An Inquiry into the Tradition: Definitely, People Should Have a Ruler, whether Righteous or Dissolute

Man's life is formed within a certain political system and government. Practically, it is hard to imagine man living without government. Hence, government is always considered a social necessity. Having a government is a rational necessity. The transmitted traditions testify to this rational judgment. One of these traditions is related from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and can be found in Nahjul- Balaghah. In response to the extremist view of Kharejites who shouted the slogan of "no decree but Allah's decree" rejecting the idea of having a government, Imam Ali stated: "people should have a ruler, whether good or bad". There have been several interpretations of this tradition because the word just ruler seems to match the word dissolute ruler. Using a theoretical approach and analytical method, the present paper analyzes the aforementioned tradition and concludes that matching righteous ruler with unfair ruler is intended to stress the fact that it is necessary for a society to have a government.