Jahiliyyah and Civility in the Nahj al-Balaghah

Jahiliyyah and civility are amongst the serious themes touched upon in the Nahj al-Balaghah. This is because annihilation of Jahiliyyah and its markers from the human relations, for manifestation of civility and its traits in life, made the approaches adopted by Imam Ali in emulation of the conduct of the Prophet Muhammad. The present paper deals with describing the opposition of markers and on the basis of the armies of theintellect and ignorance, a clear model for comparing Jahiliyyah and civility. As mentioned in the Nahj al-Balaghah, these markers are divided into five groups: 1) the valuelessness of the mankind, the turnovers of the human values, the status of the mankind, andimplementation of the human values; 2) prejudice, anger, tenderness, and tolerance, 3) infringement of precincts, assaults, honorification, and lawfulness, 4) despotism and democracy, and 5) waging wars, bloodshedding, peacefulness, and compromise.Imam Ali opposed the Jahiliyyah markers and standards in both his conduct and his sermons. On the other hand, he did his utmost to crystalize those of civility of which a list is given on the authority of the Nahj al-Balaghah.