Analysis of the Transformation in Nahj al-Balāgha Studies from the Post-Safavid Period to the Threshold of the Iranian Islamic Revolution

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D student , Nahj al-Balagha Sciences and Education, College of Theology, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran.

Abstract

The tradition of writing commentaries on Nahj al-Balāgha is a mirror reflecting the intellectual, political, and social transformations of Islamic societies. Despite numerous bibliographic studies, a systematic analysis of this trajectory in relation to its discursive contexts remains absent. Employing the "Social history of knowledge" approach and drawing on Skinner’s contextual hermeneutic method, this study investigates the metamorphosis of this tradition during the neglected period from the fall of the Safavids to the eve of the Iranian Islamic Revolution.
The findings indicate that this trajectory experienced two clearly distinct stages. First, the "Period of stagnation," (post-Safavid to the eve of the Constitutional era) during which, under the dominance of Akhbārism and political despotism, Nahjal-Balāgha shifted from a comprehensive text to a "Mirror for princes," serving the function of "Consolidating power" and advising rulers; second, the "Period of renaissance," (from the Constitutional era to the Revolution) in which, with the emergence of the Samarra School and the encounter with modernity, an "Epistemic rupture" occurred. In this era, Nahj al-Balāgha became a tool for the "Delegitimization of despotism" and the "Foundation of political theology." Methodologically, there was also a fundamental shift from "Sequential-lexical commentary" to "Systematic analysis" aimed at extracting a coherent intellectual school from Nahj al-Balāgha. The study concludes that developments in commentary writing constitute a key indicator for tracing the transition of Shiʿi thought from "Individual ethics" to "Political jurisprudence" in the modern period.

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History

  • Receive Date: 02 October 2025
  • Revise Date: 13 December 2025
  • Accept Date: 11 April 2026
  • First Publish Date: 21 April 2026
  • Publish Date: 21 April 2026

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