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Letter of Imam Ali (a) to Shurayh the Judge

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This article is an introduction to the Letter of Imam Ali (a) to Shurayh the Judge; to read its text see Text:Letter of Imam Ali (a) to Shurayh the Judge.

The letter of Imam Ali (a) to Shurayh b. al-Harith (Arabic: رسالة الإمام علي إلى شريح القاضي), the judge of Kufa at the time, is a reproachful letter in which Imam Ali (a) criticizes him for purchasing an expensive house. In this letter, Imam Ali (a) admonishes Shurayh about the worthlessness of this world and the reckoning of the Hereafter. He also expects Shurayh, as a government official, not to lead an aristocratic life. This letter has been regarded as one of the principles of governance, according to which a ruler must deal decisively with his officials.

This letter is the third epistle of Nahj al-Balagha. It also appears in other works, such as Amali of al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Kitab al-Arba'in of al-Shaykh al-Baha'i, and some Sunni sources, including Dustur Ma'alim al-Hikam by Qadi Quda'i (d. 454/1062) and Tadhkirat al-Khawass by Sibt b. al-Jawzi (d. 654/1256).

Significance and Status

The letter of Imam Ali to Shurayh the Judge has been cited as a document demonstrating a ruler's decisiveness toward government officials.[1] As Shurayh was the judge of Kufa and thus exposed to accusations of misconduct, Imam Ali (a) viewed his purchase of a house unfavorably.[2]

Shurayh was the judge of Kufa. Umar b. al-Khattab had appointed him to the judgeship of Kufa.[3] He remained in this position during the caliphate of 'Uthman and the governance of Imam Ali (a).[4] According to a narration transmitted in al-Kafi, when Imam Ali (a) appointed Shurayh as judge, he made it a condition that Shurayh should not enforce any ruling without first coordinating it with the Imam.[5]

According to Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi in his commentary on Nahj al-Balagha, the government of Imam Ali (a) began after the turbulent period of Uthman's caliphate and widespread corruption in the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal), at a time when some prominent figures of Islamic society had turned to luxurious living.[6] For this reason, the Imam (a) did not expect that an appointed judge on his behalf would lead an aristocratic life.[7] To halt this trend, the Imam (a) consistently warned against the material world and its deceptive glitter in his sermons and letters — collected in Nahj al-Balagha.[8]

Context and Content of the Letter

During the government of Imam Ali (a), the judge Shurayh purchased an expensive house for eighty dinars.[9] Upon hearing the news and confirming that Shurayh had bought the house, the Imam (a) summoned and reprimanded him, warning that death would soon come and expel him from that house.[10] The Imam (a) advised Shurayh that the purchase of the house should not have been made with unlawful (haram) wealth; otherwise, he would suffer great losses in both this world and the Hereafter.[11]

In this letter, Imam Ali (a) offers Shurayh a description that reveals the house's inner reality, stating that had Shurayh known this before the purchase, he would not have spent even one dirham on it. The Imam (a) explains that this house leads to unpleasant things from four directions: afflictions and difficulties, hardships and sufferings, misleading temptations, and finally Satan, who enters through the door of the house.[12]

Drawing a lesson from past generations and tyrants whose bodies have decayed beneath the soil, the Imam (a) warned Shurayh to prepare himself for the reckoning of the Day of Resurrection.[13] In some commentaries on Nahj al-Balagha concerning this letter, points have been mentioned such as avoiding heedlessness and pride,[14] being wary of attachment to the world and acquiring worldly wealth through unlawful means, as well as accepting bribes in the implementation of judicial rulings.[15]

Sources and Authenticity of the Letter

The letter of Imam Ali (a) to Shurayh is among the works transmitted by al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/991)[16] in his Al-Amali — with slight variations[17]— as well as by al-Shaykh al-Baha'i (d. 1031/1622) in his Arba'in,[18] Sibt b. al-Jawzi (d. 654/1256) in Tadhkirat al-Khawass,[19] and al-Quda'i (d. 454/1062) in Dustur Ma'alim al-Hikam,[20] all of whom have narrated the letter with some differences.[21] In various manuscripts of Nahj al-Balagha, this letter is numbered as the third.[22]

According to Hasan Hasanzada Amuli, since al-Shaykh al-Baha'i transmitted the chain of transmission (isnad) of this letter from great masters and narrators, there is no flaw or dispute regarding its authenticity.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray Shahri, Dānishnāma-yi Amīr al-muʾminīn (a) bar pāya-yi Qurʾān, ḥadīth wa tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 35.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 54.
  3. ↑ Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, vol. 4, p. 102.
  4. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 14, p. 29.
  5. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 7, p. 407.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 54.
  7. ↑ Muḥammad Naṣr Iṣfahānī, Sharḥ nāma-yi 3
  8. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 54.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 54; Group of Writers, Dānishnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī (a), vol. 1, p. 183.
  10. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, letter 3, p. 549.
  11. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, letter 3, p. 549.
  12. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, letter 3, p. 549.
  13. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, letter 3, p. 549.
  14. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 42.
  15. ↑ Ibn Maytham, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 4, p. 344.
  16. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 311.
  17. ↑ Ḥusaynī Khaṭīb, Maṣādir Nahj al-balāgha wa asānīduhā, vol. 3, p. 188.
  18. ↑ Shaykh Bahāʾī, Arbaʿūn, p. 226.
  19. ↑ Ibn Jawzī, Tadhkirat al-khawāṣṣ, p. 311.
  20. ↑ Quḍāʿī, Dastūr maʿālim al-ḥikam wa maʾthūr makārim..., p. 110.
  21. ↑ Ḥusaynī Khaṭīb, Maṣādir Nahj al-balāgha wa asānīduhā, vol. 3, p. 188; Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Imām Amīr al-muʾminīn (a), vol. 9, p. 41.
  22. ↑ Fayḍ al-Islām, Tarjama wa sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, p. 833; Dashtī, Tarjamah-ʾi Nahj al-balāgha, p. 480; Nahj al-balāgha, Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, letter 3, p. 549; ʿAbduh, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, p. 4; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 14, p. 27.
  23. ↑ Ḥasanzāda Āmulī, Takmilah-ʾi Sharḥ Minhāj al-barāʿah fī sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 17, p. 108.

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