Investigating the Exact Form of the Wisdom 252 of Nahj al-Balāghah: “Wal-Imāmat-u Niẓāman lil-'Ummah”

Along the wisdom 252 of Nahj al-Balāghah, where Amir al-Mu'minīn Ali (AS) speaks of the philosophy and cause of Islamic laws and commandments, beginning with the statement of “faraḍ al-Allah al-'īmān-a taṭhīran min al-shirk” (Allah obligated men to have Faith in order to be purified of the filth of Polytheism), occurs the phrase “al-imāmat-u niẓāman lil-'ummah” (الإمامه نظاما للامه) that refers to the importance of the issue of Imamate in the leadership of the Community (‘Ummah). However, in some later versions, this phrase has been recorded as “al-amānat-u niẓāman lil-'ummah” (الامانه نظاما للامه) that points to the importance of trust in the preservation of the ‘Ummah system. On the other hand, unfortunately in recent years, distortions have taken place by ​​some publishers and editors in the commentaries of Nahjul Balāghah, so that the text of Nahj al-Balāqah presented at the beginning of some commentaries such as Ibn Abi al-Ḥadīd’s and Ibn Meytham’s, does not correspond to the same text explained by the commentator himself, of which the phrase al-imāmat-u niẓāman lil-'ummah is notable. The present paper, based on the old versions and the authentic commentaries of Nahj al-Balāghah, as well as the context of the phrase and other closed-meaning hadiths, argues that the record of “al-imāmah” is its exact form; it is “Imamate” which has the essential element in the system of the ‘Ummah, and is constantly emphasized, not “trust”. Without doubt, the theological tendencies of some commentators such as Muhammad ‘Abduh and Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ have affected at choosing the form of “al-amānah”.