Nahjul Balagha

What is the relationship between virtue and piety? Grounded in the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad's sayings, the teachings of Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 661)-first Imam after the Prophet Muhammad according to the Shia, and fourth Caliph according to the Sunnis-contend that they are essentially linked. In this article, I analyze Ali's sermons and sayings to demonstrate that in his vision virtue and piety go hand in hand such that each entails and informs the other: you cannot be truly pious if you are not truthful and kind and you cannot be truly virtuous if you do not humble yourself before your creator. In his conception, all virtue is contained in the idea of piety such that a description of piety is a description of virtue and a description of virtue is a description of piety. Underscoring the vital correlation, he preaches that the fundamental source for acquiring knowledge of virtue is divine revelation: we originally learned virtue, and continue to learn virtue, from the guidance of the prophets sent by God through the ages to teach humankind. Most contemporary secular virtue ethicists have nothing to say about piety. But Islam, like most faith traditions, intrinsically connects the two, and its scriptures contain abundant examples of this association. The Qur'an links prayer with behavior, saying, "Ritual prayer restrains you from indecency and dissipation," 1 and it makes material charity one of the so-called pillars of the faith. 2 Muhammad's hadith tie the spiritual with the social aspect of human life, such as the hadith which says: "Those who believe in God and the last day should honor their neighbors." 3 Explaining and elaborating the nexus in rich detail, Ali's teachings firmly link virtue with piety. After brief contextualizing remarks on Ali's life, teachings, and ethics of virtue, the article presents texts and analyses of two famous sermons that address the relationship between virtue and piety, namely, "The Four Pillars of Faith" and "Description of the Truly Pious." (I treat piety and faith synonymously in several places in this chapter, insofar as both focus on mindfulness of God, belief in him, and behavior based on his commands.) These sermons are among Ali's most comprehensive presentations on the topic, but much of his oeuvre lends itself to

Note:
You can go to the Audio Links of Nahjul Balaghah (English) located on the 2nd Page of book or the Links Below:

Sermons:
http://alhassanain.org/english/?com=media&view=category&id=163

Letters:
http://alhassanain.org/english/?com=media&view=category&id=164

Sayings:
http://alhassanain.org/english/?com=media&view=category&id=165

Ali bin Abi Thwalib present concept of man in the light of Qur’an and connecting with the same to his own intellectual interpretation in Nahj al-Balagha attractively. Firstly, his abilities to express the Islamic principles in different and fascinating way, and we can see its magical effect throughout the book Nahj al-Balagha. Secondly his quoting from Holy Qur’an along with his own charming style in narration and portraying  broad concept of man which touches all the minute part of one’s life and the sermons remaining without any question due to its deep and clear depiction of different topics. Thirdly, although he describe the concept of man in his own way it never oppose the teachings of Holy Qur’an but accept more strength for his words from Qur’an and other Islamic teachings. In short, Shareef riza done a great job by collecting the same and many scholars describe it and it continues as a major theme for Arabic literary students from university level till today.

One of the most controversial Shi'i texts today is a sermon in Nahj al-Balaghah (an early eleventh century collection of materials attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib) describing women as deficient in faith and intellect. This is only one of several passages in Nahj al-Balaghah which come across as unfavourable to women. While, in the Shi'i tradition, the authenticity of materials in Nahj al-Balaghah is rarely challenged, this paper challenges the authenticity of these passages about women through three means: (a) a traditional approach based on alternative sources and chains of narration; (b) textual criticism, including the suggestion that the notion of women being ‘deficient’ was actually taken from Aristotle, not Imam 'Ali; and (c) comparing the treatment of women in Nahj al-Balaghah with the treatment of women in Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays, the earliest extant Shi’i text. This will be done under the premise that if the portrayals significantly conflict, the material in Nahj al-Balaghah may reflect a later set of cultural-religious norms and have been attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib posthumously. Additionally, it argues against the common view that some of these passages were addressed specifically to 'A'ishah (as opposed to all women) due to her participation in the Battle of the Camel by a deeper examination of the alternative textual sources. It also highlights the ethical problems involved in attacking women through their gender – which is often done in Shi'i historical narrative with respect to 'A'ishah – and considers the persistence of these ideas about the nature of women in contemporary Shi'i ideologies of gender.

Why is this the earliest commentary on the Quran? Most historians have said that the first commentary on the Quran was made by Ali’s paternal first cousin, Abdullah Ibn Abbas (619-687CE). Yet Abdullah Ibn Abbas claims to have learned the science of interpretation from his older first cousin, Ali.
Once the Sermons, Letters and Sayings were compiled in the Nahj al-Balagha (Path of Eloquence), it should have been recognized as the earliest commentary on the Quran as the Commentary here shows. Ali tells us:
Not a single verse of the Quran was revealed to the Messenger of God which he did not proceed to dictate tome and make me recite. I would write it with my own hand, and he would instruct me as to its tafsir (the literal explanation) and the ta'wil (the spiritual exegesis), the nasikh (the verse which abrogates) and the mansukh(the abrogatedverse), the muhkamand the mutashabih (the fixed and the ambiguous), the particular and the general. He would pray to God to increase my understanding and my memory. Then he would lay his hand on my breast and ask God to fill my heart with knowledge and understanding, with judgement and illumination.

The primary sources from both Shia and Sunni accounts contain hadiths that indicate inadequacy of female Intellect and faith; these hadiths are attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib and analyses of proofs reveal that these hadiths are transmitted incompletely. In addition, some of these hadiths lack authentic documentation; therefore, these hadiths cannot be confidently attributed to those holy figures. Accordingly, some have decreed that these hadiths are falsified while others have merely applied content and textual analyses as they believe that such hadiths are found in original books such as Kitab al-Kafi and Nahj al-Balagha. As a result, different views have been formed around this issue. This article offers a critical review and analysis of these views. Apparently, if we ignore the inadequate documentation and try not to justify them, the best alternative is to admit that some parts have been omitted thanks to the discontinuity in sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib and caused by scribes themselves. Most probably, these omissions would have had a major role in the determining the original meaning and content. Statement of the problem Muslim scholars have struggled with a major challenge: the harsh criticism and admonitions present in Islamic accounts against women. These attitudes have always been questioned in Islamic history, especially with the growth of religious knowledge and the increasing presence of women in Islamic studies in recent decades. Almost all Muslim scholars have somehow tried to affirm, justify, or interpret these apparently deprecating accounts but these attempts have largely failed to date. The presence of such harsh and deprecatory literature on women have paved the way for the formation of many uncertainties regarding the place of women in Islam. In addition and unfortunately, some Hadith scholars have tried to certify these so-called deficiencies and have regarded women as inferior to men in obedience, divine ascent, progress, and rational thinking, sometimes using words much more acerbic than the hadiths themselves. The most notorious case is perhaps sermon No. 80 in Nahj al-Balagha, commonly known as 'The Mentally Deficient.' Others are accounts that literally and/or indirectly confirm the deficiency of female reason and faith. It is generally believed that sermon No. 80 was first stated by Ali ibn Abi Talib with the main source being the Nahj al-Balagha. However, this account and similar accounts were originally attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, confirmed in both old Shia and Sunni sources predating the Nahj al-Balagha. On one hand, the belief in such deficiency emboldens men to believe in absolute and

This amazing paper is about the letter no. 53 of Nahjul Balagha, which was written by the hands of Imam Ali and given to his beloved friend and newly appointed governor of Egypt by the name of Malik al Ashtar. Therein is mentioned how Malik should treat his subjects and how he should deal with the different categories of the society. Imam Ali says "If they are not your brothers in faith, know that they are your brothers in humanity."

This letter has also been mentioned by the ex president of UN, Kofi Annan to the Arab and the Muslim world as a beacon of guidance. At the end part of this paper you will find the famous Dua Kumayl and also what other people have said about the character of Imam Ali. This paper is in the Swedish language and the first of its kind.

As it is commonly understood, the issue of Sermon 128 in Nahj Al-Balaqa has always been a matter of debate between Shiite and Sunni schools (Islamic Schools). As this sermon predicts some events in the future as well as some scholars believe that Imam Ali (a) possessed the gift of foreknowledge, some people cast doubts upon the citation of this sermon to Imam Ali (a) and voice the idea that Imam Followers kept trying to attribute this sermon to Imam Ali after these predicted events occurred, and on the other hand some refuse this. The primary mission of this study is to explained doubts upon this sermon and to dispel doubts using credible resources. Thus, data has been gathered through libraries studies and data has been explained using descriptive-analytical research approach. In overall, there seems no reason to doubt that Imam Ali (a) knew and developed his foreknowledge competencies using horizontal learning than vertical learning or instinctively.

Intertextuality is of the recent issues in the field of literary studies, dealing with the relationship between two texts. Different theorists have clarified this method with different approaches and analyzes. Genette is one of the most famous contemporary theorists in the field who has studied in detail the types of intertextual relations and how they are analyzed. Among the religious texts, the relationship between Nahj al-Balāghah and the Holy Qur'an, especially considering that Imam Ali (Pbuh) is considered as the spoken Qur'an and has been emphasized on his accompaniment with the Qur'an, has always been the subject of Nahj al-Balāghah's commentators. Applying the method of intertextuality in analyzing this relationship not only helps to deepen our understanding of both the Quran and Nahj al-Balāghah, but leads to have in hand a standard method to study it. This method has several functions, one of which is the correction of texts. Regarding this purpose, the present paper investigates Nahj al-Balāghah and concludes that this method could recognize the taṣḥīf (unintentionally change), darj (insertion), and 'iḍṭirāb (cluttering) in Nahj al-Balāghah's text. Taṣḥīf is sometimes done in vocabulary signs, and sometimes in the root of the words, of which ten examples were found in Nahj al-Balāghah. Another damage was the insertion of one or more words in the text of a hadīth, of which two examples were found there. The other is cluttering of the text of a hadīth, of which only one was found there