To whom is the book Nahj al-Balaaghah attributed?
Q: I would like
to ask how authentic the book Nahj al-Balaagha is and what your
opinion of it is?
A: Praise be to
Allaah.
The book Nahj al-Balaaghah is one of the books that are attributed
to Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased
with him), but it contains many things concerning which those who
claim to be Muslims have disputed. Following the great scientific
principle which was followed by the imams of Islam in obedience to
the shar'i command to verify reports, we have no choice but to
refer to the scholars and specialists to check on the veracity of
the things that are attributed to 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with
him), because what is narrated from the Sahaabah (may Allaah be
pleased with them) has an effect on sharee'ah, especially in the
case of someone like Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased
with him), concerning whom some people have exaggerated or fallen
short, but Allaah guided the Ahl al-Sunnah to follow a middle
course.
By referring to the words of the scholars concerning this book and
comparing its contents with what has been proven with saheeh
isnaads from 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), it becomes
clear that there is material in this book that contradicts what was
proven from him (may Allaah be pleased with him). So we should look
at what some of these great scholars have said:
Imaam al-Dhahabi (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said in his biography of al-Murtada 'Ali
ibn Husayn ibn Moosa al-Moosawi (d. 436 AH): "I said, he was the
compiler of the book Nahj al-Balaaghah which is attributed to Imam
'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), but the reports contained
therein have are no isnaads. Some of it is false and some of it is
true, but it contains some frabricated reports of things that the
Imam would never have said. But who is the fair-minded man who
would look at it in an objective manner?! It was said that it was
compiled by his brother Shareef al-Radiy. It includes slander
against the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him); we seek refuge with Allaah from
knowledge that is of no benefit". (Siyar A'laam al-Nubala',
17/589).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: "Most of the khutab
(sermons) that the author of Nahj al-Balaaghah includes in his book
are lies against 'Ali. 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) is too
noble and too worthy to have uttered such words. But these people
fabricated lies and thought that they were praise, but they are
neither truth nor praise. Whoever says that the words of 'Ali or
any other human being are above the words of any other created
being is mistaken, for the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) are above his words, and both of
them are created beings. Moreover the correct meanings that are to
be found in the words of 'Ali are to be found in the words of
others, but the author of Nahj al-Balaaghah and his ilk took many
of the things that people say and made them the words of 'Ali.
There are some words narrated from 'Ali that he did say, and some
of them are true words that would have been befitting for him to
say, but in fact they are the words of others. Hence in Kalaam
al-Bayaan wa'l-Tabyeen by al-Haafiz and in other books there are
words narrated from people other than 'Ali and the author of Nahj
al-Balaaghah attributed them to 'Ali. If these sermons which were
transmitted in Nahj al-Balaaghah were really spoken by 'Ali, they
would have been found in other books that existed before this book
was written, and they would have been narrated from 'Ali with
isnaads and otherwise. It is known from those who are well versed
in the study of narrations that many of them (these sermons) -
indeed most of them - were unknown before this, therefore it may be
concluded that they are fabrications. So the narrator should state
in which book they are mentioned, who narrated it from 'Ali, and
what its isnaad is. Otherwise, anybody could say something and
claim that it was said by 'Ali. Those who are well-versed in the
knowledge of the hadeeth scholars and of reports and isnaads and
are able to tell what is sound and what is not sound would know
that these people who transmitted reports from 'Ali are the least
likely people to know about reports and be able to distinguish the
sound from the unsound" (Manhaaj
al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, 8/55).
Other scholars who pointed out the lies in this book was al-Khateeb
al-Baghdaadi, in (al-Jaami' li Akhlaaq
al-Raawi wa Adaab al-Saami', 2.161); al-Qaadi Ibn Khalkaan;
al-Safadi, and others. The things that have been said against it
may be summarized in the following points:
1. There are seven generations of narrators between 'Ali (may
Allaah be pleased with him) and the author of this book, and he did
not mention any name whatsoever. Hence we cannot accept his words
without an isnaad.
2. If these narrators are mentioned, it is essential to research
about them and find out whether they are trustworthy.
3. The fact that most of these sermons did not exist before this
book was written indicates that they were fabricated.
4. Al-Murtada - the author of the book - was not one of the
scholars of reports, rather he was one of those whose religious
commitment and competence were debatable.
5. The slander that it contains against the leading Sahaabah is
sufficient to count it as false.
6. The insults and slander that it contains are not the
characteristics of the believers, let alone their leaders such as
'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
7. It contains contradictions and clumsy expressions from which it
may be known for certain that it was not produced by one who was
prominent in eloquence and fluency.
8. The fact that the Raafidah accept it and are certain that it is
as true as the Qur'aan, despite all these objections, indicates
that they do not pay attention to verifying sources and ensuring
that they are sound with regard to the matters of their
religion.
Based on the above, it is clear that this book cannot be attributed
to 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), therefore nothing in it
can be used as evidence in matters of sharee'ah, no matter what the
issue is. But whoever reads it in order to find out what it
contains of eloquence, the ruling is the same as that on all other
books on Arabic language, without attributing its contents to Ameer
al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
See Kutub hadhdhara minha al-'Ulama',
2/250
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
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