I am unsure and unclear why or how Nahjal Balalagha became a staple to the Shia muslim faith. The book was compiled by Ash-Sharif Ar-Radhi a Persian Shia Scholar and was compiled in 406 AH (about 1028 AD). The oldest copy of this book is from 1158, which is being preserved currently in the Reza Library in India. That copy has certain discrepancies to many modern versions.
Ar-Radhi was the younger and less accomplished brother of Sharīf Murtadhā. Unlike his elder brother, Ar-Radhi was more interested in the eloquence of the Arabic language and poetry. Coming from a family of religious scholars, and being the 6th decedent of the 7th Imam Musa Kadhim, he chose to compile all writings that we are told were attributed to Imam Ali, and called that book the “Peak of Eloquence”. Today’s Shia muslims consider this book the brother/sister the Quran, and consider the book sacred and completely true. Shia scholars of course may have differing opinions, however I have not come across any that have come out and dispute the authenticity of the attributions in Nahj al-Balagha. I have only started looking at this book and have already found two hadith that I believe are false. It is my opinion that the more I look into this book the more hadiths I will find are false. Even if I cannot prove any additional hadiths being fabricated, all of the hadiths are missing an isnad (chain of narrators), and only some of the hadiths have any source whatsoever. We know that during the 11-13th century, countless individuals made up fake hadiths towards Imam Ali. I don’t think we should as muslims quickly accept anything as sacred. Here I will go through two hadiths:
Sermon 152 (Sermons 150, 151 or 153 in different editions of the book) – About Negligent Persons and the Characteristics of Beasts, Carnivores and Women
Here the following statement is attributed to Imam Ali:
“…Beasts are concerned with their bellies. Carnivores are concerned with assaulting others. Women are concerned with the adornments of this ignoble life and the creation of mischief herein….”
Sermon 152 (sometimes numbered 150, 151, 153) of Nahjul Balagha
Right off the bat, we can not find any statement in the Quran that seems to indicate women are more prone to sin or to this dunya (world) than are men. Already this statement adds new information to the muslim reader, that we do not get from just reading the Quran.
Secondly, we see no isnad (chain of narrators), and we see no written source of where the writer obtained this statement from so we cannot verify its authenticity. Rather, some have found an earlier version of this statement found in Al-Kafi, that version goes as follows:
“O people, the concern of carnivores is attacking, and the concern of beasts is their bellies, and the concern of women is men. And indeed the believers are empathetic, fearing, cautious – may Allah make us and you from among them.”
Source: ‘Ayyuha al nas, inna al sib’ himmatuha al-ta’addi [alternate: taghaddi] wa inna al-baha’im himmatuha butunuha wa inna al-nisa’ himmatuhunna al-rijal wa inna al mu’minun mushfiqun kha’ifun wajilun, ja’alana Allah wa iyyakum minhum.’ Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni, al-Kafi V, 8 vols. (Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1367 ah (solar)), 82, no. 9.
This version says something completely different and gives us a different understanding. This post is simply meant to articulate how a hadiths (and subsequently the religious orthodoxy itself) can be changed. The remainder of this sermon talks about esoteric ideas that cannot be found in the Quran. For example the same sermon says:
“You will be dealt with as you deal with others, you will reap what you sow and what you send today will meet you tomorrow.”
Sermon 152 (sometimes numbered 150, 151, 153) of Nahjul Balagha
This idea is not found in the Quran of Islamic theology. Rather, Allah in the Quran says
Allah will throw their mockery back at them, leaving them to continue wandering blindly in their defiance.
Quran 2:15
It is clear from here and other places in the Quran that not everyone will get a humble awakening in this world. Some are left to wander blindly until their death comes and they wake up, but at that point it is too late.
The second hadith in Nahjul Balagha that has been fabricated is Hadith Kumayl aka Hadith Haqiqa. This will be covered in another post.
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