Thematic Analysis of Asceticism in Teachings of Nahj al-Balagha

The asceticism and simple living have always been emphasized by the ahl al-bayt, especially Imam Ali (a.s.), as one of the most important moral and religious virtues. The present article aimed at investigating asceticism in Nahj al-Balagha through content analysis. In order to achieve the ascetic pattern, three questions of asceticism’s nature, why, and how to follow the ascetic path are the ones that explain the various aspects of the ascetic pattern in Nahj al-Balagha. Along this path, all the texts related to asceticism were selected from sermons, letters, and sayings of Nahj al-Balagha. Then, in front of each text, themes or basic themes representing different aspects of asceticism were represented in a table. These themes were organized into three tables of what, how, and why of asceticism, so that they were categorized among the themes of each table, and each was classified under the general headings as organizing themes. The result indicated that in the Nahj al-Balagha, the nature of asceticism means no mundane desires and no wish for them. In this case, this world is considered as a burden and humiliated as compared to hereafter. Also, most of the themes of Nahj al-Balagha are about how to follow the ascetic path and how to be satisfied with what you have.