I researched a doctoral thesis in the Department of History / College of Education for Human Sciences / University of Basra ((The conditions of the Abbasid state through the explanation of Nahj al-Balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu’tazili (656 AH/1258 AD) A critical analytical study))
The thesis by student Taher Ali Obaid Al-Mayahi aims to identify what Ibn Abi Al-Hadid mentioned about the Abbasid state in his book Explanation of Nahj Al-Balagha, discuss the narrations he brought, and examine them to explain their causes and outcomes that are compatible with the requirements of the scientific method, which helps everyone achieve important scientific results.
The thesis dealt with the conditions of the Abbasid state on the political, social and administrative levels throughout history, starting from the time period of the establishment of the Abbasid state in the year 132 AH / 749 AD until the Mongols invaded Baghdad in the year 656 AH / 1258 AD, and showed the effective role played by the Abbasids and the opposition parties in reaching power, especially the competition that occupied a wide area. Of the ruling systems, this rivalry continued until it penetrated the body of the Abbasid state and extended to the Abbasid house as well, and fighting and conflict broke out among them, which contributed to their weakening and defeat in the face of other challenges.
The thesis concluded that Ibn Abi Al-Hadid had a special vision about the conditions of the Abbasid state in his book Explanation of Nahj Al-Balagha, as he dealt with events according to what touched the passion of his belief in word and deed, especially since he deals with the subject and presents it in a very high literary language that is difficult for the recipient to comprehend, and this is what was observed throughout the twenty parts. In his explanation, in addition to that he does not adhere to the texts that he derives from the sources, but rather we find him adding to them from his own information and mixing them with other words, and that some of the sermons that Ibn Abi Al-Hadid brought in his explanation, which talk about epics, are no longer explicitly mentioned in the book Nahj al-Balagha, but rather he extracted them. From other books, according to his words, and he claimed to collect what was omitted from Al-Sharif Al-Radi, so he quoted what was well mentioned on the authority of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and presented the ambiguous speeches in them, and he took them alone, and left the matter to his own devices and did not mention the books from which he took those speeches attributed to Imam Ali (peace be upon him). Despite this, his novels gave a clear picture of the nature of the Abbasid rulers and their role in the political process, as they varied from one ruler to another in terms of number and content. Perhaps that variation is due to political and ideological reasons that had a great impact on Ibn Abi al-Hadid’s writing and his explanation among the scholars. And it was a lot, as he was degrading some of them and elevating others at the expense of the other party according to his inclinations and intellectual orientations
