The influence of Nahj al-Balagha on the poetry of Sharif al-Murtada: An analytical study

Abstract

        Nahj al-Balagha is one of the books from which Al-Sharif Al-Murtada drew his poetic heritage in his collection of poems. He composed his poetry from the sermons and wisdom of his grandfather, Imam Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), in order to strengthen his argument and proofs, in order to convey the intended meaning to the recipient in a smooth style free of complexity and ambiguity, and in an expressive and clear language. Nahj al-Balagha had the greatest share in his poetry. This is due to the poet's high culture, which he drew from his religious and literary heritage and employed in his poetry. Therefore, he translated the words of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) into poetic verses.

 The words of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) had a significant impact on enriching the Arabic language with wisdom and sermons. His words are only surpassed by the Holy Qur'an and the noble hadiths. Therefore, our poet drew his poems from these great sources.

Delving into the sermons and wisdom of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) has both importance and cautionary implications. His (peace be upon him) speech rises to the level of eloquent speech, the composition of which confuses minds. His speech is lower than the speech of the Creator and higher than the speech of creation. In addition, Nahjul Balagha contains within its covers a fertile source that no person can do without.

In addition, the poet quoted from Nahj al-Balagha sermons and wisdom with a purposeful and concise idea to convey it to the recipient when using it in poetry for ease of circulation, as it contains a condensed meaning and a concise experience, and what it carries within it of guidance, preaching and warning against the vanity of the world.

The collection of poems of the poet Al-Sharif Al-Murtada also contained texts from the sermons and sayings of the Imam, Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), in many of his poems. We find many poems that contain within them what he (peace be upon him) spoke, excerpts from his sermons that he delivered in various places, or his short words, with what they contain of semantic and stylistic condensation in sentences with fertile experience, and meanings with connotations. ...and he wanted from it advice and guidance for the nation, so the poet tried to draw lessons and morals from it; to achieve benefit for the listener and recipient of his poetry, and this is what he drew from his cultural heritage and religious environment that helped his literary talent to blend the words of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in his poems, which gained his poems the beauty of style, the delicacy of meaning and the ease of understanding the idea.

We also find that the poet has brought many Qur’anic texts to his poetry in a great and influential creative way, relying on his memory full of memorizing the Holy Qur’an. Therefore, he was creative in employing the Qur’anic word in his poetic text in a way that is consistent with the sanctity of the Qur’anic text, the appropriateness of the literary context and the desired meaning, or through the connotations of some Qur’anic verses; to generate that idea in his poetic text. He came up with this technique in two types, which are: