In this part of the article titled “Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings”, we shall focus on relevant information about Nahj al-Balaghah here.
Maw’izah and Khitabah (Exhortation and Oratory)
Maw’izah also differs from khitabah (oratory, rhetoric). Although oratory also deals with emotions, but it seeks to stir and agitate them. Maw’izah on the other hand is intended to pacify emotions and it seeks to bring them under control. Oratory is effective when emotions are inert and stagnant; maw’izah is required when lusts and passions become unmanageable. Oratory stirs the passion for power and glory, the feelings of honour, heroism, chivalry, manliness, patriotism, nobility, righteousness, virtue, and service; it is followed by movement and excitement. But maw’izah checks inappropriate passion and excitement. Rhetoric and oratory snatch control from the hands of calculating reason, handing it over to tempestuous passions. But maw’izah appeases the tempests of passions and prepares the ground for calculation and foresight. Oratory draws one to the outside, and maw’izah makes him turn to his inner self.
Rhetoric and counsel are both necessary and essential, and the Nahj al-balaghah makes use of both of them. The main thing is to judge the right time for the use of each of them. The impassioned speeches of Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a) were delivered at a time when it was necessary to stir up passions and to build up a tempest to destroy an unjust and oppressive structure, such as at the time of the Battle of Siffin when Imam Ali (a) delivered a fiery speech before the engagement with Mu’awiyah’s forces. Mu’awiyah’s forces, arriving ahead of ‘Ali’s army, had taken control of the river bank and stopped the supply of water to ‘Ali’s camp. At first Imam Ali (a) strived to abstain from resorting to force, desiring the problem to be solved through negotiation.
But Mu’awiyah, who had some other designs, considering the occupation of the river bank a victory for himself, refused every offer of negotiation. When things became difficult for ‘Ali’s men, it was time when he should stir the emotions of his soldiers through a fiery speech, creating a tempest that would rout the enemy. This is how Imam Ali (a) addressed his companions: They are eager that you should make them taste the flavour of battle. So you have two alternatives before you: either submit to disgrace and ignominy or quench your swords in their blood and appease your thirst with water. It is death to survive through defeat and true life is to die for the sake of victory. Muawiyah is leading a handful of deluded insurgents and has deceived them by keeping them in the dark about the truth, with the result that their throats are the targets of your deadly arrows.
These words flared their emotions, provoked their sense of honour, and made the blood surge in their veins. It was not yet sunset when ‘Ali’s companions seized the river bank and threw back Mu’awiyah’s forces.
However, ‘Ali’s mawaiz was delivered in different conditions. During the days of the first three caliphs, and particularly during ‘Uthman’s rule, immeasurable amounts of wealth and booty won through consecutive victories flowed into Muslim hands. Due to the absence of any careful programs for correct utilization of that wealth, particularly due to the aristocratic, or rather tribal, rule during the reign of ‘Uthman, moral corruption, worldliness, and love of comfort and luxury found their way into the Muslim society.
Tribal rivalries were revived, and racial prejudice between Arabs and non-Arabs was added to it. In that clamour for worldliness and mounting prejudices, rivalries, and greed for a greater share of the war booty, the only cry of protest charged with spiritual exhortation was that of Imam Ali (a). God willing, we shall discuss in coming chapters the various themes dealt with in ‘Ali’s mawa’iz, such as taqwa (God-fearing), worldliness, zuhd (abstinence), desires, the dread of death, the dreads of the Day of Judgement, the need to take a lesson from the history of past nations and peoples, etc.
The Nahj al-Balaghah’s Recurring Themes
Out of the 241 fragments collected under the title, ‘Khutab’ by al-Sayyid al-Radi (though not all of them are Khutab or sermons) about 86 can be classed as mawa’iz or at least contain a series of spiritual advice. Some of them, however, are elaborate and lengthy, like the khutbah 176, which opens with the sentence (Avail of the Divine expositions), the khutbah named ‘al-Qasi’ah; (which is the longest of the sermons of the Nahj al-balaghah), and the khutbah 93 (called khutbat al-Muttaqin, the ‘Sermon of the Pious’).
Out of some seventy-nine passages that are classed as ‘kutub’ letters, (which not all of them are) about twenty-five, either completely or partially, consist of spiritual and moral teachings. Some of them are quite lengthy and elaborate-like letter 31, which constitutes ‘Ali’s advice to his son al-Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba (‘a), and the lengthiest of all, except the famous directive sent to Malik al-‘Ashtar. Another one is letter 45, the well-known epistle of Imam Ali (a) to Uthman ibn Hunayf, his governor in Basrah.
The Themes in Spiritual Advice
Various themes are found in the spiritual advice of the Nahj al-balaghah:
- Taqwa (Piety);
- Tawakkul (Trust in God);
- Sabr (Patience, Fortitude);
- Zuhd (Abstinence);
the renunciation of worldly pleasures and luxuries, the renunciation of inordinate desires and far-fetched hopes; the condemnation of injustice and prejudice, emphasis on mercy, love, helping of the oppressed and sympathy toward the weak; emphasis on the qualities of fortitude, courage, and strength; emphasis on unity and solidarity and condemnation of disunity; the invitation to take a lesson from history; the invitation to thought, meditation, remembrance, and self-criticism; the reminders about the brevity of life and the swiftness of its pace; the remembrance of death; the hardships of death-throes; experiences of the life after death; the reminders of the dreadful events of the Day of Judgment, and so on. These are some of the frequent themes of the spiritual advice of the Nahj al-balaghah.
Imam Ali’s Logic
In order to understand this aspect of the Nahj al-balaghah, or, in other words, to understand Imam Ali (‘a) when he speaks as a moral and spiritual counsellor and to understand his didactic outlook, so as to draw benefit from that overflowing source, it is not enough to enumerate the various themes and topics dealt with by Imam Ali (‘a) in his discourses. It is not sufficient merely to remark that Imam Ali (a) has spoken about taqwa, Tawakkul or zuhd; rather, we must see what significance did he attribute to these words.
We must uncover his didactic philosophy regarding the development of the human character and his perception of the human aspiration for piety, purity, freedom, and deliverance from spiritual servitude and thralldom. As we know, these are words employed by all-in, particularly those who won’t play the role of a moralist; but all individuals do not mean the same kind of things by these terms. Sometimes, the meanings one person attributes to these words are quite contrary to those meant by another and naturally lead to conclusions that are opposite.
Consequently, it is essential to elaborate somewhat on the specific meanings of these terms in ‘Ali’s vocabulary, starting with taqwa.
Continue in the next article: ( Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings (3) )
NOTE:
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1. Nahj al-balaghah, Khutab, No. 51 pp. 88-89
