Investigating the Dimensions of Structures, Patterns and historical Experiences from the Perspective of Nahj al-Balaghah: A Thematic Analysis Approach

The historical sociology studies highlighted specific dimensions of the structures and patterns of social change. On their basis, groups or organizations have chosen or embarked on different paths in the history. Imam Ali (AS) introduced what happened in the past as a source of knowledge and emphasized its determining role and using it in the right path in life. This research tried to answer the question of how Imam Ali (AS) contemplated this issue and what is his social interpretation of the use of historical experiences. For this purpose, referring to direct and indirect statements related to the historical experience in Nahj al-Balaghah, initially, the extracted propositions resulted in a total of 159 initial codes constructing a network of themes. Research findings, obtained from the analysis of primary codes, indicated four main themes: a) consequences of neglecting reason, experiences, and advice; b) general historical patterns and role patterns; c) historical lessons; and d) recommendations using historical experiences that cover other major categories.