Imam Ali (PBUH) in his period of government (Khalifate) displayed a leadership model based on social justice and real acknowledgement of human rights. Once he appointed one of his faithful disciples as the Governor of Egypt. Maalik al-Ashtar was a famous companion of Imam Ali and Imam had specially taught him the principles of administration and jurisprudence. The following instructions in the form of a letter were written to him by Imam Ali when he left for Egypt. The letter is a comprehensive set of political, social, economic and moral instructions for a governor to rule with honesty, fairness, and equality.

1. Imam Ali (PBUH), a Master
of Leadership
Part 1
Farhad Zargari, MD, PhD
drzargari@gmail.com
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2. History of Great Men
 The history of great men is a fountain of experience, faith and
aspirations for us - a fountain which will never dry up. The great
men of the world are like lofty peaks of mountains which we
aspire to climb with great eagerness and passion. They are the
light-houses which keep darkness away from around us. It is due
to the examples set by them that we have gained self-
confidence. They have made us hopeful of life, taught us its
aims and objectives.
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3. Imam Ali(PBUH)
 Imam Ali peace be on him (600-661 AD), is the most
distinguished personality of Islam after Prophet Muhammad,
peace and blessings be on him. His entire life is devoted to
righteousness and justice. He was a great companion to the
Prophet of Islam(PBUH) and dedicated himself to the
advancement of Islam. He was a great judge, a great
philanthropist and the most pious person of his time. Much has
been written and continues to be written about the life,
character and attributes of Imam Ali.
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4. A Universal Example
 Although Imam Ali(PBUH) was born in Arabia his person is not
meant for Arabia only. Although the fountains of his kindness
and wisdom sprang from Islam, he is not confined to the Muslim
world. Rather he is a universal example of virtue, piety, purity,
faithfulness, justice, eloquence, respect for others, and help for
the deprived and the oppressed.
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5. Sacrificing Life
 If you look at the horizon you will observe two kinds of redness;
one the natural redness and the other that of the blood of the
men and women in the path of truth and justice. If you hear with
the ears of your heart, history will narrate to you the story of the
great martyrs in the path of truth and justice who sacrificed
themselves for the prosperity of others and Imam Ali(PBUH) was
such a champion.
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6. He was Born in Ka’bah
 Imam Ali was born in the Sacred House (Ka'bah). Ali was born ten
years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the
Prophet Mohammad. Providence alone had a hand in bringing
his mother, Fatima daughter of Asad towards the Ka'bah. It was
Friday 13th of the month Rajab when his mother came to Ka'bah,
she felt weighed down by intense pain of pregnancy. She knelt
down before the Holy Structure and prayed humbly to God.
'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, saw 'Ali's mother praying to God. No
sooner had she raised her head from supplication, then the wall
of the Sacred House split by a solemn miracle. Fatimah entered
the Ka'bah and that portion returned to its normal position.
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7. He was Born in Ka’bah
 Abbas and his companions flocked at the gate of the Sacred
House which was locked, and tried to open it, but in vain. They
then decided to give it up, considering the miraculous nature of
the event and the Divine Will in action. The news of this
miraculous incident soon spread like wild fire in the whole city of
Mecca. Ali was born within the Ka'bah with his eyes closed and
his body in humble prostration before the Almighty. Fatimah
stayed in the Ka'bah for three days and as the fourth day
approached she stepped out, carrying her gem in her arms. To
her great surprise, she found the Holy Prophet awaiting to
receive the newly-born child in his anxious arms.
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8. Care and Education Under the Holy
Prophet(PBUH)
 Imam Ali's birth in the Ka'bah is so unique in the history of the
world. Neither a prophet nor a Divine saint was ever blessed with
such an honor. He was brought up under the care and
education of the Holy Prophet. As Imam Ali says: "The Holy
Prophet brought me up in his own arms and fed me with his own
morsel. I followed him in everything like a baby-camel following
its mother. Each day a new aspect of the Holy Prophet’s
character beamed out of his noble person and I grabbed and
followed it as a command. " (Nahju 'I-balaghah-The book of
Imam Ali (PBUH)).
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9. Always Along with the Holy Prophet
 Ten years in the company of the Holy Prophet had kept Imam Ali
so close and inseparable, that he was one with him in character,
knowledge, self-sacrifice, forbearance, bravery, generosity, and
eloquence. From his very infancy, he prostrated before God
along with the Holy Prophet. As he himself said: "I was the first to
pray to God along with the Holy Prophet."
 “Ali presented in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, all along his
childhood as well as young adulthood. Allah created him pure
and holy and kept him faithful on the right path.” Says al-
Mas'udi, the Muslim Historian(896-956 AD)
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10. First to Embrace Islam
 A few years later, when the Prophet was endowed with the
Divine Gift of prophecy and for the first time received the Divine
Revelation in the cave of Hira', as he left the cave to return to
town and his own house he met Ali on the way. He told him what
had happened and Ali accepted the new faith. Again in a
gathering when the Holy Prophet had brought his relatives
together and invited them to accept his religion, he said the first
person to accept his call would be his vicegerent (official
administrative deputy) and inheritor. The only person to rise from
his place and accept the faith in that gathering was Ali and the
Prophet accepted his declaration of faith. Therefore, Ali was the
first man in Islam to accept the faith and is the first among the
followers of the Prophet to have never worshipped other than
the One God.
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11. First to Embrace Islam
 Though Imam Ali is indisputably the first to embrace Islam when
the Holy Prophet called upon his listeners to do so, yet by the
very fact that since his infancy he was brought up by the Holy
Prophet and followed him in every action and deed including
prostration before Allah, he can be said like to be born as a
Muslim. Imam Ali, at all times, accompanied the Holy Prophet to
help and protect him from his enemies. He used to write down
the verses of the Holy Qur'an and discuss them with the Holy
Prophet as soon as they were revealed by the Messenger Angle,
the Gabriel. He was so closely associated with the Holy Prophet
that as soon as a verse was revealed to him during the day or
night, Ali was the first to hear it.
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12. Some of the Sayings of the Holy Prophet
about Imam Ali (PBUH)
 Some of the sayings of the Holy Prophet about Imam Ali:
 O 'Ali, you are my brother in this world as well as in the Hereafter.
 I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is the gate to it.
 Ali is never separated from the Truth nor the Truth from Ali.
 Nobody knows Ali except Allah and I and nobody knows me except
Allah and Ali.
 If you want to see the knowledge of Adam, the piety of Noah, the
devotion of Abraham, the awe of Moses, and the service and
abstinence of Christ, look at the bright face of Ali.
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13. Slept in the Place of the Holy Prophet
 Ali was always in the company of the Prophet until the Prophet
emigrated from Mecca to Medina. On the night of the
emigration to Medina (Hijrah) when the infidels (non-believers)
had surrounded the house of the Prophet and were determined
to invade the house at the end of the night and cut him to
pieces while he was in bed. Ali slept in place of the Prophet
while the Prophet left the house and set out for Medina.
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14. A Brother to the Holy Prophet
 Muslims emigrated from Mecca to Medina to save themselves
from the deadly threats of non-believers. When the Holy Prophet
reached the city of Medina and met his followers who had
come from Mecca at his call, he immediately appointed for
each such emigrant a person from the people of Medina. So for
every Muslim coming from Mecca, there was a receiving brother
from Medina. His appointment of brothers was a great act of
help for the refugees known as Muhajirun (Emigrants), who left
their home and come to Medina. While the Prophet was
appointing an a brother (Ansar) to an emigrant, no one was
appointed as a brother to Imam Ali. On being questioned on this
the Holy Prophet said: "He shall be a brother to me."
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15. The Foremost Muslim
 The character and personality of Imam Ali as judged by al-
Mas'udi is, “If the glorious name of being the first Muslim, a
comrade of the Prophet in exile, his faithful companion in the
struggle for faith, his intimate associate in life; if a true
knowledge of the spirit of his teachings and of the Book; if self-
abnegation and practice of justice; if honesty, purity, and love
of truth; if a knowledge of law and science, constitute a claim to
pre-eminence, then all must regard Ali as the leading Muslim.
We shall search in vain to find, either among his predecessors or
among his successors, those attributes.”
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16. Guardian of the Ka'bah
 Gibbon* says: "The birth, the alliance, the character of Ali which
exalted him above the rest of his country- men, might justify his
claim to the vacant throne of Arabia. The son of Abu Talib was in
his own right the chief of Banu Hashim and the hereditary prince
or guardian of the city and the Ka'bah."
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*Edward Gibbon (27 April 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member
of Parliament.

17. Marriage of Imam Ali
 Under Divine instruction, the Messenger of Allah married his
beloved daughter Fatimah (PBUH) to Ali, though others vainly
tried for her hand. Among their children, Imam Hasan, Imam
Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum have left their marks on the
history of the world. After the death of Fatimah (PBUH), Ali
married Ummu 'I-Banin. Abbas was born out of this wedlock and
was so handsome that he was fondly called Qamar Banu
Hashim (Moon of the tribe Banu Hashim ). He personified loyalty
and bravery and proved it in the battlefield at Karbala.
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18. Like Aaron to Moses
 AIi had the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint; his
wisdom still breathes in a collection of moral and religious
sayings; and every antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or
of the sword, was subdued by his eloquence and courage. From
the first hour of his mission to the last rites of his funeral, the
Prophet was never abandoned by a generous friend, the one
whom he was delighted to name his brother, his vicegerent, and
the faithful Aaron of a second Moses.
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19. Nahj-ul-Balagha, The Book of Imam Ali
 Nahj-ul-Balagha is a collection of Sermons, Letters and
miscellaneous Sayings left from Imam Ali (PBUH). The importance
of the Nahj-ul-Balagha lies in two dimensions. First, it speaks
about the fundamentals of Islam such as God, prophet hood,
the human being, Islamic views of humanity, and many other
aspects of Islamic Ideology. Secondly, the Nahj-ul-Balagha refers
to the social issues in general, morality, duties of government,
problems of hypocrites, etc. Accordingly, this book can be a
source of inspiration and prosperous living for us today.
 Late Syed Razi (970 – 1015 AD) compiled Nahj-ul-Balagha over a
thousand years ago and before he made the efforts these
jewels were scattered all over the Islamic literature.
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20. Rule with Honesty, Fairness, and Equality.
 Imam Ali (PBUH) in his period of government (Khalifate)
displayed a leadership model based on social justice and real
acknowledgement of human rights. Once he appointed one of
his faithful disciples as the Governor of Egypt. Maalik al-Ashtar
was a famous companion of Imam Ali and Imam had specially
taught him the principles of administration and jurisprudence.
The following instructions in the form of a letter were written to
him by Imam Ali when he left for Egypt. The letter is a
comprehensive set of political, social, economic and moral
instructions for a governor to rule with honesty, fairness, and
equality.
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21. Effective Leadership
 In part 2 we will focus on these instructions which have been
compiled in “Letter 53” of the Nahj-ul-Balagha. It is a rich source
of inspiration, creativeness, and visioning for today’s leaders
and managers in various levels. It can be utilized as a splendid
foundation for all executives and directors for motivating them
for continuous improvement and effective leadership.
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