The Nahj-ul-Balaghah "Peak of Eloquence" is the most famous collection of sermons and letters attributed to the Gate of City of Knowledge (as per saying of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW)) Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS). It was collected by Seyyed Radhi (359-406/970-1015) in the 10th century.

Nahj means open way, road, course, method or manner. Balaghah means eloquence, art of good style and communication, rhetoric etc

Nahj-ul Balaghah is a collection of 241 sermons, 79 letters, and 489 sayings by the first infallible successor, son-in-law and cousin of holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWW), Imam Ali Mortadha (AS).

Marking his auspicious birth anniversary on Rajab 13, here are few excerpts from the Book:

Sermon 131

…0’ (people of) differing minds and divided hearts, whose bodies are present but wits are absent. I am leading you (amicably) towards truthfulness, but you run away from it like goats and sheep running away from the howling of a lion. How hard it is for me to uncover for you the secrets of justice, or to straighten the curve of truthfulness.

0’ my Allah! Thou knowest that what we did was not to seek power nor to acquire anything from the vanities of the world. We rather wanted to restore the signs of Thy religion and to usher prosperity into Thy cities so that the oppressed among thy creatures might be safe and Thy forsaken commands might be established. 0’ my Allah! I am the first who leaned (towards Thee) and who heard and responded (to the call of Islam). No one preceded me in prayer (salat) except the Prophet.

You certainly know that he who is in charge of honor, life, booty, (enforcement of) legal commandments and the leadership of the Muslims should not be a miser as his greed would aim at their wealth, nor be ignorant as he would then mislead them with his ignorance, nor be of rude behavior who would estrange them with his rudeness, nor should he deal injustly with wealth thus preferring one group over another, nor should he accept a bribe while taking decisions, as he would forfeit (others) rights and hold them up without finality, nor should he ignore sunnah as he would ruin the people.

Sermon 152

…Allah the Glorified, has distinguished you with Islam and has chosen you for it. This is because it is the name of safety and the collection of honor. Allah the Glorified, chose its way and disclosed its pleas through open knowledge and secret maxims. Its (Quran) wonders are not exhausted and its delicacies do not end. It contains blossoming bounties and lamps of darkness. (The doors of) virtues cannot be opened save with its keys, nor can gloom be dispelled save with its lamps. Allah has protected its inaccessible points (from enemies) and allowed grazing (to its followers) in its pastures. It contains cover (from the ailment of misguidance) for the seeker of cure and full support for the seeker of support.

Sermon 160

… The example of the Holy Prophet

Certainly, in the Prophet of Allah -- peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his progeny -- was sufficient example for you and a proof concerning the vice of the world, its defects, the multitude of its disgrace an its evils, because its sides had been constrained for him, while its flanks had been spread for others; he was deprived of its milk and turned away from its adornment.

The example of Musa (Moses)

If you want, I will, as a second example, relate to you concerning Musa, the Interlocutor of Allah (p.b.u.h.) when he said: 0’ Allah! I need whatever good Thou mayest grant met (Quran, 28:24) By Allah, he asked Him only for bread to eat because he was used to eating the herbs of the earth, and the greenness of the herbs could be seen from the delicate skin of his belly due to his thinness and paucity of his

The example of Dawud (David)

If you desire I can give you a third example of Dawud (p.b.u.h.). He is the holder of the Psalms and the reciter among the people of Paradise. He used to prepare baskets of date palm leaves with his own hands and would say to his companions: “Which of will help me by purchasing it?” He used to eat barely bread (bought) out of its prices.

The example of Isa (Jesus)

If you desire I will tell you about ‘Isa (p.b.u.h.) son of Maryam (Mary). He used a stone for his pillow, put on coarse clothes and ate rough food. His condiment was hunger. His lamp at night was the moon. His shade during the winter was just the expanse of earth eastward and westward. His fruits and flowers were only what grows from the earth for the cattle. He had no wife to allure him, nor any son to give grief, nor wealth to deviate (his attention), nor greed to disgrace him. His two feet were his conveyance and his two hands his servant.