| abstract | - NAHDJ AL-BALAGHA ("The Way of Eloquence") is an anthology of dissertations, letters, testimonials and sententious opinions, traditionally attributed to 'Ali b. Abi Talib (d.40/661 [q.v.]). The authorship of this work has been an issue attended by constant and lively polemic, from the Middle Ages to the present. Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1283 [q.v.]) seems to have been the first to raise doubts concerning the Nahdj,. "It is not known," he writes, "which of the two brothers, al-Radi (d. 406/1015 [q.v.]) or al-Murtada (d. 436/1044 [q.v.]) put together this work. Some assume that the compiler would also be its author, but that he would have attributed it to Ali," (Wafayat, Beirut 1968-78, iii, 313). The majority of later writers, beginning with al-Dhahabl (d. 748/1348 [q.v.]; Mizan al-itidal, Beirut 1963, iii, 124), continuing with Hadjdji Khalifa (d. 1067/1657 [q.v.]; Kashf al-zunun, Tehran 1947, ii,1991), and concluding with Brockelmann (I, 405, S I,704 f.), have in their turn revived these suspicions. Misled by the surname al-Murtada ("the one accepted by God"), which appears on the frontispiece of the ms. of the Nahdj in the B.N. (no. 2423, fol. 2b), de Slane concluded that the reference could be to al-Sharif al-Murtada. He also attributes the work to the latter (Cat. des mss. arabes B.N., Paris 1895, 425; cf. Veccia Vaglieri, Sul Nahg al-balaga e sul suo compilatore al-Radi, in AIUON, viii [1958], 13 f.) However, al-Murtada is a surname often used to designate Ali, not only among the Shi'is but also among the Sunnis (cf. Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid, 'Alawiyyat, Beirut 1972, 137 and Sharh Nahdj, al-balagha, Cairo 1962-7, xi, 120; Ibn Arab!, La Profession de foi, tr. R. Deladriere, Paris 1985, 209.). Furthermore, it is stated explicitly, at the end of the ms., that this is a collection of the sayings of 'Ali (kitab 904/A Nahdj al-balagha min kalam... 'Ali b. Abi Talib; B.N. fol.351 b). Also to be found here is a biographical notice devoted to al-Radl, in the role of compiler, followed by another relating to CA1I and his "marvels" (ms. B.N., fol. la). The Mu'tazili Ibn Abi '1-Hadid (d. 656/1258 [q. v. ])has no doubts as to the authenticity of the work. For him, in fact, it is a work of CA1I, compiled by al-Radl (Shark, x, 128 f.). The Shi'is, ancient as well as modern, are unanimous in this regard. According to them, the work is of undoubted authenticity. Furthermore, all mss. of the Nahaj_, in the East as in the West, attribute the book to 'A1i and the compilation to al-Radi (for a list of the mss., see Brockelmann, I, 405,S I,' 705). It is undeniable—as has been shown by Laura Veccia Vaglieri (op. cit., 1-24)—that a large portion of the Nahdj could indeed be attributed to 'Ali, especially certain historical and panegyrical passages, although it is difficult to ascertain the authenticity of the more apocryphal sections. In fact, numerous authors, long before the time of al-Radi, had related the sermons of 'Ali. The compiler himself specifies certain of his sources, in particular the Djamal of al-Wakidi (d. 207/823; Nah&, iii, 149), the Bayan of al-Djahiz (d.255/869; op. cit., ii, 76) and the Ta'rikh of al-Tabarl (d. 310/923; op. cit, iii, 243). Other collections of homilies of CAH, previous to the Nahdj_, were also compiled, such as the Khutab 'Ali by Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 204/819; Ibn al-Nadim, Fihrist, 96; al-Tusi, Fihrist, Nadjaf 1961, 37), the Khutab 'Ali wa-kutubuh ila 'ummalih by al-Mada'ini (d. 255/840; Ibn al-Nadim, op. cit., 27; Yakut, Irshad, Cairo 1928, v, 315), etc. (cf. Husayni, Masadir Nahaj_ al-balagha., Nadjaf 1968, i, 48-92). Moreover, it has been possible to identify a considerable number of passages, accompanied by complete isndds dating back to the time of 'All. These texts have been recounted by ancient scholars of repute such as al-Tabari (d. 310/923), al-Mas'udi, al-Djahiz and many others (cf. Djebli, Encore d propos de I'authenticite du Nahdj_ al-balagha, in SI, Ixxv (1992), 33-56. As for the compilation of this book, it is most likely the work of al-Radi. In three of his works, the latter refers to the Nahdj,: Haka'ik al-ta'wil (Nadjaf, undated, v, 167), al-Madjazat al-nabawiyya (Cairo 1971, 59, 140, 171) and Khasa'is al-a'imma (Nadjaf 1949, 87). On the other hand, the compiler evokes, in the Nahdj_, these latter two writings (i, 254, and ii, 263, respectively). Whatever the case may be, the Nahdj al-balagha is one of the great masterpieces of Arabic literature. Through the centuries, it has gained considerable admiration. As its title reliably indicates and in accordance with the aspiration of its compiler, this book asserts the "joys of the Arabic language" (Nahdj_, i, 2). The powerful assonance of its prose, its sometimes studied rhetoric, its remarkable eloquence, its gripping images, its sober, unpolished and relatively obscure mode of expression, Bedouin wisdom and sensibility blended with Islamic delicacy and vision—all of these constitute the literary worth of the Nahdj,. This is supplemented by further values, moral and social. In fact, this book has a tireless appeal, full of fervour and sincerity, on behalf of faith in God and in His Prophet, of piety, of integrity, of justice and of rising above the vanities of this world. Since its first appearance, the Nahdj_ has been the object of a considerable corpus of commentaries, translations and studies, some 210 titles, according to H. al-'Amili in his Shuruh Nahdj al-balagha, Beirut 1983. The Nahdj_ al-balagha has been edited on 904/B numerous occasions with, in particular, the annotations of Muhammad 'Abduh, Beirut 1885, Cairo 1903, 1910, and of al-Marsafi, 1925. Subhi al-Salih has published it recently, with a glossary and a wideranging index (pp. 560–853), Beirut 1983. Translations are numerous, particularly in Persian, such as the Shark Nahdj al-balagha of 'A. Fayd al-Islam (bilingual ed., 2 vols., Tehran 1947; cf. Husayni, op. cit., i, 315-66), in English, including that of CA. Raza, Nahadj al-balagha: selection from sermons, letters and sayings of 'Ali, Tehran 1980, and in French, in a partial bilingual edition, La Voie de L'eloquence, by 'A. Abu '1-Nadja and others, published Beirut 1986. Among the commentaries, that of Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid remains the most important. With its eight volumes, this monumental book is a truly encyclopaedic work, a literary as well as a scholarly achievement (for the other commentaries, see Brockelmann; Husayni, op. cit., 247-314; H. al-'Amili, op. cit., 35-106.) Bibliography: For biographical articles relating to al-Radi, see Zirikli, A'lam, Beirut 1969, vi, 329-30, and Kahhala, Mu'djam al-mu'allifin, Damascus 1961, ix, 261-2. For the Nahdj_, in addition to the texts mentioned previously, see in particular: H. al-Shahrastani, Ma huwa Nahdj_al-balagha?, Sayda 1933, Nadjaf 1961 and 1979; Z. Mubarak, La Prose arabe, Paris 1931, 27-33, 128-9, 185-92; idem, al-Nathr al-fanni, Cairo 1934, i, 64-70; idem, 'Abkariyyat al-Radi, Cairo 1952, i, 203-17; L.Massignon, Conferences sur le Nahdj, in Annuaire de I'EPHE, Paris 1936; Dj. Sultan, Etude sur le Nahdj. al-balagha, Paris 1940; Blachere, HLA, Paris 1952-66, ii, 308, iii, 721 f; Browne, LHP, Cambridge 1953, iv, 354 f.; L. Veccia Vaglieri, Observations sur le Nahdj al-balagha in Procs. of the 24th Congress of Orientalists, Munich 1957, 318-19; M. Kazwini, Sharh Nadj al-balagha, Tehran 1960; H. Kashif al-Ghita, Mustadrak Nahdj_ al-balagha, Beirut n.d.; M.Mughniyya, Fi zilal Nahdj_ al-balagha, Beirut 1972; H. al-Amin, Dairat al-ma'arif al-shi'iyya, Beirut 1972-77, i, 68-123, xii, 355-63; M. Dja'fari, Pazhuhishi dar asnad wa madarik-i Nahdj al-balagha, Tehran 1977; W. al-Kadi, An early Fatimid political document, in SI, Iviii (1978), 71-108; R. Ustadi, K.Nama-yi Nahdj al-balagha, Tehran 1980; M. al'Amili, al-Aghrad al-idjtima'iiyya fi Nahdj al-balagha, Tehran 1980; M. al-Amini, Nahdj al-balagha waatharuh fi 'l-adab al-'arabi, Tehran 1980; idem, A'ldm Nahdj. al-balagha, Tehran 1980; M. Shams al-Din, Dirasat fi Nahdj. al-balagha, Beirut 1981; 'A. Al Ibrahim, Fi rihab Nahdj al-balagha, Beirut 1982; I. 'Arshi, Istinad Nahdj. al-balagha, Tehran 1984; K.Muhammadi, al-Mu'djam mufrahras li-alfaz Nahdj al- balagha, Beirut 1986. (M. DJEBLI)
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