Sociological Analysis of the Concept of Justice in Imam Ali's View

The present article aims at investigating social and political thoughts of Imam Ali, especially on justice. It attempts to investigate the concept of justice and its aspects in Imam Ali's view. In this study, the texts related to justice were extracted from Nahj al-Balagh through content analysis. The findings of content analysis show that the concept of justice is the most important and most valuable concept in Imam Ali's thinking system and the most fundamental principle in his political-social conduct. In Imam Ali's view, justice is a social affair and is related to all elements of society such as the concepts of truth, need, qualification, and equality. Different statements in Nahj al-Balagha about justice show that Imam Ali's view of justice is neither a conservative view nor a merely egalitarian one. Adjusting social and material rewards based on individual efforts, and the just ruler's appreciating the qualifications of individuals and fulfilling the basic needs of the society members while acknowledging the sameness of creation of all human beings are distinctive points between Alawid justice and egalitarianism common in western political literature.