Nahjul Balagha - usually translated "The Peak of Eloquence" - is a book which contains some of the Sermons, Letters and Sayings of Imam Ali (AS - see Footnote 1 ) collected by Syed Razi in the fourth century after the Hijra. The Hijra was the migration of the Prophet Muhammad - Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad (see Footnote 2) - and the early Muslims from Makkah to Medina, and the Islamic calendar begins with this event. Syed Razi died in 406 AH; that is, in the eleventh century CE.
Imam Ali (AS) - whose full name was Ali Ibn Abu-Talib - was married
to the beloved daughter of the Prophet (Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin
wa ali Muhammad). He was a courageous and honourable warrior, but was renowned
in his time as much for his wisdom, fairness and eloquence as for his swordsmanship.
He lived a simple life, as a poor man, with few possessions - even when
he became Caliph and had at his disposal the wealth of the Public Treasury
- and often extolled the virtues of manual labour, virtues he practised
himself by such things as digging communal wells and canals, and planting
trees.
It is perhaps through the wisdom of Imam Ali (AS) - as recorded in Nahjul
Balagha - that those who know little about Islam can begin to understand
the true greatness, and true significance, of the Prophet Muhammad (Allahumma
salli 'ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad), approach the meaning of the Holy
Quran, and so understand Islam itself. For the Prophet, who revealed the
Quran and the way of life which is Al-Islam, is recorded in a Hadith as
saying of Ali: "If I am likened to the city of knowledge then Ali is its
Gate."
And yet, Nahjul Balagha is almost unknown in the Western world. Western bookshops are full of books which purport to be about philosophy, which purport to be the sayings of "wise men", and which purport to offers answers to the questions about life by authors ancient and modern - yet none of these bookshops will contain a copy of Nahjul Balagha. Some other, more specialist, bookshops will also contain a host of books devoted to what are called the various "religions of the world", but nowhere among even these books will Nahjul Balagha be found.
A few quotes from Nahjul Balagha will be sufficient to show what greatness, what wisdom, the West and others have overlooked.
Some Sayings:
"Justice has four aspects: keen understanding, deep knowledge, a good power of decision and firm forbearance. Therefore, whoever understands comes to acquire depth of knowledge; whoever acquires depth of knowledge drinks from the spring of judgement and whoever exercises forbearance never commits evil actions in his affairs and so leads a praiseworthy life among the people." (31)
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth while the tongue of the wise man is in his heart." (41)
"The worth of a man is according to his courage; his truthfulness is according to his balance of temper; his valour is according to his self-respect, and his manners are according to his sense of shame." (47)
"The people of the world are like travellers who are being carried while they are asleep." (64)
"The tongue is a beast - when let loose, it devours." (60)
"There is no wealth like wisdom, no destitution like ignorance, no inheritance like manners, and no support like consultation." (54)
"Knowledge is of two kinds - that which is absorbed, and that which is just heard. The one that is heard does not give benefit unless it is absorbed." (338)
"A true believer has a cheerful face, a sorrowful heart, board,
generous shoulders and a very humble nature. He dislikes high position
and renown. His grief is long; his courage far-reaching; his silence protracted,
and his time occupied. He is grateful, enduring, buried in his thoughts,
sparing in his friendships, of bright demeanour and soft in temperament,
for although stronger than stone he is more forgiving than a slave." (333)
Concerning the nature of God:
"God [Allah] is a Being but not through the phenomenon of a coming into
being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with every-thing but
not in physical nearness. He is different from every-thing but not in physical
separation. He acts but without connotation of movement and instrumental
means...." (Sermon 1)
Concerning Government:
"Maalik, I command you to always fear Allah, to give priority to His
worship and to give preference to obeying His Commands over every other
thing in life, to follow the commandments and instructions which are given
in His Holy Book because without them, you cannot achieve honour and virtue
just as you cannot do what is dishonourable and wrong except by opposing
them and ignoring them.
I order you to use your head, heart, hands and tongue to help the beings
whom Allah has created because the Almighty Allah is responsible for helping
those who sincerely try their best to help Him. Allah has further ordered
you to keep your heart under control when your passions are roused because
the heart can drive you to what is dishonourable unless Allah comes
to your help.
Let it be known to you, Maalik, that I am sending you as a governor
to a country which has seen many regimes before this. Some of them were
just,
while others were oppressive and cruel. People will judge your rule
as critically as you have judged the activities of other rulers and they
will criticize
you in the same way as you have censured or approved other rulers.
You must know that a good and virtuous man is known and recognized by
the good that is said about him and the praise which Allah has destined
him to
receive from others. Therefore, your best collection should be the
collection of good deeds. So strive to control your passions and
do not let your heart
stray toward what is unlawful for you, and do this by keeping it half-way
between what is likes and what it dislikes.
Maalik! You must create in your heart kindness, compassion and love
for your subjects. Do not behave towards them as if you are a ravenous
beast
whose success lies in devouring them, for remember, Maalik, that amongst
your subjects there are two kinds of people: those who have the same Way
of Life as you who are brothers to you, and those who have ways of
living other than that of yours, who are beings just like you. Both of
these can be
weak, make mistakes, commit sins, indulge in vices either wilfully
or foolishly. So let your mercy and compassion aid and help them in the
same way
that you expect Allah to show mercy and forgiveness to you.
Maalik! You must never forget that just as you are a ruler over them
then the Imam is the ruler over you and Allah is the Supreme Ruler over
the Imam.
And He has appointed you as the governor to test you through
your rule over them.
Never believe you can declare war against Allah because you have no power before His power and have need of His Mercy and Compassion.
Never be ashamed to forgive and be merciful. Do not be hasty with punishments
when you are angry but strive to find another way if you can. Never say
you must be obeyed because you have the power of authority since this
brings strife to the heart, weakens our way of life and takes you close
to ruin. If
your power brings you pride look at the kingdom of Allah which reigns
over you, over which you have no power, for this will restrain your pride,
reduce
your anger and return you to the wisdom which you had strayed from.
Beware of comparing your power and your glory to that of Allah, for Allah can and does humble those who claim power and those who are full of pride.
Let your justice be because of Allah and be just to all of the people
as you would be to yourself, your family and those of your subjects whom
you like,
and if you are not just, then you will be a tyrant and when a
being is a tyrant, oppressing others, Allah becomes his opponent, and when
Allah becomes
someone's opponent, He goes to war with them until that person repents.
Swift will His blessings turn to retribution if oppression continues, for
Allah
listens to the prayers of those who are oppressed just as He always
knows who is a tyrant. "
(Letter to Maalik Al-Ashtar when Ali (AS) appointed him Governor
of Egypt.)
Concerning How to Wage War:
"Always keep the fear of Allah in your mind. Remember that you have to meet Him one day (let the fear of Allah guide you in all your activities) and your end will be towards Him and towards none else.
Do not stand apart from your men, but stand with them and do not fight
against anybody unless he wishes to fight against you. During winter, travel
in
the mornings and give your army a rest in the afternoons. Do rush through
journeys (unless absolutely necessary). Travel by easy stages, and do not
tire
out your army during the journey. Do not travel during the early part
of the evening because Allah has meant this to be time for rest and comfort
and not
for march and exertion, so make use of these hours to give rest to
your body and heart. When you have rested then begin your march with trust
and faith in Allah in the early hours of the morning.
Do not crave to fight and do not behave as if you are craving for a
combat or desire an encounter, but at the same time do not try to avoid
your enemy or
to evade an engagement as if you are afraid. Act accordingly
to my orders until you get further instructions. Do not let the hatred
and dislike which your
opponents show force you to a combat, and do not begin a battle even
if the enemy so desires unless, having striven to be friendly and shown
them
good-will, you have exhausted all the chances of a peaceful settlement."
(Letter to his Army Commander when Imam Ali (AS) sent him on an expedition
with 3000 soldiers against the Syrians.)
Concerning Action:
"The beginning of any action of one who sees with the heart and acts
with the eyes is to assess whether the action will go against him or for
him. If it is for him he indulges in it, but if it is against him he keeps
away from it. For he who acts without knowledge is like one who treads
not knowing the path. His deviation from the path keeps him at a distance
from his aim. But he who acts according to knowledge is like he who treads
the clear, the known, path....." (Sermon 154)
Concerning Behaviour:
"No one of you should have any hope except hope in Allah; no one of
you should fear anything except his own sin; no one of you should feel
ashamed of saying 'I do not know' when he is asked about something he does
not know; and no one of you should feel ashamed of learning a thing that
he does not know. You should practise endurance because endurance is to
belief what the head is to the body - and just as a body is no good without
a head so there is no good in belief without endurance." (Saying
82)
There are several good reasons to believe that Nahjul Balagha contains the words of Imam Ali (AS):
1) Original sources for the majority of the contents have been traced
by Scholars. For instance, in his book Istinad-e Nahj al-Balaghah
(Arabic edition, 1957) Imtiyaz 'Ali 'Arshi traced 100 sermons,
37 letters and 79 sayings to works long before the time of Syed Razi.
Another such work which traces the sources is al-Mu'jam al-mufahras
li alfaz Nahj al-Balaghah, edited by al-Sayyid Kazim al-Muhammadi and
al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Dashti.
Some examples of such sources are:
i) Khutab Amir al-Mu'minin 'ala al-manabir fi aljuma' wa al- 'a'yad
wa ghayriha by Zayd ibn Wahab al Jahni (d. 96 AH/714-15 CE). This book
was available till the fifth century Hijra, since Abu Ja'far al-Tusi
(d. 460 AH/1067 CE) quoted from it in his writings.
ii) The manuscript, Kitab al-zuhd, by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241
AH/855 CE) which is in al-Maktabat al-Zahiriyyah, Damascus.
iii) Al-Kafi by al-Kulyani (d. 329 AH/941 CE) which exists to
this day (English translation, Tehran, 1979-1986 CE). [ Sermon 1, quoted
in part above, is also in Al-Kafi.]
iv) A collection of rasa'il , currently in the British Museum, which
contains Tuhfat al-'ahbab wa ma'rifat imamat sayyid uli al-'albab of
Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn al-Mughirah ibn Nawfal ibn Harth ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib
(d. 167 AH/783 CE) which itself contains a sermon by Imam Ali (AS).
2) Other works by Syed Razi, in which he mentions either his intention
to compile such a work as Nahjul Balagha or which refer to the book itself,
exist and/or have been quoted from by many early writers. An example is
Khasa'is
al- 'A'immah - a manuscript of this work of Syed al-Razi is
in Rida Library, Rampur (India).
1) A.S. stands for Alayhis salaam which means: "Peace be
upon him". Muslims say or write this after hearing or writing the name
of Imam Ali as a mark of respect.
2) Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad means: "Allah
- give blessings to Muhammad and the family of Muhammad." Muslims say or
write this after hearing or writing the name of Muhammad as a mark of respect.