Analysis of the Form and Content of Imam Ali's (AS) Letter to ‘Uthman Bin Hanīf (Based on Structuralist Stylistic Approach)

The present research analyzes and describes the 45th letter of Nahj al-Balagha, based on the structural stylistic approach and using the layered stylistic method. The research aims to discover the hidden relationships between the linguistic elements and the semantic aspects of the context, followed by revealing the author's motivation and thoughts. The results are as follow: Imam (AS) used all the linguistic and expressional possibilities to effectively and fluently convey his thoughts and feelings in a coherent and regular construction. Although the use of frequency of Phonetic parallelisms (at the phoneme, vocabulary, and syntax level), and the high frequency of compositional styles has brought the structure of this letter closer to a sermon, and increased the motivating and activing aspects of the text, much use of conversational words, along with the repeated application of emotional modality and extreme emphasizing adverbs, make away it from the formal texture of a sermon, conveying the Imam's strong affection in a friendly and effective atmosphere, and in a public and indirect speech to his audience.