On the saying 289th of Nahj al-Balagha(the personality of a brother)

One of the most beautiful sayings of Nahj al-balagha, formally and semantically, is that of 289th</sup>. Imam Ali (PBUH) in this saying adds up the characteristics of a person who deserves to be a brother of him. Different items in this saying having been issue to debates by translators and interpreters of Nahj al-balagha. Studying these debates leads to a new understanding of the words of Imam. however, about some not much has been said. The first opacity concerning this saying ,is its speaker as in some hadith books such as al-Kafi and historical books such as al-Bidaya wa al-Nahaya, the speaker is considered Imam Hassan (PBUH). The second point is the addressee of this words ie. To whom this saying was addressed and who was meant by it. The third point is the meaning of the the clause”kana zaiifan mostaz’afan”</em> and the last one refers to the structural and syntatical role of the clause”la yudli bihojaten hatta ya’ti ghaziyan</em>”. In this article, giving an acceptable answer to these questions has been pursued. According to this article, the speaker is Imam Ali (PBUH) and the addressee is all those who want to reach the status of a brother to Imam Ali (PBUH) although a particular addressee such as Abuzar Ghefari is not refuted. the meaning of the first clause mentioned is that he was not a man of power and people thought of him as weak: the second clause is defining the clause “fa huwa laysu ghabin wa sillu wadin</em>”.