Investigating Imam Ali’s (AS) Speech Act in Introducing Jamal Companions based on Qualitative Content Analysis

Knowing enemy is one of the most central issues in hostile confrontations. In the Sirah of the Prophet (PBUH) and the Twelve Imams (AS), much attention has been paid to this issue. Among the infallibles, Imam Ali (AS) faced more enemies due to his five-year rule, some of whom had a brilliant record in the Prophet's time (PBUH). Among them were the Jamal companions, given their reputation among Muslims, it was challenging to prepare the army to confront them. In this research, using the method of qualitative content analysis and with a concise approach, the themes of Imam's sermons in the period before the war have been coded and categorized into three main categories: "predicting the defeat of the enemy", "condemning the enemy's misdeeds" and "political revelation about the enemy" in which Imam (AS) has used the most emphatic tools to convince the audiences. The frequency of the category of revelation has the largest share of Imam's words (AS). The highest frequency of topics in this category is dedicated to breaking the allegiance by Talha and Zubair, which shows the importance of this issue from the point of view of Imam Ali (AS).