Nahj-al-Balagha and Historical Criticism (Case study: Existence and Nonexistence)

In Nahj-al-Balagha, there are words and phrases which indicate a later theological and philosophical meaning, not consistent with the historical conditions of the first century AH. Not accepting this inconsistency, Some scholars believe that Imam Ali (as) has made these words and phrases. While others have tried to provide evidence justifying its consistent with the appropriate historical context. Nevertheless, these evidences can simply support the possibility of such a usage, but are not historical evidences. Others have tried to show that some of the suspicious cases are the words of later religious figures, including Shiite Imams (from the second century onwards). However, in this way, the context of the discussions has not been reconstructed and has not provided satisfactory evidence for the origin of the phrases and its developments. In the present article, an attempt is made to investigate the historical origins of the subject (Existence and Nonexistence) in the Quran, narratives, theological and philosophical sources and Muslim discourse with followers of other religions (In the 2nd and 3nd centuries AH) and give a better answer to this problem.