Freedom in Imam Ali’s Thought

All the politicians and the cruel powerful men usually created an atmosphere of distress among people to frighten them in order to submit. For this purpose, they built many houses of detention and prisons to put the opponents in them and if someone made a protest against such an action, he would be put to torture on a charge of rebellion. Hence no one dared to defend someone's right. But the Prophet of Islam charged the Muslims with a duty to advise the walis and to show them the right way to realize justice if they behaved unjustly. He said: “The best kind of jihad is saying a word of rightness before an unjust ruler.” How great it was that the Prophet of Islam had granted such free will to the people fourteen centuries ago, so that they could debate with the rulers. Abu-Bakr, the first caliph, said: “If I disobey Allah and His apostle, I have no right to govern on you and you do not have to obey me.” One day Umar the second caliph, said: “You, people, should guide me to the right way if you saw me going in a wrong way.” An ordinary man stood up and said: “If you follow the curved way, we will bring you back to the straight way by this curved sword.” Once more Umar said: “I am the Prophet's caliph and a man of authority. You have to obey me to spread the goals of Islam.”

One of present people said: “If you told us wherefrom you have got your shirt, of course we would obey you.” During Umar’s reign no one dared to misappropriate anything of Bayt al-Mal (the treasury) because of his severity in practicing justice. Imam Ali (s) always enlightened the Muslims to defend their rights and to interfere in the state affairs. Therefore, in order to grant some privileges to people, Imam Ali (s) ordered his officers to read the items of the constitution of his rule before the people in the mosque to make them know their duties and the wali's duties. Consequently the walis would not dare to rule out of the law and the people, if the walis did something wrong, were not to obey them and were to report about their offences to Imam Ali. During Imam Ali’s reign no one had the right to exploit any other by force. He wrote to the walis: “Although excavating canals and cleaning out rivers are necessary a progressive state but you have no right to force anyone to do it unwillingly.” Imam Ali himself never forced any one to join his army even at the critical situations in his various battles in spite of that they had paid homage to him and obeying him was obligatory for them. When the wali of Medina tried to seek for some men, who fled from Medina to join Mu’awiyah in Sham,[1] Imam Ali wrote to him: “Do not worry if some people did not like to remain under my just rule. Let them go wherever they like.” At the first days of Imam Ali’s caliphate, some of his close friends were angry because of that two [1] Sham is the old name of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.

companions (Sa’d ibn Abu Waqqass and Abdullah ibn Umar) had not paid homage to Imam Ali. Imam Ali said: “Those, who do not like to co-operate with me, are free as long as they do not excite sedition against people.'' He believed that a human being was free and independent in thinking, deciding and in practicing. He had expressed himself in his will to his son Imam Hasan by saying: “You have to investigate and think over what has descended to you from your ancestors and then to beg God’s help in order not to fall into doubts.” There is a general rule in Islam that the believers have to fight against oppression and injustice. The Holy Qur’an says: (Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them.) 22:39. Imam Ali encouraged people to get back their rights by force as possible as they could. He thought that nobody should tolerate injustice; therefore he had said: “Be against the oppressor and support the oppressed.” The oppressors always rule according to their minds instead of the law. They always cause misfortunes and distresses by spreading injustice with its undue influences. Nowadays the colonial countries exert pressure inhumanely upon the backward nations and, in order to keep their illegal interests, they keep them pauper by spoiling their natural resources and preventing them from the scientific development. Regretfully they pretend themselves the champions of freedom and the defenders of the human rights. Imam Ali (s) would never give an opportunity to his officers to abuse their power to violate people's rights, because he esteemed man in all respects.

He had instructed the tax collectors by saying: “Do not walk through the people’s farms because it destroys their efforts and it makes them feel unhappy. Do not take from them more than the legal share. When you arrive at a village, you are to go to their watering places and not to go in front of their houses. First of all, you are to greet them and to talk with them kindly. You say: “O servants of God, the caliph of God has sent us to you to collect the zakat and the alms from you.” If the answer was no, you are not to be sever with them and then you are not to repeat your demand. But if they respond and wanted to apportion their yields, let them take the share that they have set aside for themselves. Be careful not to enter their cattle-pens without their permission and take care not to browbeat or frighten any Muslim.” He said in another letter: “This is my instructions to you; fear Allah (avoid sins) in your secret matters and hidden actions, where no one is present except Allah and no one watches except Him. You have to obey Allah in the same way when openly or secretly. You are not to harm people. You are not to be rough to them and you are not to turn your faces away from them proudly because of your positions. They are your brethren in faith and you are in need of their help in achieving your job. Of course you have certain shares and rights in this poor-rate and the poor, the weak and the indigents have other shares. We shall pay you your rights and you too have to care for their demands.” He always asserted people's rights, small or big, secretly or openly. He wrote to one of his officers saying: “Do not say to the people that you are their master or a man of authority and that they have to obey you. This will spoil your heart and weaken your faith in religion and furthermore it creates anarchy in the state.”

He himself controlled everything of the state affairs so that no one could infringe on others' rights at his time. It was reported to him that the wali of the districts had misappropriated the treasury. He wrote to him: “The goodness of your father cheated me to think that you will follow his right manner and you will imitate him, but according to what was reported to me, you have followed your own passions. You leave the religion and morality behind by doing your relatives favors. You better your life by spoiling your afterlife. (His saying was in compliance with the Holy Qur’an when saying: (Then as for him who is inordinate, and prefers the life of this world, then surely the hell, that is the abode)79:37-39.)A man like you is good for nothing. You are not able to drive the harm away nor worthy of being given a promotion, nor trustworthy against misappropriation..... Come to me as soon as this letter reaches you inshallah.” Imam Ali, in one of his sermons, said: “By Allah, if I sleep on the Sa’dan[1] wakefully or I will be pulled bound in chains, is better to me than to meet Allah and His apostle on the Day of Judgment wronging some people or extorting something of the vanities of the world.”  Imam Ali (s) had given a right to the government to punish the offenders to be as a warning for the others. A man was heard crying for help about Hamadan (a city in the west of Iran). It appeared that someone had bought a shirt and paid the seller some spotted coins and slapped him on the face. They were disputing with each other when Imam Ali (s) got there. At last the buyer was forced to change the forged money. It was decided [1] A kind of thorny plants of Arabia.