Nahj al-Balāgha

The Nahj al-Balāgha is a renowned collection of sermons, letters and aphorisms attributed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, prized across the Islamic world for its eloquence and wisdom.

At a glance

Compiled in the early eleventh century by the Shiʿi scholar al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, the Nahj al-Balāgha (“the peak of eloquence”) gathers material attributed to ʿAlī — sermons on God, creation and the transience of the world; letters of governance, most famously his instructions to his governor of Egypt; and short sayings of moral and political wisdom. It is especially revered in Shiʿi tradition, where ʿAlī is the first Imam, but its literary standing is admired far more widely.

As with much early material, the attribution of individual passages has been discussed by scholars, and Chronicle presents the work descriptively as a celebrated compilation rather than adjudicating the authorship of each piece. Its influence on Arabic prose, on political ethics and on later mysticism — which drew on its metaphysical sermons — has been lasting.

Related in Chronicle

Curated reference on Islamic belief and thought. On matters where traditions differ, positions are attributed rather than adjudicated; verify points of doctrine with qualified scholars.