A Sociological Reading of Imam Ali (PBUH)’s Letters to Mu’awiya Based on Lewis A. Coser’s Theory of Social Conflict

The Conflict theory is regarded as a main approach in the study of social problems, and Lewis Alfred Coser as one of the most eminent theoreticians of sociology who has had a significant impact on the development of the conflict theory, and regenerated the theory in its both affirmative and negative layers. In his The Functions of Social Conflict, he has explored behavior and interaction of humans, groups and political parties in sixteen theories. The theories are seen as appropriate bedrock for reading different texts from a sociological perspective. Therefore, using the analytic-descriptive method and drawing upon Coser’s theory of social conflict, the present study seeks to re-read Imam Ali (PBUH)’s letters to Mu’awiya in order to analyze the concealed and in-depth theme and content of the letters, which imply social conflicts, and to provide new horizons for researchers. The study has reached the conclusion that the texts of the letters in Nahj alBalagha are very amenable to a sociological reading based on the theory of conflict, because they enjoy a dialectical discourse and one could discuss a great many conflicts in the depths of the letters such as the conflict between the pure and impure.