Reflections and Impressions of the Conception of Justice:‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s Letter to Malik Al-Ashtar

Islam teaches us to be just with all people. Whether with friends orfoes; and at all times, in peace or in war. It teaches its followers to conductthemselves with unconditional justice and morality free from individualwhims, social and cultural circumstances, or temporal relativism. This paperattempts to reflect upon the theme of Justice in the worldview of ‘Ali Ibn AbiTalib in general, and in relation to the Letter written by ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib toMalik Al-Ashtar, governor of Egy pt, in particular. The Letter is ofparamount importance for a number of reasons. It not only reflects thedirections/rules for ruler/administration towards its people, but more than that,it presents a strong relationship between the concept of justice and thespiritual values of the Islamic faith. The spirit underly ing moral rules andethical injunctions is strengthened by a commitment to transcendentprinciples that surpass the realm of action within which those rules andprecepts operate. The Letter, found as the 52 number in the Nahj a l-balag ha ,has remained a source of inspiration for centuries, taken as an idealconstitution, with the Medinan Constitution of the Prophet Muhammad, forthe I slamic governance. All in all, the Letter is a stirring expression ofspiritual ethos rooted in the Islamic sources that directly discloses theroots of virtue and ethics in a climate governed by the all-embracingprinciple of revelation

Keywords:

Justice , Ali ibn Abi Talib , Malik al-Ashtar , Nahj a l-balag ha