The Analysis of Realistic Conduct (Behavior) in the Alawid Life-style

In the political life of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali,(may God’s peace be upon him), one can find certain cases where he has shown flexibility toward observing penal laws in order to preserve and safeguard the Islamic state and its authority. For example, his judges being granted permission to judge in the manner the judges did at the time of the caliphs prior to him, his preservation of some innovations such as nightly prayers in RamaÃÁn (tarÁwih), a twenty-five year co-operation of convenience with the tyranny, etc. That is why some have raised doubts that in such cases Imam Ali (may God’s peace be upon him) has chosen to sacrifice canonic rules for preserving his power and rule. An attempt has been made in this article to explain the legal regulations governing the conduct of the Commander of the Faithful so that his realistic conduct can be analyzed accordingly. In doing so, at first, a jurisprudential framework is given in accordance with the known principles and regulations in fiqh and the Principles (OsÙl) and then an attempt is made to check individual instances of realism in the life-style of the Commander of the Faithful against that framework based on documentary sources. In case we succeed to do this, we have achieved an acceptable standard which can be taken as an appropriate model to follow in our political and governmental procedures and to apply it in governmental policy-making.