A Critical Review of the Historical Discourses Concerning Letter 36 in Translations and Commentaries of Nahj al-Balāgha

Plundering by Mu‘āwiya’s commanders in Imam ‘Alī’s (A.S.) jurisdiction began with the Ẓaḥḥāk b. Qays’s invasion and ended with the Busr b. Arṭāt’s massacre. The evidence and the analyses of the letter 36 of Nahj al-Balāgha suggest that this letter may not have been related to the event of Busr b. Arṭāt’s pillage in Yemen in the year 20/640. Analyzing the words of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) in this letter and referring to the earlier sources, we can find out that this letter has been written in reply to ‘Aqīl’s letter in relation to Ẓaḥḥāk b. Qays al-Fahrī’s plundering of the Imam’s jurisdiction in the year 38/658