Imam Ali's Correspondences to the Egyptian Governors

Egypt is of paramount importance in Imam Ali's caliphate due to its social, political, and economic situations. Egypt is the neighbor of Shām, which is under the rule of Mo'awiyah, in one hand and on the other hand, it shares its border with newly conquered areas by Muslims in the north of Africa. Thus, any kind of chaos in Egypt could have negative effect on the both mentioned areas. Therefore, firstly, Imam Ali (a.s) would appoint his most reliable commanders as the governor of Egypt such as Qais bin Sa'd, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr, and Mālik bin Ashtar Nakhaee. And secondly, while corresponding to these commanders repeatedly, Imam would give them constructive advice about methods of governing. Using a descriptive-analytical research method and analyzing these correspondences, the researcher of this study proved that in addition to the Egypt's political importance, the spread of Islam in newly conquered areas of north of Africa is of significance for Imam Ali (a.s).