Form and Meaning of the Quran in Nahj al-Balagha

The emergence of Islam led to the fundamental changes in beliefs, rites and manners of Arabs. These changes also showed themselves in the literature of the time. One of the literary devices of that time was the sermon and one of the best examples of it can be found in the speeches made by Imam Ali (peace be upon him) who utilized the Islamic ideas and the holy Quran's literature in his sermons. Imam Ali (pbuh) having close connections with the Quran and a vast knowledge of its various aspects, was under the influence of this divine book. Accordingly, the Quran's influence on Nahj al-Balagha can be found both in form and meaning. Here, either Imam Ali (pbuh) masterly utilized the Quran's forms to ascertain his ideas or if the aforementioned forms were made out of his own creative mind, the meaning and content of the speech were similar to the Qurans. This study was an attempt to investigate the utilization of forms and meanings of the Quran in Nahj al-Balagha and to verify the linguistic similarities of the Quran and Nahj al-Balagha by the use of some examples. The results of the analysis revealed that the form and meaning of the Quran were applied in Nahj al-Balagha in different ways. Finally, it can be mentioned that the language of Nahj al-Balagha was heavily under the influence of the Quran and in fact Nahj al-Balagha can be considered as a mirror of the Quran.