Bibliography of Ali ibn Abi Talib is a list of books written about Ali ibn Abi Talib. Many of Ali's short sayings have become part of Islamic culture and are often quoted in everyday life as proverbs and wise sayings. These sayings have also become the basis for literary works and have been turned into poems in different languages. In the 8th century, writers such as Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya al-Katib praised the great eloquence of Ali's sermons and sayings. Al-Jahiz, a 9th-century Arab writer, held the same view.
Classification of works
Works attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib
Nahj al-Balagha
In the 10th century, the prominent Shi'a scholar Sharif al-Radi collected many of Ali's sermons, letters, and sayings on various subjects in a book called Nahj al-Balagha, which became one of the most popular and influential books in the Islamic world. However, the book was mostly ignored by Western scholars until the 20th century. Although some Western scholars have questioned its authenticity, most Muslims have accepted it as authentic. Nahj al-Balagha is still considered a religious source and an important source of literary inspiration by both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims. Among the sayings attributed to Ali, his letter to Malik al-Ashtar on good governance has received much attention. Seyyed Hossein Modarresi Tabataba'i refers to Riza Ustadi's book Sources of Nahj al-Balagha, which gives evidence that the sayings in Nahj al-Balagha came from Ali.
The book Sayings of Ali from Nahj al-Balagha, translated by Javad Fazel and revised by Sadat Naseri, presents the work in a new form and with a different subject-based arrangement. The book includes Ali ibn Abi Talib's sayings about monotheism, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, leaders and people, government officials, love, war and morality, his instructions to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and Malik al-Ashtar, his advice to his son, belief in one God, God's commands, creation, events, worldly attachments, living free from worldly desires, advice, letters, and wisdom.
Ghurar al-ḥikam wa durar al-kalim
Ghurar al-ḥikam wa durar al-kalim is a collection of Ali ibn Abi Talib's sayings, compiled by Abd al-Wahid al-Tamimi al-Amidi, a fifth-century Shi'a scholar.
Mushaf of Ali
The Mushaf of Ali refers to a copy of the Quran compiled by Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali was one of the first people to compile the Quran, arranging its surahs in the order they were revealed. It is also said that this mushaf included explanations about the Quran, such as notes on verses that were later replaced by other verses. Shi'a sources say that after Muhammad's death, Ali presented his mushaf to the government group responsible for compiling the Quran, but the Companions objected, and he had to take it back home. Although the Mushaf of Ali is historically accepted as having existed, like the other mushafs of the Companions, the actual manuscript is no longer available. Throughout history, some Shi'a groups have believed that this mushaf was very different from the Quran today, but many Shi'a scholars and Quran scholars have disagreed with them. Ali was also one of the main Quran reciters. A reading attributed to him has survived, and some scholars say that it is the same as the reading of Hafs from Asim.
Kitab Ali
According to many reports from the second century AH, Kitab Ali is a collection of Muhammad's sayings collected by Ali. It is reported that Ali wrote down what he heard from Muhammad on a piece of leather. Another report says that a scholar in Mecca in the early second century knew about the book and believed that Ali had written it. It is said that the book contained everything people needed, including rules about what is allowed and forbidden, and even compensation for small injuries. It is also reported that the book contained information about al-Jafr.
Other works Other works have also been attributed to Ali. These include Du'a' Kumayl, which Ali taught to his student Kumayl ibn Ziyad. It is a long prayer that is still recited by Shi'a Muslims today. Kitab al-Diyat, which gives instructions on how to calculate diya, is included in full in books such as Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih. Musnad Ali refers to a collection of hadiths from Muhammad that were narrated by Ali and later included in Sunni hadith books such as Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Later, some people collected Ali's hadiths and called the collection Musnad Ali. Early sources give different accounts of whether Ali wrote poetry or not. Several authors have attributed collections of poetry to Ali, but many of these poems were actually written by others. His companions were also interested in his way of judging and collected his rulings.
Artistic and literary works
Novel One of the novels written about Ali ibn Abi Talib is The Saint, written by Ebrahim Hassanbeigi. The book takes a historical look at Ali ibn Abi Talib's rule during the five years he was caliph. The novel tells the story of a priest who loves collecting old books and manuscripts and is very passionate about it. The priest's love of old manuscripts leads him to a Tajik man who wants to sell his book. But when something is valuable, there are always people who want to take advantage of it. The Tajik man is killed by a group of criminals, and the priest's house is robbed as well. This is the beginning of a story that eventually makes the priest interested in the life of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Poetry and prose Muslims, especially Shi'a Muslims, have also used poetry and prose to praise Ali ibn Abi Talib, describe his virtues, and write about his life and the events around him. In this field, the Ali-nama can be considered one of the earliest works of poetry praising the Shi'a Imams, especially Ali ibn Abi Talib, and describing historical events around them. The author of the book is identified as Rabi', an otherwise unknown poet from the fifth century. It is written as an epic poem.
Historical works One of the historical works that focuses specifically on the life of Ali ibn Abi Talib is al-Sahih min Sirat al-Imam Ali, written by Ja'far Murtada al-Amili. The book was published in Arabic in 53 volumes. The book is divided into three main parts: Ali ibn Abi Talib's life during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (eight and a half volumes); his life from the Prophet's death until people pledged allegiance to him after Uthman ibn Affan was killed (nine and a half volumes); and the events that took place after people pledged allegiance to Ali (the remaining volumes).
Commentaries and explanations Many books have been written about the words of Ali ibn Abi Talib in different fields. Among the most important of these works are commentaries on Nahj al-Balagha. Among them is Muhammad-Taqi Ja'fari's commentary on Nahj al-Balagha, which examines Ali ibn Abi Talib's words from a philosophical perspective in 25 volumes. In this commentary, Muhammad-Taqi Ja'fari tried to explore the different aspects of Ali ibn Abi Talib's words, including philosophy, theology, mysticism, law, society, politics, and psychology.
Selected works Among the works written about Ali ibn Abi Talib are the following: