Shii News – CfP: ‘Nahj al-Balāghah: Text, Thought, and Tradition’

The Islamic College

Nahj al-Balāghah stands as one of the most celebrated and enduring works in the Arabic-Islamic intellectual tradition. Al-Sharīf al-Raḍī’s compilation of the sermons, letters, and sayings of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib has inspired profound theological, ethical, literary, and political reflection across centuries.

This edited volume (under the auspices of ICAS Press) seeks to explore Nahj al-Balāghah through the interconnected lenses of text, thought, and tradition. We invite original, unpublished contributions that offer close readings, critical engagements, and interdisciplinary or comparative approaches to the Nahj as a literary text, a vehicle of doctrinal and philosophical reflection, and a living tradition transmitted, interpreted, and rearticulated across diverse contexts.

Suggested Themes
Text
Manuscript traditions and transmission history
Authorship, attribution, and compilation
Linguistic, rhetorical, and literary analysis
Genre and stylistic features of sermons, letters, and aphorisms
Thought
Doctrinal themes: tawḥīd, ʿadl, nubuwwah, imāmah, and maʿād
Philosophical and mystical dimensions of the soul and intellect
Political theology and theories of governance
Spirituality, asceticism, and the inner life
Tradition
Shi‘i and Sunni commentary traditions
Engagements with hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, and jurisprudence
Reception and reinterpretation across historical and regional contexts
Contemporary political, pedagogical, or devotional appropriations
Cross-sectarian or interfaith transmission and interpretation

Submission Instructions
Submissions should be sent via email to: shiistudies@islamic-college.ac.uk

Please include the following:
Abstract (400–600 words)
Brief academic biography (150 words)
Curriculum Vitae
Email subject line: Nahj al-Balāghah CFP – [Your Full Name]
Timeline
Deadline for Abstracts: 15 September 2025
Notification of Acceptance: 15 October 2025
Final Chapters Due: 15 April 2026
Chapter Length: 6,000–8,000 words (excluding references)

https://islamic-college.ac.uk/call-for-papers-nahj-al-balaghah-text-thought-and-tradition/

Posted in: Field-specific (academic)