Nahj al-Balagha in the Works of Orientalists

Naj al-Balaghah, a collection of Imam Ali’s sermons, letters, quotations and sayings, is one of the most significant literary books in Arabic which is exemplary of eloquence and stylistics in Arabic. This book has attracted the attention of men of letters as well as Muslim scholars. It also has absorbed a remarkable number of Orientalists / Arabists who have dedicated a considerable portion of their investigations to studying this eminent work. The study of such investigations can be said to help introduce the trend of Shii-centered studies as well as western studies on Arabic literature. This paper has attempted to study the stages and achievements of the Orientalists’ investigations as well as emergence of Muslim researchers in the West in this research area.