Instruction No. 77 of Nahj al-Balaghah: an analysis of the utterance aura and the fiqh al-hadith functions

From the aspect of fiqh al-hadith (hadith comprehension) correct understanding of the aura in which a hadith was uttered (faḍā’ al-ṣudūr) is among the factors of valid attitude toward the traditions and the words quoted from the Infallibles.Because the aura must be counted among the circumstantial indications (qarā’in ḥāliyyah) that along with intellectual and literary indications may play an important role in discovering the purpose of the Infallible figure (peace be upon him/her) of his/her utterance. Imam Ali’s instruction (Nahj al-Balaghah, II, 77, given to Ibn ‘Abbas at the time of his being deputed to confront the Kharijites) that refers to the fact that the Qur’an has many faces and interpretations (ḥammāl dhū wujūh) and that (referring to) the hadith has a fundamental role in the debating, is a case that is worth inflecting and studying from the utterance and semantic aspects.In his conclusion of the reports of utterance aura, the writer has considered Iskafi’s opinion closer to the reality and based on this has deduced that the Imam’s purpose is that from the aspect of “what is” and “what is not” the Qur’an possesses such a capability that it may be interpreted with different meanings, but from the aspect of “obligations” and “prohibitions” an exegete is obliged to apply all tradition-based and exegetic principles and indications so that he may discover the valid semantic faces (and interpretations) and layers.