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Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah – Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd – Vol. 1
If he had said “the Divine Book” instead of “Divine Knowledge,” it would have been better.
Al-Raḍī (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“So I responded to their request to begin with that, knowing the immense benefit therein, the widespread remembrance it would bring, and the stored reward. Through it, I intended to clarify the عظيمة status of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in this virtue—added to his abundant merits and numerous excellences—and that he alone reached its utmost degree among all the early predecessors, from whom only little and rare, scattered statements are transmitted. As for his speech (peace be upon him), it is a sea that none can rival, an abundant source that none can outdo. I also wished to allow myself pride in him—may Allah’s blessings be upon him—by citing the words of al-Farazdaq:
Those are my forefathers—so bring me the like of them
When assemblies gather us together, O Jarīr.”
Commentary:
al-maḥāsin al-dathirah: abundant virtues; māl dathir means plentiful wealth.
al-jammah: likewise means abundant.
yu’thar ʿanhum: transmitted or narrated from them; qultuhu āthiran means I related it.
lā yusājil: none can compete with it in abundance. The origin is from drawing water with a full bucket (sijl).
It is said:
Whoever competes with me competes with a noble one
Who fills the bucket to the knot of the rope.
It is also narrated lā yusāḥil (with ḥāʾ), from the shore (sāḥil) of the sea—meaning none can match it in vastness.
lā yuḥāfil: none can boast against it in abundance; from ḥafl, meaning fullness.
muḥāfalah: boasting of plenitude.
ḍarʿ ḥāfil: a full udder.
(The origin of musājalah, as Ibn Barrī نقل, is that two water-drawers would draw water, each matching the other bucket for bucket; whoever failed was defeated. The Arabs then used it metaphorically for mutual boasting.)
Al-Farazdaq is Hammām ibn Ghālib ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah al-Tamīmī. Among the verses are:
Among us is he who was chosen for generosity and liberality
When the fierce winds blow.
Among us is he who revived the buried infant girl—Ghālib and ʿAmr;
And among us are Ḥājib and al-Aqāriʿ.
Among us is he who led the steeds across rough terrain
At Najrān until the noble steeds met them at dawn.
Among us is he who granted the Messenger a gift—
The captives of Tamīm, while eyes overflowed with tears.
al-tarāʾiʿ: noble horses.
al-wajā: sore-footedness from hardship.
al-ashājiʿ: the visible sinews of the hand.
al-agharr: a distinguished, noble man (as a horse is known by the white mark on its forehead).
He concludes:
Those are my forefathers—so bring me the like of them
When assemblies gather us together, O Jarīr.
Through them, Dārim rose to what I bear;
And I strike down my rivals whom I confront.
We seized the horizons of the sky above you—
Ours are its two moons and the rising stars.
How astonishing! Even Kulayb reviles me—
As though his father were Nahshal or Mujāshiʿ!
Al-Raḍī (may Allah have mercy on him) then said:
“I observed that his speech (peace be upon him) revolves around three principal themes:
First, sermons and commands;
Second, letters and correspondence;
Third, wisdom sayings and admonitions.
With Allah’s success, I resolved to begin by selecting the finest sermons, then the finest letters, then the finest wisdom sayings and etiquette—assigning to each category its own chapter and arranging pages within it. This would serve as a foundation for including whatever might later come to my attention that I initially missed.
If something of his speech appears within a dialogue, an answer to a question, or another context outside the categories I mentioned, I will assign it to the most appropriate chapter and the one most fitting to its intent.
Sometimes what I select may contain sections that are not fully connected, or eloquent passages not entirely sequential, for I present highlights and luminous excerpts, not a continuous, systematic arrangement.”
Commentary:
His statement “I resolved to begin” (ajmaʿtu ʿalā al-ibtidāʾ) means: I firmly decided.
Al-Qutb al-Rāwandī said its implied meaning is: “I resolved, being determined, to begin,” since one normally says ajmaʿtu al-amr (I resolved the matter), not ajmaʿtu ʿalā al-amr. Allah says:
“So resolve upon your plan” (Qur’an 10:71).
