Imam Ali’s Letter to Malik Ashtar
The Richest Treasure
Be it known to you, O, Malik, that I am sending
you as Governor to a country which in the past has experienced both just and
unjust rule. Men will scrutinise your actions with a searching eye, even as you
used to scrutinise the actions of those before you, and speak of you even as
you did speak of them. The fact is that the public speak well of only those who
do good. It is they who furnish the proof of your actions. Hence the richest
treasure that you may covet would be the treasure of good deeds. Keep your
desires under control and deny yourself that which you have been prohibited
from, for, by such abstinence alone, you will be able to distinguish between
what is good to them and what is not.
Develop in your heart the feeling of love for
your people and let it be the source of kindliness and blessing to them. Do not
behave with them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that
which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two
categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind.
They are subject to infirmities and liable to commit mistakes. Some indeed do
commit mistakes. But forgive them even as you would like God to forgive you.
Bear in mind that you are placed over them, even as I am placed over you. And
then there is God even above him who has given you the position of a Governor
in order that you may look after those under you and to be sufficient unto
them. And you will be judged by what you do for them.
Do not set yourself against God, for neither do
you possess the strength to shield yourself against His displeasure, nor can
you place yourself outside the pale of His mercy and forgiveness. Do not feel
sorry over any act of forgiveness, nor rejoice over any punishment that you may
mete out to any one. Do not rouse yourself to anger, for no good will come out
of it.
Do not say: “I am your overlord and dictator,
and that you should, therefore, bow to my commands”, as that will corrupt your
heart, weaken your faith in religion and create disorder in the state. Should
you be elated by power, ever feel in your mind the slightest symptoms of pride
and arrogance, then look at the power and majesty of the Divine governance of
the Universe over which you have absolutely no control. It will restore the
sense of balance to your wayward intelligence and give you the sense of
calmness and affability. Beware! Never put yourself against the majesty and
grandeur of God and never imitate His omnipotence; for God has brought low
every rebel of God and every tyrant of man.
Let your mind respect through your actions the
rights of God and the rights of man, and likewise, persuade your companions and
relations to do likewise. For, otherwise, you will be doing injustice to
yourself and injustice to humanity. Thus both man and God will turn unto your
enemies. There is no hearing anywhere for one who makes an enemy of God
himself. He will be regarded as one at war with God until he feels contrition
and seeks forgiveness. Nothing deprives man of divine blessings or excites
divine wrath against him more easily than cruelty. Hence it is, that God
listens to the voice of the oppressed and waylays the oppressor.
The Common Man
Maintain justice in administration and impose
it on your own self and seek the consent of the people, for, the discontent of
the masses sterilises the contentment of the privileged few and the discontent
of the few loses itself in the contentment of the many. Remember the privileged
few will not rally round you in moments of difficulty: they will try to side-track
justice, they will ask for more than what they deserve and will show no
gratitude for favours done to them. They will feel restive in the
face of trials and will offer no regret for their shortcomings. It is the
common man who is the strength of the State and Religion. It is he who fights
the enemy. So live in close contact with the masses and be mindful of their
welfare.
Keep at a distance one who peers into the
weaknesses of others. After all, the masses are not free from weaknesses. It is
the duty of the ruler to shield them. Do not bring to light that which is
hidden, but try to remove those weaknesses which have been brought to light.
God is watchful of everything that is hidden from you, and He alone will deal
with it. To the best of your ability cover the weaknesses of the public, and
God will cover the weaknesses in you which you are anxious to keep away from
their eye. Unloose the tangle of mutual hatred between the public and the administration
and remove all those causes which may give rise to strained relations between
them. Protect yourself from every such act as may not be quite correct for you.
Do not make haste in seeking confirmation of tale-telling, for the tale-teller
is a deceitful person appearing in the garb of a friend.
The Counsellors
Never take counsel of a miser, for he will
vitiate your magnanimity and frighten you of poverty. Do not take the advice of
a coward either, for he will weaken your resolve. Do not take counsel of the
greedy: for he will instill greed in you and turn you into a tyrant.
Miserliness, cowardice and greed deprive man of his trust in God.
The worst of counsellors is he who
has served as a counsellor to unjust rulers and shared in their
crimes. So, never let men who have been companions of tyrants or shared their
crimes be your counsellors. You can get better men than these, men gifted
with intelligence and foresight, but unpolluted by sin, men who have never
aided a tyrant in his tyranny or a criminal in his crime. Such men will never
be a burden on you. On the other hand, they will be a source of help and
strength to you at all times. They will be friends to you and strangers to your
enemies. Choose such men alone for companionship both in privacy and in the
public. Even among these, show preference to them who have a habitual regard
for truth, however trying to you at times their truth may prove to be, and who
offer you no encouragement in the display of tendencies which God does not like
His friends to develop.
Keep close to you the upright, and the God
fearing, and make clear to them that they are never to flatter you and never to
give you credit for any good that you may not have done: for, the tolerance of
flattery and unhealthy praise stimulates pride in man and makes him arrogant.
Do not treat the good and the bad alike. That
will deter the good from doing good, and encourage the bad in their bad
pursuits. Recompense everyone according to their deserts. Remember that mutual
trust and goodwill between the ruler and the ruled are bred only through
benevolence, justice and service. So, cultivate goodwill among the people; for
their goodwill alone will save you from troubles. Your benevolence to them will
be repaid by their trust in you, and your ill-treatment by their ill-will.
Do not disregard the noble traditions
established by our forbears, which have promoted harmony and progress among the
people; and do not initiate anything which might minimize their usefulness. The
men who had established these noble traditions have had their reward; but
responsibility will be yours if they are disturbed. Try always to learn
something from the experience of the learned and wise, and frequently consult
them in state matters so that you might maintain the peace and goodwill which
your predecessors had established in the land.
The Different Classes of People
Remember that the people are composed of
different classes. The progress of one is dependent on the progress of every
other, and none can afford to be independent of the other. We have the Army
formed of the soldiers of God. We have our civil officers and their
establishments, our judiciary, our revenue collectors and our public relations
officers. The general public itself consists of Muslims and other subjects and
among them of merchants and craftsmen, the unemployed and the indigent. God has
prescribed for them their rights, duties and obligations. They are all defined
and preserved in the Holy Quran and in the traditions of his Prophet.
The army, by the grace of God, is like a
fortress to the people and lends dignity to the state. It upholds the prestige
of the faith and maintains the peace of the country. Without it the state
cannot stand. In its turn, it cannot stand without the support of the state.
Our soldiers have proved strong before the enemy because of the privilege God
has given them to fight for Him; but they have their material needs to fulfil
and have therefore to depend upon the income provided for them from the state
revenue. The military and civil population who pay revenue, both need the
co-operation of others – the judiciary, civil officers and their establishment.
The judge administers civil and criminal law; the civil officers collect
revenue and attend to civil administration with the assistance of their
establishment. And then there are the tradesmen and the merchants who add to
the revenue of the state. It is they who run the markets and are in a better
position than others to discharge social obligations. Then there is the class
of the poor and the needy, whose maintenance is an obligation on the other
classes. God has given appropriate opportunity of service to one and all; then
there are the rights of all these classes over the administration which the
administrator has to meet with an eye on the good of the entire population – a
duty which he cannot fulfill properly unless he takes personal interest in its
execution and seeks help from God. Indeed, it is obligatory on him to impose
this duty on himself and to bear with patience the inconveniences and
difficulties incidental to his task.
The Army
Be particularly mindful of the welfare of those
in the army who in your opinion, are staunchly faithful to their God and the
prophet and loyal to their chief, and who in the hour of passion can restrain
themselves and listen coolly to sensible remonstrance, and who can succor the
weak and smite the strong, whom violent provocation will not throw into violent
temper and who will not falter at any stage.
Keep yourself in close contact with the families
of established reputation and integrity with a glorious past, and draw to
yourself men brave and upright in character, generous and benevolent in
disposition; for such are the salt of society.
Care for them with the tenderness with which
you care for your children, and do not talk before them of any good that you
might have done to them, nor disregard any expression of affection which they
show in return, for such conduct inspires loyalty, devotion and goodwill.
Attend to every little of their wants not resting content with what general
help that you might have given to them, for sometimes, timely attention to a
little want of theirs brings them immense relief. Surely these people will not
forget you in your own hour of need.
It behooves you to select for your
Commander-in-Chief one who imposes on himself as a duty, the task of rendering
help to his men, and who can excel in kindness every other officer who has to
attend to the needs of the men under him, and look after their families when
they are away from their homes; so much so, that the entire army should feel
united in their joys and in their sorrows. The unity of purpose will give them
added strength against the enemy. Continue to maintain a kindly attitude
towards them so that they might feel attached to you. The fact is that the real
happiness of the administrators and their most pleasant comfort lies in
establishing justice in the state and maintaining affectionate relations with
the people. Their sincerity of feeling is expressed in the love and regard they
show to you, on which alone depends the safety of the administrators.
Your advice to the army will be of no avail,
unless and until you show affection to both men and officers, in order that
they might not regard the Government as an oppressive burden or contribute to
its downfall.
Continue to satisfy their needs and praise them
over and over again for what services they have rendered. Such an attitude, God
willing will inspire the brave to braver actions and induce the timid to deeds
of bravery.
Try to enter into the feelings of others and do
not foist the mistake of one over another and do not grudge dispensing
appropriate rewards. See to it, you do not show favours to one who has done
nothing but merely counts on his family position; and do not withhold proper
rewards from one who has done great deeds simply because he holds a low
position in life.
The Real Guidance
Turn to God and to His prophet for guidance
whenever you feel uncertain as to what you have to do. There is the commandment
of God delivered to those people who He wishes to guide aright: “O people of
the Faith! Obey God and obey His prophet and those from among you who hold
authority over you. And refer to God and His prophet whenever there is
difference of opinion among you.” To turn to God is in reality to consult
the Book of God; and to turn to the prophet is t follow his universally
accepted traditions.
Chief Justice
Select as your Chief Justice from the
people, one who is by far the best among them – one who is not obsessed
with domestic worries, one who cannot be intimidated, one who does not err to
often, one who does not turn back from a right path once he finds it, one who
is not self-centered or avaricious, one who will not decide before knowing full
facts, one who will weigh with care every attendant doubt and pronounce a clear
verdict after taking everything into full consideration, one who will not grow
restive over the arguments of advocates and who will examine with patience
every new disclosure of fact and who will be strictly impartial in his
decision, one who flattery cannot mislead or one who does not exult over his
position. But it is not easy to find such men.
Once you have selected the right man for the
office, pay him handsomely enough, to let him live in comfort and in keeping
with his position, enough to keep him above temptations. Give him a position in
your court so high none can even dream of coveting it and so high that neither
back-biting nor intrigue can touch him.
Subordinate Judiciary
Beware! The utmost carefulness is to be
exercised in its selection: for it is this high office which adventurous
self-seekers aspire to secure and exploit in their selfish interests. After the
selection of your chief judge, give careful consideration to the selection of
other officers. Confirm them in their appointments after approved
apprenticeship and probation. Never select men for responsible posts either out
of any regard for personal connections or under any influence, for that might
lead to injustice and corruption.
Of these, select for higher posts, men of
experience, men firm in faith and belonging to good families. Such men will not
fall an easy prey to temptations and will discharge their duties with an eye on
the abiding good of others. Increase their salaries to give them a contented
life. A contented living is a help to self-purification. They will not feel the
urge to tax the earnings of their subordinates for their own upkeep. They will
then have no excuse either to go against your instructions or misappropriate state
funds. Keep a watch over them without their knowledge. Perchance they may
develop true honesty and true concern for the public welfare. But whenever any
of them is accused of dishonesty and the guilt is confirmed by the report of
your secret service, then regard this as a sufficient to convict him. Let the
punishment be corporal and let that be dealt in the public at an appointed
place of degradation.
Revenue Administration
Great care is to be exercised in revenue
administration, to ensure the prosperity of those who pay the revenue to the
state, for on their prosperity depends the prosperity of others, particularly
of the masses. Indeed, the state exists on its revenue. You should regard the
proper upkeep of the land in cultivation as of greater importance than the
collection of revenue, for revenue cannot be derived except by making the land
productive. He who demands revenue without helping the cultivator to improve
his land, inflicts unmerited hardship on the cultivator and ruins the state.
The rule of such a person does not last long. If the cultivators ask for a
reduction in their land tax for having suffered from epidemics, drought,
excessive rainfall, soil infertility, floods impairing the fertility of the
land or the cause of crop damage, then reduce the tax accordingly, so that
their condition may improve. Do not mind the loss of revenue on that account,
for that will return to you one day manifold in the hour of greater prosperity
of the land and enable you to improve the condition of your towns and to raise
the prestige of your state. You will be the object of universal praise. The
people will believe in your sense of justice. The confidence which they will
place in you in consequence will prove your strength, as they will be found
ready to share your burdens.
You may settle down on the land any number of
people, but discontent will overtake them if the land is not improved. The
cause of the cultivator’s ruin is the rulers who are bent feverishly on
accumulating wealth at all costs, out of the fear that their rule might not
last long. Such are the people who do not learn from examples or precedents.
Clerical Establishment
Keep an eye on your establishment and on your
scribes, select the best among them for your confidential correspondence such
among these, as possess high character and deserve your full confidence, men
who may not exploit their privileged position to go against you, who may not
grow neglectful of their duties, who in the drafting of treaties may not
succumb to external temptation and harm your interests, or fail to render you
proper assistance and to save you from trouble, who in carrying out their
duties can realize their serious responsibilities, for he who does not realise
his own responsibilities can hardly appraise the responsibilities of others. Do
not select men for such work merely on the strength of your first impressions
of your affection or good faith, for as a matter of fact, the pretensions of a
good many who are really devoid of honesty and good breeding, may cheat even
the intelligence of rulers. Selection should be made after due probation, which
should be the test of righteousness. In making direct appointments from people,
see to it that those selected possess influence with the people and who enjoy
the reputation of being honest, for such selection is agreeable to God and the
ruler. For every department of administration, let there be a head, whom no
trying task might cause worry and no pressure of work annoy.
Remember, every weakness of any one among your
establishment and scribes, which you may overlook, will be written down against
you in your scroll of deeds.
Trade and Industry
Treat businessmen and artisans well, and
advise others to do likewise. Some of them live in towns, while some move from
place to place with their wares and tools earning their living by
manual labour. Trade and industry are the real sources of profit to the
state and the suppliers of consumer goods. While the general public
is not inclined to bear the strain, those engaged in these professions take the
trouble to collect commodities from far and near, from land and across the sea,
from mountains and forests and naturally derive benefits.
It is this class of peace loving people from whom
no disturbance need be feared. They love peace and order, indeed they are
incapable of creating disorder. Visit every part of the country and establish
personal contact with this class, and inquire into their condition. But bear in
mind that a good many of them are intensely greedy and are inured to bad
dealings. They hoard grain and try to sell it at a high price and this is most
harmful to the public. It is a blot on the name of the ruler not to fight this
evil. Prevent them from hoarding, for the prophet of God had prohibited it. See
to it, that trade is carried on with the utmost ease, that the scales are
evenly held and that prices are so fixed that neither the seller nor the buyer
is put to a loss. If in spite of your warning, anyone should go against your
commands and commit the crime of hoarding, then deal him appropriately with a
severe punishment.
The Poor
Beware! Fear God when dealing with the problem
of the poor who have none to patronise them, who are forlorn, indigent,
helpless and are greatly torn in mind – victims of the vicissitudes of time.
Among them are some who do not question their lot in life and who,
notwithstanding their misery, do not go about seeing alms. For God’s sake,
safeguard their rights, for on you rests the responsibility of protecting their
interests. Assign for their uplift a portion of the state exchequer (Bayt
al-Mal), wherever they may be, whether close at hand or far away from you.
The rights of the two should be equal in your eye. Do not let any preoccupation
slip them from your mind, for no excuse whatsoever for the disregard of their
rights will be acceptable to God. Do not treat their interests as of less
importance than your own, and never keep them outside the purview of your
important considerations, and mark the persons who look down upon them and of
whose conditions they keep you in ignorance.
Select from among your officers such men as are
meek and God fearing who can keep you properly informed of the condition of the
poor. Make such provision for these poor people as shall not oblige you to
offer an excuse before God on the Day of Judgement for, it is this
section of the people which, more than any other, deserves benevolent
treatment. Seek your reward from God by giving to each of them what is due to
him and enjoin on yourself as a sacred duty the task of meeting the needs of
such aged among them as have no independent means of livelihood and are averse
to seek alms. The discharge of this duty is what usually proves very trying to
rulers, but is very welcome to societies which are gifted with foresight. It is
only such societies or nations who truly carry out with equanimity their
covenant with God to discharge their duty to the poor.
Open Conferences
Meet the oppressed and the lowly periodically
in an open conference and conscious of the divine presence there, have a
heart-to-heart talk with them, and let none from your armed guard or civil
officers or members of the Police or the Intelligence Department be by your
side, so that the representatives of the poor might state their grievances
fearlessly and without reserve. For I have heard the prophet of God say that no
nation or society, in which the strong do not discharge their duty to the weak,
will occupy a high position. Bear with composure any strong language which they
may use, and do not get annoyed if they cannot state their case lucidly. Even
so, God will open for you his door of blessings and rewards. Whatever you can
give to them, give it ungrudgingly and whatever you cannot afford to
give, make that clear to them in utmost sincerity.
There are certain things which call for prompt
action. One of them is correspondence regarding the redress of grievances,
which your heedless staff have been unable to tackle. See to it that petitions
or applications that are submitted for your consideration, are brought to your
notice without any delay, however much your officers might try to intercede
them. Dispose of the day’s work that very day, for the coming day will bring
with it its own tasks.
Communion with God
Do not forget to set apart the best of your
time for communion with God, although every moment of yours is for Him only,
provided it is spend sincerely in the service of your people. The special time
that you give to prayer, is to be devoted to the performances of the prescribed
daily prayers. Keep yourself engaged in these prayers both in the day and in
the night, and to gain perfect communion, do not as far as possible, let your
prayers grow tiresome.
When you lead in congregational prayer, do not
let your prayer be so lengthy as to cause discomfort to the congregation or
raise in them the feeling of dislike for it or liquidate its effect, for in the
congregation there may be invalids and also those who have to attend pressing
affairs of their own.
When, on receiving an order to proceed
to Yemen, I asked of the prophet of God, how I should lead the people
there in prayer, he said “Perform your prayers even as the weakest among you
would do, and set an example of consideration to the faithful”.
Aloofness not desirable
Alongside the observance of all that I have
said, bear one thing in mind. Never, for any length of time, keep yourself
aloof from the people, for to do so is to keep oneself ignorant of their
affairs. It develops in the ruler a wrong perspective and renders him unable to
distinguish between what is important and what is not, between right and wrong,
and between truth and falsehood. The ruler is after all human, and he cannot
form a correct view of anything which is out of sight.
There is no distinctive sign attached to truth
which may enable one to distinguish between the different varieties of truth
and falsehood. The fact is that you must be one of two things. Either you are
just or unjust. If you are just, then you will not keep yourself away from the
people, but will listen to them and meet their requirements. But, if you are
unjust, the people themselves will keep way from you. What virtue is there in
your keeping aloof? At all events aloofness is not desirable, especially when
it is your duty to attend to the needs of the people. Complaints of oppression
by your officers or petitions for justice should not prove irksome to you.
Make this clear to yourself that those
immediately about and around you, will like to exploit their position to covet
what belongs to others and commit acts of injustice. Suppress such a tendency
in them. Make a rule of your conduct never to give even a small piece of land
to any of your relations. That will prevent them from causing harm to the
interests of others and save you from courting the disapprobation of both God
and man.
Deal justice squarely, regardless of whether
one is a relation or not. If any of your relations or companions violates the
law, mete out the punishment prescribed by law, however painful it might be to
you personally, for it will be all to the good of the state. If at any time
people suspect, that you have been unjust to them in any respect, disclose your
mind to them and remove their suspicions. In this way, your mind will get
attuned to the sense of justice and people will begin to love you. It will also
fulfill your wish that you should enjoy their confidence.
Peace And Treaties
Bear in mind that you do not throw away the
offer of peace which your enemy may himself make. Accept it, for that will please
God. Peace is a source of comfort to the army, it reduces your worries and
promotes order in the state. But Beware! Be on your guard when the peace is
signed for, certain types of enemies propose terms of peace just to lull you
into a sense of security only to attack you again when you are off your guard.
So you should exercise the utmost vigilance on your part, and place no undue
faith in their protestations. But, if under the peace treaty you have accepted
any obligations, discharge those obligations scrupulously. It is a trust and
must be faithfully upheld and whenever you have promised anything, keep it with
all the strength that you command, for whatever differences of opinion might
exist on other matters, there is nothing so noble as the fulfilment of
a promise. This is recognized even among non-Muslims, for they know the dire
consequences which follow from the breaking of covenants. So never make excuses
in discharging your responsibilities and never break a promise, nor cheat your
enemy. For breach of promise is an act against God, and none except the
positively wicked acts against God.
Indeed Divine promises are a blessing spread
over all mankind. The promise of God is a refuge sought after, even by the most
powerful on earth, for there is no risk of being cheated. So, do not make any
promise from which you may afterwards offer excuses to retract, nor go back
upon what you have confirmed to abide by, nor break it, however galling it may
at first prove to be. For it is far better to wait in patience for wholesome
results to follow, than to break it out of any apprehensions.
Beware! Abstain from shedding blood without a
valid cause. There is nothing more harmful than this which brings about one’s
ruin. The blood that is wilfully shed shortens the life of a state.
On the Day of Judgement it is this crime for which one will have to
answer first. So, beware! Do not wish to build the strength of your state on
blood for, it is this blood which ultimately weakens the state and passes it
into other hands. Before me and my God no excuse for wilful killing
can be entertained.
Murder is a crime which is punishable by death.
If on any account the corporal punishment dealt by the state for any lesser
crime results in the death of the guilty, let not the prestige of the state
stand in any way of the deceased relations claiming compensation.
Last Instructions
Do not make haste to do a thing before its
time, nor put it off when the right moment arrives. Do not insist on doing a
wrong thing, nor show slackness in rectifying a wrong thing. Perform everything
in its proper time, and let everything occupy its proper place. When the people
as a whole agree upon a thing, do not impose your own will on them and do not
neglect to discharge the responsibility that rests on you in consequence. For,
the eyes of the people will be on you and you are answerable for whatever you
do to them. The slightest dereliction of duty will bring its own retribution.
Keep your anger under control and keep your hands and tongue in check. Whenever
you fall into anger, try to restrain yourself or else you will simply increase
your worries.
It is imperative on you to study carefully the
principles which have inspired just and good rulers who have gone before you.
Give close thought to the example of our prophet, his traditions, and the
commandments of the Holy Qur’an and whatever you might have assimilated from my
own way of dealing with things. Endeavor to the best of your ability to carry
out the instructions which I have given you here and which you have solemnly
undertaken to follow. By means of this order, I enjoin on you not to succumb to
the prompting of your own heart or to turn away from the discharge of duties
entrusted to you.
I seek the refuge of the might of the Almighty
and of His limitless sphere of blessings, and invite you to pray with me that
He may give us together the grace willingly to surrender our will to His will,
and to enable us to acquit ourselves before Him and His creation, so that
mankind might cherish our memory and our work survive. I seek of God the
culmination of his blessings and pray that He may grant you and me His grace
and the honour of martyrdom in His cause. Verily, we have to return
to Him. I invoke His blessings on the prophet of God and his pure progeny.
SOURCE: Imam Ali's Book entitled Nahij Al-Balaqa (An Approach to Eloquence)
