Imam Ali ΄s Studies

Abstract Nahj-al Balaghah, a pattern of divine man’s speech incorporates various types and templates of talking to God. Since Imam Ali (AS) paid special attention to admiration in diverse contexts, we have selected some of his praise expressions as the statistical society by which he used them to deal with people and his corps before they would face the Qasetins {Qasetins are said to have gone to war with Imam Ali (AS)}.
The praise expressions mentioned all across Nahj-al Balaghah are considered as speech actions which have been studied by descriptive-analytical method and also obtained from library sources. At first it seemed that these speech actions merely contain an interpretation and/or a single emotional aspect (thanksgiving), but after surveying the formal and superficial structure of the expressions, it became evident that each of his speech action holds multiple interpretations and aspects and that the Imam has made use of hidden and complex expressions to explain the meaning and encourage the reader.
In applying this theory, one observes that emotional, persuasive and expressive actions have the highest frequency respectively and declarative and obligatory actions have not been used for the sole reason that praise expressions carry emotions. Imam Ali (AS) has always expressed his feelings on the Greatness of God, the attributes of Divine beauty and glory, and His unlimited blessings, which has the highest frequency. 
The persuasive and declarative actions that were taken were meant to establish relations among his corps, to encourage them and give them fervor to face the enemy in the battlefield along with creating deep and correct knowledge of the corps about God, His Divine power, blessings, grace, favors, life, death and enemy have the highest frequency.

Abstract Seeking justice is a principle that goes beyond times and places, and among those things always desirable to human beings. As evidenced by history, Imam Ali the Leader of the Faithful (PBUH) made the most effort to realize justice, and also steered his agents towards observing justice. Attention to the components of justice noted in Imam Ali’s conduct can be a beacon of guidance for others to move in that direction. This study has explained themes of individual justice pointed out in Imam Ali the Leader of the Faithful (PBUH)’s letters to his agents. In his view, individual justice is an introduction to social justice, and includes themes of God-wariness, self-monitoring, following and avoiding jurisprudential dos and don’ts, forbidding vices, principles of communication with God, principles of socializing, asceticism, thanking God, asking help from God, trying to realize the truth, and timely accomplishment of one’s tasks. 

Abstract According to Islamic jurisprudence, whoever commits a forbidden act deserves punishment in the Hereafter. Regarding the entitlement to the worldly punishment, some taboos, according to the circumstances, are subject to a certain punishment, namely, “hadd”, “qisas” and “compensation”; the cause, type and amount of each of them are specified in the Holy Shari’a. But there is no specific punishment assigned to some taboos in the Shari’a. Regarding those taboos lacking any assigned punishment, the rule of the “punishment for all forbidden acts” is a well-known law among the jurists, according to which all forbidden acts should be punished. Banking on the generality of this rule in the executive arena leads to unlimited expansion of repressive policies. Basically, this paper, using a descriptive-analytical-critical method, seeks to shed more light upon Imam Ali’s (AS) encounter with taboos lacking any assigned punishment. Based on that, the paper criticizes the generality of the law of “punishment for all forbidden acts”. According to the results, the measures taken by Imam Ali (AS) against such taboos does not necessarily end in punishment. The manner in which the Imam confronted the taboos can be explained in two forms: deterrent measures and reactionary measures. The punishment has been only one of the types of reactionary measures. In the biography of Imam Ali (AS), it says that, on condition of necessity, the act of punishment to deal with taboos is not denied, but is an absolute reliance on it for deterring taboos and using it in any case, regardless of other measures and arrangements, is debatable.

Abstract Uthman ibn Affan, the third Muslim Caliph (644-656 AD) was killed in a riot against him by some Muslims. Imam Ali (PBUH), in spite of his disapproval of such an act neither tried nor punished his murderers. The question therefore is for what reason(s) the Leader of the Faithful did not exercise retaliatory punishment (qiṣāṣ) for murderers of Uthman. Despite complications peculiar to the subject arising from different answers proposed to answer the question, the analysis of the subject, using descriptive and analytic methods, shows that although the Leader of the Faithful (PBUH) sought to deal with the issue and to punish Uthman’s murderers, lack of clarity as to who were directly involved in the murder, and specific circumstances that Imam Ali (PBUH) faced during his reign did not in practice allow him to take any action in that regard.

Abstract A lever to combat corruption in the governmental system is transparency, which is seen as a category fundamental to improvement of policy-making aimed at enhancing ties between the government and populace. Emphasizing the greatness of heavenly thoughts of Imam Ali (PBUH) and their superiority over human thoughts and views, an effort has been made in this article to pay attention, in Imam Ali’s political thought, to obstacles to realizing transparency. To this aim, using the analytic-descriptive and documentary research methods, the answer is sought to the question of what in Imam Ali’s political behavior are treated as obstacles to the realization of transparency. The research findings show that secrecy and refusing to provide news and information, lack of supervision and control, lack of accountability and responsibility, and despotism and arbitrary rule are among the obstacles disrupting work flow in government. These lead to underdevelopment and social injustice on the one side, and rent-seeking and diverting public resources towards privileged individuals and groups on the other side.

Abstract Social capital in each and every society has its origin in historical experiences and is a function of temporal and spatial situation. Among the most important factors in social capital are social norms, which fall within the scope of sociology. Social norms are rules of behavior used in social interactions and relations and emanate from opinions, beliefs, and social values. Through the analytic-descriptive method, the present article tries to examine mechanisms of institutionalization of social norms from the standpoint of Imam Ali (PBUH). Research findings show that in his view the most important traits of individuals in society that engender institutionalization of social norms are justice of norms, harmony and alignment of norms with essential human needs, sustainability of norms, righteousness, coherence of norms, social awareness and avoidance of individualism, acceptance of reference groups, self-control, otherworldliness, belief in divine monitoring, moral sense, belief in essential dignity of human beings, and spiritualism. Localization and Islamization of the ways of institutionalizing norms in Islamic society can be referred to as the results of the research.   

Abstract in the field of translation, regardless of theory, critique, and review of existing theories on the basis of comments, either strengthening or weakening of the effectiveness of these theories, it is applied to the weak points of translation in the hands and explanation of the position of each of these texts therefore, with such a strategy, the Translation of the late Dashti, according to its place, is important to the theory of contemporary translation of importance and necessity. the ladmiral view is a Axial destination approach, and the effectiveness of a translation in this view depends on the level of the source text and its degree of fit with the culture and the mental space of the addressee (s))Audience(. Therefore, this article uses a descriptive-analytical method, following the analysis of ten sermons of Nahj al-Balaghah as a research body based on the purpose of plain translation and its coordination and efficiency based on the components of Ladmiral's view, including the right of choice, minimal interpretation, Displacement, entropy and other categories in this view, and the important result is the fit of plain translation with the element of displacement, the re-creation of expressions based on the psychoanalysis of the text based on the Ladmiral axis.

Abstract The present study is aimed at explaining the constituents of a lifestyle predicated on Imam Ali (PBUH)’s teachings, and their uses in education. It is a qualitative research on the basis of the grounded theory, and done through the method of inductive coding. The subject of analysis includes all the letters, speeches, and wisdoms in Nahj al-Balagha translated by Mohammad Dashti as well as prayers transmitted from Imam Ali (PBUH). The data were collected purposefully and in accordance with the theoretical saturation rule. In this study, six educational domains were extracted from the teachings of Imam Ali (PBUH). Constituents of each domain were explained, and their educational uses for setting goals, learning-teaching methods, educational content, and assessment were examined. The goals were categorized into “ultimate” (obedience and submission towards God) and “mediatory” (constituents obtained from open coding). Teaching-learning methods such as finding role models, affection, habituation through practice and repetition, counsel, and encouragement and punishment can be proposed based upon the constituents extracted from Imam Ali’s lifestyle. In the assessment, the principle of attention to individual differences has been emphasized. Educational content too can be codified and presented on the basis of the main constituents of Imam Ali oriented lifestyle and through a comprehensive and multifaceted look at human beings.

Abstract Argumentation is an approach in pragmatics which is examined in this research within the scope of discourse analysis. It is difficult to distinguish discourse analysis from other specialized fields studying speech, since discourse analysis is the same as the analysis of language use, in fact the study of discourse’s practical use. Argumentation is referred to as a set of discursive techniques aimed at drawing the audience’s attention to problems raised, or at increasing the level of their attention for the purpose of persuasion. This research substantiates the persuasive approach through showing the process of its direct impact on some examples of Imam Ali’s speeches and letters. Impact of persuasion is grasped through explaining pragmatics and speech act thereof in the style of argumentative discourse analysis which is thoroughly examined in this study and described and explained with new methods. One of the most important findings of this research is the authoritative power of argumentative discourse, and Imam Ali (PBUH) has gained that position of power from the discursive power of his language rather than from using evidence, aphorisms, and wisdoms which are used as instrumental rules to empower discourse. 

Abstract A method to discover the meaning of words in Nahj al-Balagha is through attention to concepts sitting next to each other. This method plays a supplementary role in understanding what the book means by the words it uses. The present study seeks to analyze the word “science” (ilm) based on syntagmatic relations. The word is one of the most frequently used in Nahj al-Balagha in a variety of derivative forms. Enjoying divine eminent knowledge, Imam Ali (PBUH) invites, for the sake of the excellence of human beings’ status and of human values, to learning beneficial science, and proscribes non-beneficial science. The research results show that semantic components of knowledge can be presented on two syntagmatic axes: requirements, and effects and results. Words such as “forbearance”, “thought”, “reasoning”, and “practice” are the requirements of science and those such as “understanding”, “insight”, “wisdom”, “knowledge” (ma’rifat), “certainty”, “benefit”, and “good” are among the effects and results of science and centered upon science in an oppositional relation to words “ignorance” and “ignorant” form a configuration whose parts in one semantic field sit next to the word science in order to amplify its meaning. The words sitting next to “science”, namely, “thought”, “reasoning”, “practice”, and “forbearance” have a significant relation with the word and heighten its meaning.

Abstract Proper distribution of resources among different communities (distributive justice) has long been a cause of concernamong political leaders, thinkers andtheorists.
This article aims to analyze the methods of distribution of resources among different social groups by Imam Ali (AS) and questions on what his discourse of distributive justice is based on.
Explaining this question using Norman Fairclough's theory of critical discourse analysis, the articleexamines the sermon or speech in relation to socio-political and cultural factors and inspects the reflection of ideology and power in discourses.  It also investigates how discourses are oriented in stabilizing or changing the existing political situation, which is acceptable. (Norman Fairclough is an emeritus professor of linguistics at the department of linguistics and English language at Lancaster University.)
The outcome of this investigation shows that Imam Ali (AS) had proposed five methods for the appropriate distribution of wealth and income:
1. Identification of the social status of different branches and levels of communities.
2. Increase the distribution of wealth and income to low level communities and reduce them for the high level communities.
3. Distribution should bebased on the amount of effort put in by individualsand their merit.
4. Transfer of taxes to the public sector. 
5. Paying attention to public interests. The end result is that economic and social benefits must be rationally organized in a way that benefits every individual. The well-being of no singleperson should be lower than the general level of society, and that wealth and income need not be equal, rather, it should be to the benefit of all, because injustice is the same inequality that does not benefit everyone.

Abstract History of al-Ya’qubi by Ahmad ibn Abi Ya’qubi (d. 897 AD) is a general history that is composed with the combined method, which means that through eliminating the chain of transmission of hadiths and combining the content of hadiths on an event, it has provided a unified coherent account of the event. Al-Yaqubi’s elimination of the chain of transmission, disagreement of some accounts in his book with other hadiths from its other known contemporary sources (Waqidi’s al-Maghazi, Waqidi’s al-Ridda, ibn Hisham’s al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, ibn Sa’d’s al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, ibn Qutayba’s al-Imama-wa-l-Siyasa, etc.), and, particularly, presentation by him of rare and Shiite-like accounts make it necessary to retrieve and verify the hadiths transmitted by him. The research questions are as follows: What are al-Ya’qubi’s sources? Do they have sufficient validity and reliability? And, finally, what was his criterion for choosing the hadiths? According to the research findings, although the hadiths transmitted by al-Ya’qubi on Imam Ali (AS)’s deputization in Medina during the Expedition of Tabuk, assignment of Imam Ali (AS) to collecting zakat and jizya from the Christian community of Najran, the Farewell Haj and Event of Ghadir, Imam Ali’s declining to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr (except for one hadith), Umar’s negotiations with Imam Ali (AS) over determining the beginning of the Islamic calendar as well as over financial affairs, selection of the third caliph (except for two hadiths), and Uthman’s negotiations with Imam Ali (AS) over jurisprudential matters are in agreement with other sources and reliable, in some places, under the influence of Shiite trends or for some other obscure reasons, al-Ya’qubi’s work has presented different and rare accounts whose source is not clear.