Reviewing and criticizing the discovering procedures of Nahj al-Balaghah concepts in the commentary of Mohammad Baqer Lahiji Isfahani

Nahj al-Balaghah, due to its great importance in Islamic sources, has always been the focus of researchers. Among the written explanations, the commentary of Lahiji about Nahj al-Balaghah uses theological, philosophical, and mystical terms. The present article has been done with a descriptive-analytical method to study the discovery procedures for Nahj al-Balaghah concepts in the commentary of Lahiji using a critical approach. After examining the author's commentary, and clarifying whether his piety was influential in his commentary or not. It was revealed that he had used various methods to explain the words of Imam Ali (as), to receive themes (including linguistic, literary, historical, geographical, and philosophical ones). After discovering these procedures, a comparison was made between his commentary and other commentaries. Consequently, shortcomings and confirmations were discussed. So, it was revealed that the commentary of Lahiji is written for a specific, general and limited audience. To this end, the authors considered both strong and weak points. The strong points were stating the cause, using the correct version, and brief attention to the narration. The weak points were the errors in quoting verses, negligence in translating and explaining some interpretations, errors in recognizing the meaning of some words, and failure in identifying the structure of some words.