Imam Ali ΄s Studies

Abstract With the passing of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), despite the appointment of Imam Ali (AS) to succeed him, especially at Ghadir, and despite the merits of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), the Muslims made a hasty and incorrect decision to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr as the first Caliph. Abu Bakr and his supporters, especially Umar, were demanding allegiance from the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), considering his special position. Immediately after the allegiance given to Abu Bakr in Saqifa, they tried to obtain allegiance from Imam Ali (a.s.) in any way possible. The question raised here is what was the reaction of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) to this request? Did he accept their request and immediately pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, or did he consider himself worthy of succession based on what had happened in the past and therefore refused to pledge allegiance? If the Imam refused to pledge allegiance, was this refusal permanent or was his refusal temporary? Examining the issue using historical and narrative sources and using a descriptive-analytical method shows that although the Commander of the Faithful (AS) initially refused to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr due to his objection to his election and considered himself the only one worthy of ruling, he eventually swore allegiance to him in order to safeguard the interests of the nascent Islamic society.

Abstract The issue of the inclusivity of divine guidance with respect to the jinn constitutes one of the less-examined topics in Islamic theology (kalām). By presenting the jinn as accountable beings (mukallafūn) and addressees of revelation, the Qur’an demonstrates that the divine guidance programme is not confined to human beings; rather, the jinn, like humans, are charged with faith in and obedience to the divine proof (ḥujjah). The central research question of this study is how the guidance of the jinn has continued after the seal of prophethood and who serves as their religious authority. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, and drawing upon Qur’anic verses and narrations, this article demonstrates that the arguments establishing the necessity of an infallible Imam for human beings are equally applicable to the jinn. Divine wisdom and the final revealed law require that no accountable being be left without a divine proof. The narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt explicitly affirm that the Prophet of Islam was sent to both jinn and humankind, and that after him the divine successor assumes responsibility for the guidance of both communities. On this basis, the Alawi Imamate over the jinn forms an integral part of the comprehensive system of divine guidance and the continuation of the Prophet’s mission for all accountable beings. An examination of this reality clarifies the boundary between divine Imamate and non-designated caliphates, for those caliphates that lack divine appointment and fail to encompass the guidance of both jinn and humankind cannot be regarded as the continuation of the Prophet’s universal mission.

Abstract Morphological deviation—the conscious departure from morphological norms—has the potential to function as a discursive strategy serving the stabilization of meaning and the reinforcement of the speaker's authority. Despite previous research on deviation in Nahj al-Balāgha, the counter-discursive analysis of these devices in the Letters has remained neglected. Integrating the counter-discourse approach with morphological deviation, this study employs a descriptive-analytical method based on qualitative content analysis to examine all fifty-three Letters of Nahj al-Balāgha. The findings indicate that morphological deviations occur in four major domains: deviation from present to past tense (115 cases), through violating the maxim of quality, generates counter-discourses of certainty, urgency, inevitability, and transhistoricity in political commands and descriptions of the Hereafter and death. Deviation from active to passive voice (126 cases), through the omission of the subject, activates counter-discourses of magnification, predestination, generalization, degradation, threat, passivity, and victimhood portrayal. Deviation in derived forms (4 cases) adds implications of gradualness, exaggeration, and participation to the discourse, while deviation in derivation (53 cases) and infinitives (1 case) renders concepts more objective, enduring, and transhistorical. Through these strategies, Imam ʿAlī (AS) establishes the monotheistic discourse as a stable and unalterable principle within the order of existence, elevating the Letters from administrative correspondence to a transhistorical text.

Abstract Thinking and reasoning constitute the distinguishing feature and superiority of humankind over other beings. If grounded in intellect and innate nature (fiṭrah), they lead man to monotheistic knowledge (maʿrifah) and divine love. However, numerous harms and obstacles exist that divert human thought from the path of rationality and monotheism, and are regarded as impediments to human growth and felicity. The present study endeavors to examine the obstacles to monotheistic thought through a descriptive-analytical method from an Islamic perspective, with emphasis on the narrations of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī (peace be upon him), and to present them to its audience. The findings indicate that the following set of factors prevent the formation and establishment of monotheistic thought in human existence: man's following of jinn and human devils and his entanglement in their snares and temptations; lack of piety (taqwā), sin, and failure to struggle against the carnal soul (hawā al-nafs); absence of a correct attitude toward the world and a sense of intense attachment and love for it; following innovations (bidʿah) and distortions (taḥrīf); man's entrapment in fantasies, conjectures, and false imaginings; man's negligence (ghaflah) and his turning away from the remembrance of the Truth; and man's preoccupation with lengthy aspirations.

Abstract The present study aims to investigate the discursive and ideological mechanisms in the poem Al-Qur’an al-Bashari by Joseph Hashem, a Lebanese Christian poet, based on van Dijk’s model of ideological discourse analysis. It seeks to demonstrate how the poet, through the linguistic and semantic capacities of poetry, represents religious and value-based identity and embeds ideology in the text through the polarization between the “self” and the “other.” The study adopts a descriptive-analytical method, and the data have been examined through a direct reading of the poem’s verses and their analysis in light of van Dijk’s ideological square. In addition, the macro-semantic structure of the text has been taken into consideration as a complementary framework for understanding the poem’s discursive orientation.The findings reveal that this poem is not merely a literary or emotional text; rather, it constitutes an identity-forming and ideological discourse in which the poet, by employing religious, epic, and value-laden language, presents the in-group with such qualities as legitimacy, purity, justice, lawfulness, guidance, and courage, while portraying the out-group with attributes such as deviation, hypocrisy, treachery, distortion, oppression, and illegitimacy. Within this framework, the Qur’an, Imam Ali (PBUH), and the camp of truth are foregrounded as centers of legitimacy and truth, whereas the opposing forces are depicted as anti-truth and anti-justice. Accordingly, *Al-Qur’an al-Bashari* is not only a carrier of religious themes, but also a tool for reconstructing historical memory, legitimizing the value system intended by the poet, and discrediting the rival discourse.

Abstract The Adjuration of Imam Ali (PBUH) in the Six-Member Council is one of the most pivotal texts in the history of Islamic political thought, wherein the issue of leadership legitimacy is juxtaposed against the traditional structure of consultation. Transcending a mere personal defense, this adjuration constitutes a foundational act to critique the existing power structure and propose an alternative model in Islamic political thought. In this model, legitimacy is redefined not on the basis of elite consensus, but rather grounded in historical evidence and the Prophetic text (Nass). Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model (description, interpretation, and explanation), this study employs Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate the redefinition of politico-religious legitimacy and identify the linguistic strategies utilized in the Council's adjuration. The findings reveal that at the descriptive level, Imam Ali (PBUH) employs strategies such as the repetition of divine oaths ("I adjure you by Allah"), a coercive question-and-answer structure, and the contrast of exclusive pronouns, specifically "fīkum" (in you) versus "ghayrī" (other than me). At the interpretive level, these linguistic mechanisms create a space for a moral tribunal and exert social pressure to elicit a collective admission ("They said: O Allah, no") from the political elites present in the Council. At the explanatory level, this speech act, functioning as a discourse of resistance, shifts the intellectual paradigm of legitimacy from "customary-tribal election" to "divine appointment based on merit."

Abstract This study examines the relationship between the state and justice in the thought of Imam Ali, based on textual evidence from Nahj al-Balagha and drawing on Azmi Bishara’s ideas as a contemporary theoretical horizon. Its central question is how justice is connected to governmental responsibility, respect for people’s rights, and the exercise of power in Imam Ali’s thought, and what interpretive possibilities this formulation offers for addressing contemporary questions. Adopting an interpretive-analytical approach informed by Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, the study analyzes textual evidence from Nahj al-Balagha and draws on selected concepts from Bishara’s works to highlight the legal, social, and institutional dimensions of the issue. The findings indicate that justice in Imam Ali’s thought is not merely an individual virtue expected of a ruler; rather, it is closely linked to the discharge of public office as a trust, public responsibility, respect for the rights of different social groups, and the performance of government. Bishara’s ideas also provide a basis for raising questions about the conditions and mechanisms required to realize justice within contemporary political structures. Accordingly, this hermeneutical reading does not seek to compare two intellectual frameworks as equivalent systems or to formulate a hybrid theory. Instead, it focuses on interpreting Imam Ali’s thought on the basis of textual evidence from Nahj al-Balagha while broadening the horizon of inquiry into the various dimensions of the relationship between the state and justice.

Abstract Despite extensive studies on the literary and rhetorical analysis of Nahj al-Balagha as both a literary and religious text, the connection between its "verbal imagery" and "artistic imagery" has not yet been systematically explored. Investigating the methods used to depict and represent abstract concepts through the artistic imagery of Nahj al-Balagha helps elucidate this relationship. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, this study examines the artistic imagery associated with the concept of death in Nahj al-Balagha to explore the link between theological concepts and visual elements (such as light, color, and symbols). It seeks to answer how Imam Ali (AS) articulated one of the most complex abstract concepts—death—through words, transforming it into "visual concepts" and "artistic images" of exquisite beauty, and to determine the impact of such imagery on the audience. The findings indicate that the depictions of death in Nahj al-Balagha incorporate key components of artistic imagery, such as movement, rhythm (musicality), color, imagination, emotion, and dialogue. Beyond creating novel and unparalleled imagery, this approach facilitates a deeper, faster, and superior understanding of the concept, firmly embedding the intended meanings in the mind. Furthermore, the diversity of imagery, combined with rhythm and pleasing rhyming prose (saj‘), prevents the mental fatigue that might otherwise arise from the repeated discussion of this concept. The imagery of death presented in Nahj al-Balagha—by confronting the individual with vivid, dynamic, and tangible depictions—not only instills fear and a sense of warning but also serves as a prompt that stimulates the drive to act, thereby fostering the readiness to accept death.

Abstract Abstract
The concepts of justice and security have long been aspirations and needs of all humanity, a focus of intellectual inquiry for thinkers, and a primary concern for rulers. The establishment of security and the implementation of justice are among the fundamental objectives of forming a government within human society. Within the theoretical and practical political thought of Muslims, these two concepts hold a special status, serving as fundamental values and essential pillars of an Islamic society. Here, "justice" extends beyond mere legal equality to encompass the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunities, and responsibilities; similarly, "security" transcends the protection of life and property to include psychological, social, and cultural security. Given the pivotal role of justice and security within the framework of Islamic values, this study addresses the following question: What is the relationship between justice and security in the sīrah of Imam Ali (PBUH)? In other words, how is the relationship between justice and security—at the normative, institutional, and executive levels—articulated within the sīrah of Imam Ali (PBUH)? Utilizing a documentary-library research method for data collection, alongside a descriptive-analytical-historical approach for data analysis, this study finds that the relationship between justice and security in the conduct of Imam Ali (PBUH) is one of mutual interdependence. That is, security cannot be established without justice, and justice cannot be implemented without security; the establishment of security requires the firm foundation and standards of justice, while the implementation of justice requires the stable environment provided by security.