The Book of Zayd b. Wahb al-Juhani, among the Oldest Sources of Nahj al-Balagha

Zayd b. Wahb al-Juhani (84 A.H.), was a companion of Imam Ali andwas among the first ones who gathered Imam's sermons. He composed a book entitled "Imam Ali's sermons on the pulpit on Fridays, festivals, and the like." Being considered among the oldest sources of Nahj al-Balagha, that book existed till al-Shaikh al-Tusi's time (460 A.H.) referred to by Muslim authors. Like a good number of Islamic written heritage, however, it was destroyed and lost after the fifth Hijri century. That is why recognition of that old work, which is among the first Shiite heritage in hadith, should be considered a notable task. Survey of various dimensions of personality of Zayd b. Wahb al-Juhani as well as bibliographical analysis of his book is among topics dealt with in the present essay.