concern yourself solely with the meaning and beware of verbosity in writing, for the Muslim public treasury does not tolerate any loss.”1
It is clear that when an administrator hears about so much carefulness in writing letters, he would no longer give lavish banquets, ride costly horses, or try to achieve more and more welfare for himself through public assets.
Imām’s personal economy and thrift in spending the public treasury is also extremely astounding. He would not even use the lantern that belongs to the public treasury when responding to those people who came to him at night for personal purposes. Along the same line is the thought-provoking and instructive story of Talha and Zubair who went to Imām Ali (a.s.) to discuss their personal problems while he was taking care of affairs of the public treasury. He turned off the light which belonged to the public treasury and had another lantern brought in, unwilling to use the public belonging for personal purposes even for a few moments.2
Four: Social Policies
In social issues, the government of Imām Ali (a.s.) has also very firm and strong foundations, methods, and positions. The texts recounting the dimensions of his social policies are insightful and noteworthy. Based on these texts, Imām’s principles of social policies can be recounted as follows:
1. Social Justice
Justice is the firmest, most pivotal, comprehensive and fundamental issue of the policies and rulership of Imām Ali (a.s.). The sacred name of Imām Ali (a.s.) is so intertwined with justice that his name reminds us of justice and justice reminds us of him. Justice always prevailed in Imām Ali’s life (a.s.) to the extent that he sacrificed his life dying a martyr’s death in the way of establishing justice and spreading equity.
