Minhaj al-wilaya fi sharh Nahj al-balagha. Volume 1

The Nahj al-balagha is a collection of sermons, letters, testimonials, and wise sayings attributed to ?Ali b. Abi Talib (d. 40/661), the Prophet's son-in-law, successor, and first imam of the Shi?a. The collection was compiled by al-Sharif al-Radi (d. 406/1088), a distinguished ?Alid member of Baghdad's ruling elite. The Nahj al-balagha is widely considered as a work of extraordinary literary quality, besides being an invaluable source of information on the person, opinions, and virtues of ?Ali. Many commentaries on it were written, in Arabic and in Persian. The present, two-volume Persian commentary was written by ?Abd al-Baqi Sufi Tabrizi (d. 1039/1629-30), who spent most of his active life in then-Ottoman Baghdad, mystics mostly having a hard time under the Safavid ruler Shah ?Abbas I (r. 1587-1629). The commentary is thematically organized into twelve sections and explains the text from a variety of angles, with discussions ranging from theology and tradition to philosophy and mysticism. 2 vols; volume 1.