George Jordac Said ‘Nahj al-Balagha’ Will Remain the Word of the Day / What Others Didn’t Say

According to Mehr News correspondent, today, November 5th, marks the passing anniversary of a man whose name is intertwined with Imam Ali (AS) for Iranians, as his most famous research work is based on the call for human justice by His Holiness Ali (AS); George Jordac.

George Semaan Jordac, a Lebanese Christian scholar and intellectual, provided a fundamental and unparalleled cultural and scientific service to Islamic thought and the biography of Imam Ali (AS) by authoring the multi-volume collection, “Al-Imam Ali, Sout al-Adalah al-Insaniyah” (Imam Ali, The Voice of Human Justice). Unlike the traditional approach of many Shia and Sunni scholars who primarily focused on collecting Hadiths of virtues, jurisprudential-theological arguments, or historical narrations, Jordac viewed Nahj al-Balagha and the Alawi tradition with an exploratory, research-oriented, and global perspective. He acted not as a historian or a jurist, but as a “discoverer”; one who sought to introduce Imam Ali (AS) “as he truly is” and present his ideas to the contemporary young Arab generation and Muslims worldwide.

Nahj al-Balagha in Jordac’s View: Exceptional Speech and Human Heritage

Jordac, with deep insight, managed to grasp the profoundness of Nahj al-Balagha’s exceptional speech and miraculous expression, recognizing it as one of the secrets of the book’s “eternity” and immortality. He explicitly states that, in addition to the depth of originality and universality of Nahj al-Balagha’s content, the miracle of the Imam’s words within it was employed to serve humanity – all humanity – and was never used for personal gain, material motives, or to praise rulers.

Through an analysis of Nahj al-Balagha’s content, Jordac demonstrates how this book, in its time and for eternity, discussed vital and enduring human axes: topics such as freedom and slavery, wealth and poverty, justice and oppression, knowledge and ignorance, war and peace, and the necessity of eternal struggle for a better life and a superior society for a more noble human being.

He emphasizes that Nahj al-Balagha never speaks of the importance of “powerful and oppressive rulers” but rather praises the struggle of the “poor” and “oppressed” and defends the legitimate rights of the destitute.

Thus, Jordac calls Nahj al-Balagha a “timeless and eternally human book,” because its central theme is “respect for human rights and a free human life,” and this discussion will always remain “the word of the day” as long as humanity exists. He considers Nahj al-Balagha a unique human cultural heritage from which humanity can always benefit to untangle the complexities and ambiguities of life.

Overlooked Aspects of Alawi Biography and Jordac’s Discoverer Approach

Jordac’s most significant service was his focus on overlooked aspects of Imam Ali’s (AS) biography, which freed Imam Ali (AS) from the confines of historical and religious limitations and transformed him into a global role model. Jordac, with his insight, was able to extract new concepts and ideas from Ali’s (AS) words that had not occurred even to many earlier Muslim thinkers, and for this reason, he considers himself not an “author” but a “discoverer.”

He examined the personality of Imam Ali (AS) from various angles and, by comparing Imam’s ideas with the theories of past and present thinkers, presented an impartial researcher. This approach introduced Ali (AS) not merely as a religious or ethnic figure, but as a “superhuman being” and “standard-bearer of advancing humanity’s caravan.” George Jordac emphasized the aspect of human and all-encompassing justice, to the extent that he titled his book “The Voice of Human Justice.” He explicitly stressed that Ali (AS) and Nahj al-Balagha hold the path to show humanity a new way, an aspect that has been neglected even in Arab and Islamic countries.

By shunning doctrinal biases, Jordac clarified and revealed Imam Ali (AS) from amidst all thoughts and perspectives, not merely contenting himself with collecting sayings or relying on common traditional proofs. Thus, by introducing the personality of Ali (AS) and the profoundness of Nahj al-Balagha’s words, Jordac effectively introduced new human values to audiences, especially the younger generation, and revived Ali (AS) as “a perfect human who never dies” in the global intellectual sphere.

About The Voice of Human Justice

The collection “Al-Imam Ali, Sout al-Adalah al-Insaniyah,” the enduring work of George Semaan Jordac, a Lebanese Christian writer and intellectual, is not merely a biography or historiography, but a deep and global analysis of the personality and thought of Imam Ali (AS), compiled in five main volumes. In this work, Jordac, by setting aside biases and sectarian viewpoints, directly referred to Nahj al-Balagha and the Alawi tradition, introducing the Imam to the world as a “discoverer” of lofty human values and “the voice of human justice.” This book, published in Beirut in the 1950s and 1960s, was considered a major event in the world of Islamic thought, and even among non-Muslims.

The book’s structure is based on five volumes with specific titles, each comparing and analyzing an aspect of the Imam’s personality with global ideas:

1. Ali and Human Rights (Ali wa Huquq al-Insan):

In this volume, Jordac reviews the life of Imam Ali (AS), his moral and scientific characteristics, and more importantly, examines the Imam’s role and position in presenting an ideal society free from social classes. The prominent chapter of this volume analyzes the Covenant of Malik al-Ashtar, which Jordac considers a unique charter for just governance and the defense of people’s rights, especially the destitute and oppressed. In fact, this section reveals the Imam’s principles of social and economic justice.

2. Ali and the French Revolution (Bayna Ali wa al-Thawra al-Faransiyah):

In this section, Jordac makes a daring and innovative comparison between the intellectual foundations of Imam Ali (AS) and the fundamental principles of the Great French Revolution (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). He argues that many human and democratic principles, which Western modernists, including thinkers like Rousseau and Montesquieu, proposed centuries later, already existed in the teachings and words of Imam Ali (AS) in Nahj al-Balagha and his practical conduct. This volume emphasizes the superiority of the Imam’s universal vision regarding legitimate rights and freedoms.

3. Ali and Socrates (Ali wa Socrates):

In this volume, Jordac compares two great figures in the history of philosophy and wisdom: Imam Ali (AS) and Socrates. He introduces their ultimate goal as the happiness of the individual and society through virtue and wisdom. This comparison focuses on the intellectual, philosophical, and ethical dimensions of Imam Ali (AS) and shows how the Imam, as a thoughtful philosopher, implemented the principles of happiness and virtue not only in theory but also in practice.

4. Ali and His Era (Ali wa Asruhu):

This section is more historical-social in nature. In this volume, Jordac examines the developments during the Imam’s lifetime. With an analytical perspective, he investigates the Umayyad and Hashemite clans and narrates the events from the era of Uthman to the Imam’s caliphate and martyrdom. The important point in this volume is Jordac’s analysis of historical events, which introduces the Imam as a justice-oriented and reformer individual who spared no effort or struggle in realizing justice and combating corruption.

5. Ali and Arab Nationalism (Ali wa al-Qawmiya al-Arabiyah):

The final volume focuses on the role of Imam Ali (AS) in the awakening and cultural and intellectual growth of Arab nationalism. Jordac considers the revolutionary spirit and the struggle for reform as the most important issues that Imam Ali (AS) taught Arab nationality. In this volume, he also discusses the views of Abu al-Ala al-Ma’arri and Gibran Khalil Gibran, and finally critiques and examines the fair and unfair views of Orientalists regarding Imam Ali (AS). This section implicitly clarifies the services and greatness that the Imam bestowed upon Arab identity and thought.

Overall, the collection “Al-Imam Ali, Sout al-Adalah al-Insaniyah,” with its comparative and human-centered approach, transforms Imam Ali (AS) from merely a historical-religious figure into a global role model for justice and freedom, emphasizing the overlooked aspects of his intellectual and human greatness.