Peak of Eloquence Nahjul-Balagha - Dua - …

1 peak of EloquenceNahjul-BalaghaByImam Ali ibn Abu TalibWith CommentaryByMartyr Ayatollah Murtada MutahhariEdited byYasin T. Al-JibouriIn the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The MercifulTahrike Tarsile Qur an, & Distributors of Holy Qur an80-08 51st AvenueElmhurst, New York 11373-4141In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The MercifulTahrike Tarsile Qur an, & Distributors of Holy Qur an80-08 51st AvenueElmhurst, New York 11373-4141 Seventh Edition 2009 Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2005900698 British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataISBN: Paperback 978-1-879402-34-8 ISBN: Casebound 978-1-879402-35-5 peak of EloquenceNahjul-BalaghaiContentsPart OneIntroduction .. 2 Nahjul-Balagha and Present-Day s Islamic 5 A Literary Marvel .. 7 Sayyid Al-Radi and 8 Two Distinctive Characteristics.

2 10 Literary Beauty and Elegance .. 11 Effect of Ali s Oratory .. 12 Views of Ancient and Modern Scholars .. 13 Modern Perspectives .. 16 Nahjul-Balagha among Literary Classics .. 19 Ali s Versatility .. 21 Themes of 24 A Glance at the Varied Problems Covered by nahjul -Balagha24 Part Two Theology and Metaphysics of Nahjul-Balagha .. 26 A Bitter Reality .. 28 Shi`i Rationalism .. 29 Philosophical Notions Concerning Metaphysics .. 32 The Value of Studying the Natural 37 Purely Rationalistic 38 The Divine Essence and 41 The Divine Essence .. 41 Divine Unity : Ontological, Not a Numerical Concept .. 42 Allah, the First and the Last; the Manifest and the Hidden .. 44 An Appraisal .. 46 Nahjul-Balagha and the Notions of 47 An Ash`arite Believes in the Separation [Of the Attributes from the Essence].

3 47 Nahjul-Balagha and Philosophical Concepts .. 48 Nahjul-Balagha and Western Philosophic Thought .. 51 Part Three Suluk and 53 The Levels of 53 The Approach of 55 The Worship of Freemen .. 56 iiRemembering Allah .. 56 The Levels of Devotion .. 57 Nights of the Devout .. 57 The Profile of the Pious .. 58 Night 59 The Spiritual Experience .. 59 The Purging of Sins .. 61 Moral Remedy .. 61 Intimacy and Ecstasy .. 61 Part FourGovernment and Justice .. 63 Nahjul-Balagha on 63 The Importance of 64 Justice: Supreme Value .. 67 Indifference to Injustice .. 70 Justice Should not be Compromised .. 71 People s Rights .. 72 The Church and the Right of Sovereignty .. 72 Nahjul-Balagha : the 75 Rulers are People s Trustees, Not Masters .. 76 Part FiveMoral Lectures and Aphorisms.

4 81 Inimitable Moral Teaching .. 81 Comparison .. 81 Spiritual Counsel and Wisdom .. 83 Maw`iza and Khitaba (Exhortation and Oratory) .. 84 Nahjul-Balagha s Recurring Themes .. 86 The Themes in Spiritual Pieces of 86 Ali s Logic .. 87 Taqwa .. 87 Taqwa is Immunity not 90 Taqwa as 91 Reciprocal Commitment .. 92 Zuhd (Asceticism) and Piety .. 93 Islamic Zuhd and Christian Asceticism .. 95 Two Questions .. 95 The Three Essential 97 The Zahid and the 98 Zuhd and Altruism .. 100 iiiSympathy and 101 Zuhd and Freedom .. 103 Zuhd and Spirituality;Zuhd, Love and Worship .. 108 Contradiction between the this World and the 111 Zuhd: Minimum of Intake for Maximum Output .. 112 Part Six Dunya: The World and Worldliness .. 117 Renunciation of Dunya in 117 The Danger Created by War 117 Intoxication of Affluence.

5 119 General Aspect of Ali s Warnings .. 119 Every School Has Its Own Terminology .. 120 Condemned World .. 121 Relationship between Man and 122 Logic of Islam .. 122 The World in the Holy Quran and 127 Freedom and Bondage .. 132 Existentialist 136 Does Evolution Involve Self-Alienation? .. 136 Forgetting and Losing the Self .. 137 Discovery of the Self and of Allah .. 140 Worship and Rediscovery of the Self .. 143 Some Relevant Issues .. 144 Life in this World versusin the 144 The Primary and the Secondary .. 145 A Relevant 146 What is Shi ism ({ fE)? .. 150 1 - Shi`ism in the Contemporary 150 2 - Centers of Shi`ite 151 3 - Origin of Shi`ism .. 152 4 - Shi`ites and other Muslims .. 153 5 - Shi`ite Beliefs .. 156 I Unity of God (Tawhid) .. 156 II Prophethood: The Sending of the Prophet (h) (Nubuwwa).}

6 157 III Belief in the Day of Resurrection .. 157 6 - Distinctions of Shi`ism .. 158 7- Sources of Shi`ite Religious Instructions .. 158 8 - Social and Moral Duties .. 160 iv Part Seven Nahjul-Balagha : The Book, This Book .. 162 in the 1st Century .. 162 in the 2nd 163 in the 3rd Century .. 163 in the 4th Century .. 163 in the 5th Century .. 164 Author : Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (x) .. 169 1. Genealogy .. 169 2. Birth .. 169 3. Name .. 169 170 5. Titles .. 170 6. 170 7. Upbringing .. 170 8. The Holy Prophet (h) and Hazrat Ali (x): How They Loved Each Other .. 171 9. Character .. 173 10. Faith .. 177 11. Wife, Children and Domestic Life .. 178 12. Ali Among his Friends and Foes, the Rich and the Poor .. 179 I. Ali s Treatment of His Foes .. 179 us see what the history says about his behavior with his friends and relatives.

7 181 III. Ali (x) among His Servants and Slaves .. 182 IV. Ali (x) among His Subjects .. 183 V. Ali (x) Among the Poor .. 185 13. Ali s 186 14. His Clothing .. 187 15. Ali s Services to Islam and the Holy Prophet (h) .. 189 16. Appointment of Ali (x) as the Prophet s Vicegerent .. 202 Prophet s Historic Ghadir Sermon .. 208 In The Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Sermon .. 211 A Brief Narrative of Imam Ali s life from the Hijra to Death of the Holy Prophet (h) .. 228 1 To 40 .. 228 1 .. 229 2 .. 229 3 .. 230 v4 .. 231 5 .. 231 6 .. 231 7 .. 232 8 .. 232 9 .. 234 10 .. 237 11 .. 237 The Last Moment and Burial Rites of the Holy Prophet (h).. 239 Burial of the Holy Prophet (h).

8 240 Death of Fatima (x).. 242 From 12 To 24 .. 244 From 11 To 33 .. 247 Muharrum 1, 24 248 34 to 40 251 40 .. 258 Imam Ali (x): Ruler and Statesman .. 260 His Reforms .. 262 Introduction of New System of Government .. 263 How He Organized Public Service Departments .. 263 The Army .. 267 Judicial Procedure .. 269 Central and Provincial Secretariat and Subordinate 271 Ali (x) and the Philosophy of Religions .. 273 Compiler and Commentators of Nahjul-Balagha .. 280 Sunni Commentators:.. 283 Shi`a Commentators: .. 284 Preface by the Compiler of Nahjul-Balagha ,Allama ash-Sharif ar-Radi286 In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate .. 286 Notes .. 289 The Editor .. 294 Part EightNahjul BalaghaSelected Sermons, Letters and Sayings of Amir al-Mu minin Ali ibn Abu Talib (x).

9 299 Sermon 1 .. 299 Creation of the Universe .. 300 Creation of the Angels .. 300 vi Creation of 301 Allah Chooses His Prophets (x).. 302 The Prophethood of Muhammad (h).. 303 The Holy Quran and the 303 In this Same Sermon, He Spoke thus about the Hajj .. 304 The Imam says the following: .. 307 Sermon 2 Delivered on return from Siffin before his Nomination by the Prophet (h) for the Caliphate .. 312 Sermon 3 Known as the sermon as ash-Shaqshaqiyya .. 314 Need for the Prophet s Caliph and the Method of His Appointment .. 323 Sermon 4 Amir Al-Mu minin s Far-Sightedness and Staunch Conviction .. 331 Sermon 5 Delivered when the Holy Prophet (h) died and Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb offered to swear allegiance to Amir al-Mu minin (x) as the Caliph.

10 333 Sermon 6 Delivered on being advised not to chase Talhah ibn Ubaydillah and az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam for 336 Sermon 7 About the 336 Sermon 8 About Az-Zubayr at a Time For Which it Was Appropriate 337 Sermon 9 Cowardice of the people of Jamal .. 338 Sermon 10 About Talhah and az-Zubayr .. 338 Sermon 11 Delivered during the Battle of Jamal when Amir al-Mu minin (x) gave the standard to his son Muhammad ibn 339 Sermon 12 .. 342 Sermon 13 Condemning the People of Basra .. 343 Sermon 14 Also Condemning the People of Basra .. 351 Sermon 15 After Resuming the Land Grants Made My Othman Ibn Affan [To the State Treasury], He Said: .. 351 Sermon 16 Delivered When Allegiance Was Sworn to Him at Medina351 Sermon 17 About Those Who Sit for Dispensation of Justice among People but Are Not Fit for It.