پژوهشنامه نهج البلاغه
پیاپی 44 (زمستان 1402)

Today, the concept of justice is regarded as a key principle in human societies. Justice, as it exists in many religious and philosophical literatures, has been also mentioned in various texts. One of the most important texts related to the concept of justice is Nahj al-Balagha. Nahj al-Balagha, as a great historical and literary work, has played a significant role in the emergence and development of the concept of justice in the Islamic culture. On the other hand, from the perspective of human rights, the concept of justice is emphasized as the main principle for maintaining human rights and distributing resources and opportunities in society. The notion of human rights seeks to provide guarantees for preserving the dignity and rights of individuals and society in general, and social justice is also a part of this effort. This research, as a descriptive-analytical and comparative study, is an attempt to answer the question “What are the similarities and differences between the concept of justice in Nahj al-Balagha and human rights?” Nahj al-Balagha and human rights emphasize the importance of human dignity, equality, social justice and fair distribution of wealth. Justice in human rights is mostly based on philosophy and natural rights, while justice in Nahj al-Balagha is rooted in religion and Sharia. Justice in Nahj al-Balagha has wider dimensions including moral, social, economic.

The term ‘magic of proximity’ expresses some phonetic and musical balances. This term was first proposed by Shafi'i Kadkani. The common sound between words makes them appear next to each other, regardless of their meaning. The musical and phonetic features are the main link between these words. The magic of proximity and coexistence between words that are composed of common sounds attract the audience's attention, and in this way, they do not feel any meaning between these words, and as a result, they are like related words and it is united and accepted. This study aims to analyze the magic of proximity in the aphorisms of Nahj al-Balagha through a descriptive-analytical method relying on Shafi’i Kadkani’s point of view. The findings show that the application of the magic of proximity in the framework of the literary arts of repetition, puns, phrasing, sajja, conflict, similitude of parts, consideration of an example, and slang and publishing cause coherence and unity of meaning in the wisdom of Nahj al-Balagha has been the correct combination of words has provided the basis for distinguishing the style of Imam Ali (AS). The use of word arts and their coexistence with each other and having similar phonetic features has created a special harmony, which means that the concepts are expressed with more emphasis. The use of similar elements and phonetic repetitions has created a semantic function in the text. Imam (AS) has created a special harmony between the elements of this wisdom by using the appropriate selection of words and putting them together and using music, and in this way he has established a strong bond between words and music.

Semantics, a branch of cognitive linguistics, puts forward new views regarding the meaning of words and focuses on the semantics of the text. This attitude is not in line with absolute relativism and the complete determination of meaning in the context of words. The radial network theory, which examines the semantic widening or systematic polysemy according to the categorization model, has identified a focal member from a lexical entry, known as prototype, that all the meanings of that word have a systematic relationship with that. Since the discourse that governs Nahj al-Balagha has significant dynamics and flexibility, this new method of semantics can be applied to this text. Therefore, the present study, by studying synchronicity, using a descriptive approach and relying on linguistic context, tries to draw the semantic development of the sensory verb "view" in the framework of the radial network in a certain period. The result shows that the meaning of "visual understanding; looking by the eye" is a prototype of this linguistic form. This word, and its other morphological derivatives, find a semantic expansion in the linguistic context of Nahj al-Balagha according to collocations, and its greatest extent has been in abstract concepts and virtual widening. Regarding the semantic expansion of the sensory verb "view", in addition to the sensory, educational concepts of obeying and experiencing, Imam has paid special attention to the cognitive verbs. Besides, the semantic widening of this linguistic form in the concept of "paying attention" has the most elastic meaning.

Amidst contemporary concerns regarding the treatment of political and ideological dissenters within Islam, it is imperative to scrutinize the historical behavior of the Ahl al-Bayt. This study focuses on Imam Ali's interactions with the Kharijites, a group that opposed him, to ascertain whether his speeches directed at them, particularly after his triumph at the Battle of Nahrawan, that is, during the peak of Imam's power over them, contain any indications of rights violations or unjust suppression. Broadly, what do these speeches reveal about Imam Ali's stance and policies towards the Kharijites? For this purpose, the method of content analysis was employed, providing an unbiased and specialized framework for interpreting texts, including the rich narrative sources available. Based on the findings, the primary focus of Imam Ali's post-victory speeches is to elucidate the characteristics of the Kharijite faction. Moreover, the core and subsidiary themes of these speeches can be classified into two overarching categories: 1) Imam Ali's efforts to clarify the legitimacy or lack thereof for both sides of the conflict (his own and the Kharijites'), and 2) his insistence on meting out minimal punishment to the Kharijites while demonstrating maximum tolerance towards them.

Discussing the relationship between ethics and politics and searching for a way to regulate the relationship between these two important areas of human life has been one of the most important concerns of philosophers and political thinkers in the history of human thought since Plato. In this essay, with reference to Nahj al-Balaghah, as one of the significant and influential texts in the intellectual heritage of Islam and Iran - which is the narration of Imam Ali's (a.s.) moral encounter with the world and the result of the lived experience of that noble person as the caliph of Muslims in one of the most critical periods of Islamic history, an attempt has been made to examine and analyze the approach of this text in facing the fundamental question of the relationship between ethics and politics, using the analytical method. The results indicate that in the tragic situation of adhering to moral principles and rules, on the one hand, and the durability and stability of his government, on the other hand, in spite of his accurate and intelligent understanding of the realities of the society and his knowledge of conventional and usual ways of politics and maintaining power, in the framework of his monotheistic ontology, Imam prefers maintaining the dignity of human beings and observing moral principles and avoiding violence, intimidation, deception, and terrorism over the survival of power and government - a government that is aimed at the public interest.

Taking responsibility for divine order is one of the religious duties of human beings, the success of which depends on meeting the special conditions that Ali (AS) mentioned as the most important ones in Hikmat 110. The present article is an attempt to explain these conditions and examine the results of adhering to them in the success of the divine order establisher, as well as the harms of not adhering to them in the individual's failure using an analytical-descriptive approach. Ali (AS) considered avoiding the three vices of "relenting", "collaboration (with false people)" and "Carnal desires and greed" as the most important conditions for success in establishing divine order, which leads to the achievement of the virtues of courage, dignity and steadfastness, and provides the fundamental basis for an individual's success. Failure to avoid any of the vices and falling into them leads to numerous abnormalities and hinders a person's success; relenting causes weakness and stupidity and destroys courage and honesty; collaboration with false people causes depersonalization and humiliation and submission to falsehood, and carnal desires and greed also cause slavery to personal greed and destroy faith and steadfastness. Simultaneous avoidance of all three of the aforementioned vices leads to the emergence of a spirit of courage, bounty, and contentment, and frees the individual from the servility, bowing down to the common people, and coveting their wealth.