eloquence in the imagery of nahjul-balagah

image or artistic picture represents an imaginative process that give artistic meaning to speech. this is a process that uncovers hidden meaning and conveys the mental concepts of the writer to the audience and makes his intended meanings much deeper. the reflections of the use of this literary device in classical arabic works and the high frequency of their use in the holy quran and in nahjul-balaghah shows the status of this technique in the literature of the old times. this paper takes a quick glance at the use of the technique of imagery in arabic and in the holy quran. then it explores the eloquence of imam ali’s (p.b.u.h) speech in nahjul-balaghah in the light of the use of imagery. example images used in this classical work for the description of religion, piety, and mistakes are used to explain how the behavior of people with favoritism during the reign of othman is depicted. the study indicates that imam ali (p.b.u.h) uses images from the moving and the stagnant aspect of nature to make the intangible more tangible and to add to the eloquence of his speech.