Methods of Illustrating Concepts in Nahj al-Balagha

Illustration in speech field is the art of portraying concepts with the help of words and phrases with specific methods carried out to increase their efficacy on the addressee and a better and faster conveying of the material. This art is employed beautifully in Nahj al- Balāgha، which، by making use of nature، human being، living creatures، etc. in the vertical and horizontal axes of speech، has created beautiful and effectual images. On the horizontal axis، that is in every single sentence، simple images like beauty، magnificence، greatness، etc. have been displayed. Different warm and lively images colored with various rhymed prose، rhetorical forms، symbols، allusions، stretch of imagination، and spiritual elements are available in this axis. Sometimes، even without using a specific form، novel images have been created or the very Qur’ānic images have been directly employed. On the vertical axis، i. e.، the general structure of speech، with which reasonable and logical communication is made between the components، novel and matchless images have been created.