over from the era of `Uthmān. Regarding this, the Imām had heard various proposals and had strongly rejected all the proposals which were compromising, contradictory to the restoration of rights and based on trampling on the Public Treasury.

The Policy of Cultural Reformation

In different parts of the Encyclopedia of Imām Ali’s (a.s.), the reasons for people’s uprising against `Uthmān’s rule are mentioned; the most important of which was standing up against administrative vices and economic corruptions.¹ People were fed up with the unfair extravagance and nepotism and would not tolerate the incompetent sovereignty and incapability of the statesmen who had been assigned to their posts, only because of their attachment to the Caliph. Accordingly, from the early days of his rule, Imām Ali (a.s.) started his bureaucratic and economic reforms, despite all the difficulties that arose thereby. However, the society was not yet ready for the accomplishment of cultural and intellectual reforms and fight against distortions of values and deviations which had taken place in various dimensions in the Islamic state. Imām Ali (a.s.) had to delay and act prudently, preparing the ground and then begin the struggle. In other words, this movement was in need of more stability and stronger establishment in his government. That was why Imām Ali (a.s.) declared:
لَو قَدِ استَوَت قَدَماىَ مِن هذِهِ المَداحِضِ لَغَيَّرتُ أشياءَ.“If my steps remain firm through these slippery places, I shall alter [many] things.”²
The Imām could not easily and immediately build a different culture and fight against what had been fixed in the people’s minds, tongues, souls, and characters over a period of twenty five years and they were accustomed to, so far.
Without doubt, this fight would have raised widespread discontent and exacerbated the already complex affairs, hindering the chance for

among the well-known figures that soon turned into staunch opponents of his (a.s.) ruling.
These mottos were announced and the people got familiar with a resonance, unknown to them up to then.
On the third day of Imām Ali’s (a.s.) rule, people sought to receive their portion of the Public Treasury. Imām ordered his scribe, `Ubaydullah ibn Rāfi` as follows:
Start from Muhājirin (the emigrants). Call for them and give them three dinārs each. Then, call for the Ansār (the supporters) and treat them similarly. Anyone else that comes to you, black or red, or..., treat them the same way as you treated Muhājirin and Ansār....¹
The elders among the people found that Imām Ali’s (a.s.) plan of economic justice was not a slogan, but that it was indeed a real and very serious practice. Objections were raised before the scribe of the Imam [a.s.], who later reported them to him. Not only did the Imām remain unmoved by the onset of oppositions, [especially from insolent figures] and did not hesitate on his path, rather he asserted the continuation of his reforms decisively. He said:
وَاللهِ إن بَقيتُ و سَلِمتُ لَهُم لَاُقيمَنَّهُم عَلَى المَحَجَّةِ البَيضاء.“By God, if I remain [in power] and stay secure and sound, I will set them firm on a bright path.”²
From this very moment the vengeance for the killing of `Uthmān began! Was it not ironic that some of the gold-hoarders and affluent stipulated their allegiance to the Imām on the following two conditions?
1. Ali (a.s.) should not meddle with the wealth that they have seized during the rule of `Uthmān.
2. The murderers of `Uthmān should be identified, arrested and killed.
However, the Imām knew that the revenge for `Uthmān’s bloodshed was only a pretext. Their main concern was to prevent Ali (a.s.) from taking back the illegitimate riches and treasured up properties left