which attracted his utmost attention, and avoided quoting the whole texts.
In collecting Imām Alī's (A.S.) words, Sayyid-e Radhī employed his special method: since he did not intend to collect or quote the whole sayings and words of Imām Alī (A.S.), so he has just made a selection out of the abundant sources in hand. In the preface of book, he has referred to this point that what he has quoted from Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) are actually a selection' from the words and letters of His Holiness.
Some people think that words of Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) are limited to what has been cited in Nahj-ul-Balāghah, or that Nahj-ul-Balāghah reflects the whole number of sermons and letters of His Holiness, while it is not so. Mas'ūdī who lived a hundred years before Sayyid-e Radhī, in his Murūj-uz-Zahab quotes: "At the present time more than 480 sermons (Khutbah) of Imām Alī (A.S.) are available." Āmadī in his Ghurar-ul-Hikam' has quoted 15,000 aphorisms from Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.); while there are only 480 aphorisms in Nahj-ul-Balāghah. There are also lots of other books containing words of Amir-ul-Mu'menin (A.S.) such as Tuhaf-ul-Uqūl, Rawdhat-ul-Wā'ezīn, etc.; and it is noteworthy that sermons of Amir-ul-Mu'menin (A.S.) had already been collected under more than a hundred titles of books before compilation of Nahj-ul-Balāghah.
Nahj-ul-Balaghah consists of three main chapters:
Consisting of 239 Khutbah.
Including 79 letters; almost all of them have been written at the time of Imām Alī's caliphate.
Containing 480 maxims on various subjects.
Variety of subjects in Nahj-ul-Balāghah is much significant, and there are several books written on this matter. A number of topics are mentioned below:
Ethical sermons (Khutbah No.8, 10,20,21,24,63)
Political issues (Khutbah No.32, 37,41,50)
Disclosures/Revelations (of events) and parties (No.19, 30,105)
Sociology (No.1, 32)
Foresight and anticipation of future events (No.13, 47,98, 101, 108)
And many other subjects...
Moral advices (No. 3, 22, 47)
Letters to enemies (No.6, 7, 10, 17)
Letters to governor-generals & provincial governors (No.5, 8,19,20,56)
Letters to military commanders and administrators of public treasury (No.4, 13, 25, 26)
Letters to the public (No. 2, 29, 38)
Imām Alī's will (directions) (No.23, 24, 51)
3-Aphorisms; this chapter also covers almost all essential issues of the society.
- Al-Bayān Wa At-Tabyeen by Jāhiż
- Al-Muqtadhab by Mujarrad
- Maghāzī by Sa'īd, son of Yahyā Umawī
- Al-Jumal by Wāqidī
- Al-Maqāmāt Fī Manāqib-e Amir-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) by Abū Ja'far Iskāfī
- Tabari's History
Since early days, many scholars criticized Nahj-ul-Balāghah as Sayyid-e Radhī had omitted the chain of documentations of the narrations. Therefore, the critics claimed that Nahj-ul-Balāghah was not academically authentic and could only be considered as a literary book.
For the same reason, throughout centuries great Ulamā planned to seek and collect all original resources and documentations of sermons, letters and aphorisms of Nahj-ul-Balāghah out of the authentic reference books compiled prior to the era of Sayyid-e Radhī.
At the present time several books are available, which provide various documentary evidence for the whole narrations of Sayyid-e Radhī. In some cases, there are tens of resources or documentations for a particular sermon.
1-Masāder-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah Wa Asānideh (Resources and Documentaries of Nahj-ul-Balāghah) by Sayyid Abd-uz-Zahrā Huseinī
2-Madārek-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah (Documentaries of Nahj-ul-Balāghah) by Hādī Kāshif-ul-Ghitā'
3-Masāder-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah (Resources of Nahj-ul-Balāghah) by Sayyid Hebatuddīn Shahrestānī 4-Asnād Wa Madārek-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah (Documentaries of Nahj-ul-Balāghah) in Persian, by Muhammad Dashtī and lots of other titles in this regard.
1) Sharhe Ibn-e Maytham Bahrānī (died in 679 H.)
2) Sharhe Ibn-e Abil-Hadīd Mu'tazilī (died in 655 H.)
3) Sharhe Sheikh Muhammad Abduh (the incumbent MUFTI, or Chief Jurisconsult of Egypt, died in 1323 H.)
4) Sharhe Allāmah Muhammad Taqī Ja'farī (a contemporary scholar)
5) Minhaj-ul-Barā'ah, by Qutbuddīn Rāwandī (died in 573 H.)
6) Sharhe Fakhre Rāzī (great Sunnī exegete, died in 606 H.)
Due to the significance of Nahj-ul-Balāghah from scholars' point of view, several supplementary books (Mustadrakāt) have been written. The objective for writing a supplement for a specific book is to preserve its order and volume from any alteration as well as avoiding any deterioration in its authenticity and reputation; and at the same time, to collect and present every missing relevant subject and text - in a separate book. Some of the supplementary books (Mustadrakāt) of Nahj-ul-Balāghah are as follows:
1) Mustadrak-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah, by Hādī Kāshif-ul-Ghitā'
2) Nahj-us-Sa'ādah (in 8 volumes), by Muhammad Bāqir Mahmūdī
3) Ghurar-ul-Hikam Wa Durar-ul-Kalim, by Āmadī
4) At-tadhyeel, by Ismā'īl Halabī
5) Mulhaq-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah, by Ahmad son of Yahyā
1) Translation by Feidh-ul-Islām
2) Translation by Mr. Mubashsherī
3) Translation by Ayatullāh Makārim Shīrāzī
4) Translation by Allāmah Muhammad Taqī Ja'farī
5) Translation by Dr. Shahīdī (the most recent translation)
6) Translation by Mr. Mustafā Zamānī
1) Nahj-us-Sabāghah, by Allāmah Tastarī. This book contains 67 general themes along with some explanatory notes and interpretations on each theme.
2) Ad-Dalīl, by Alī Ansāriān (including 100 themes)
3) Al-Hādī, by Ayatullāh Meshkīnī (including 625 themes)
4) Tasnīf-e Nahj-ul-Balāghah, by Labīb Baydhūn (including 425 themes)
5) Al-Kāshif, by Dr. Mustafawī
6) Al-Mu'jam-ul-Mufahras, by Muhammad Dashtī. Mr. Dashtī has assigned 45600 titles for different themes of the expressions of Amīr-ul-Mu'menīn (A.S.) in Nahj-ul-Balāghah.
As far as availability of manuscripts is concerned, the noble book of Nahj-ul-Bālaghah is ranged among the richest Islamic resources in this regard.
1) Manuscript dated 421 Hegira, available at Ayatullāh Hasanzādeh Āmolī's library
2) Manuscript dated 485 Hegira, belonging to Allāmah Sayyid Muhammad-Alī Rawdhātī
3) Manuscript dated 483 Hegira, which is matched up to the manuscript of Hasan son of Ya'qūb Neishābūrī.
And many other manuscripts which are available in the library of Imām Ridhā's Holy Shrine in Mashhad, Ayatullāh Mar'ashī Najafī's library in Qum, etc.