After the death of Uthman bin Affan, the nation unanimously turned to Imam Ali (a.s.) and gave him the pledge of allegiance as caliph. They were overwhelmed with a wave of affection towards him. However, Imam Ali (a.s.) rejected them saying: "Let me alone, and go in search of someone else.."(100)
Imam Ali (a.s.) refused to be a captive of emotions, as it was probable that the hatred of some people against Uthman was responsible for kindling similar feelings towards him, as well as aggravating the trend against him. Imam Ali (a.s.) wanted voluntary acceptance of his Imamate.
Furthermore, Imam Ali (a.s.) was not of those who could be induced by post and position and thus, be responsive to the people as soon as they rushed to him. The whole caliphate did not have the worth of the wing of a mosquito to him. Actually the entire earthy world, in his sight, equalled not more than "a goat's sneeze," as he put it. Leadership is worthless if it does enable one to establish right and abolish wrong.
Therefore, he did not respond, at first, to the pressure of the people. He wanted to subject them to a test to make sure that they had the capacity to receive his programs and take to his plans, should he accept the rule.
So, despite the fact that the sacred capital, the "Illuminated Madinah" insisted on choosing him and expressed its persistence in actual demonstrations and crowded gatherings, so much so that the desire became unanimous, he was not pressed to accept hastily. At last, finding the people still persisting in pledging their allegiance to him, he accepted the caliphate on certain conditions, which had to be wholeheartedly agreed to.
Spelling out what he needed in his mission, he demanded:
"...Remember that if I accept your caliphate I shall make you follow the religion according to my own rulings and judgements. I shall not accept suggestions from anyone, nor will I bother about the discontentment and anger of dissatisfied persons..."(101)
The whole nation responded by hurrying to announce their submission to his conditions, extending their hands, and pledging their allegiance and obedience to him. So, Imam Ali (a.s.) agreed to face fully his responsibilities of leading the Islamic nation, thought and practice.
The first task was to remove all forms of deviation which had grown into Islamic life, and to bring the nation back to the original Divine course. To attain this he had to act according to a strict and comprehensive program, and to have others to act correctly in implementing it. It was a task where his government had many problems to confront, especially in political and economic fields:
1. Political Field:
Imam Ali (a.s.) defined the attributes of governors and government officials whom Islam recommends to manage the affairs of the Islamic nation. These definitions were clearly set out in his communique which he issued:
"....O people! you must understand and realize that so far as the protection of properties, rights and honor of the Muslim world, the propagation and preservation of Muslim laws and guardianship of Muslim finances are concerned, an ignorant person, a miser, a tyrant, a man who accepts bribes or one who has forsaken the principles of equity and justice should not be entrusted with the ruling of a Muslim state.
"A miserly person will covet the wealth of those he rules; an ignorant one will misguide them; a tyrant will oppress and tyrranize them; one who is not afraid of rapidly changing times and policies will, to the detriment of the cause of Islam, keep on forming unholy alliances with one nation after the other; a corrupt ruler, who is open to bribery, will violate rights, and will not dispense justice, and the one who has given up the traditions of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) will be responsible for the destruction of Islamic ideals and doctrine."(102)
Under this clear and objective determination of the attributes of the officials acceptable to Islam, Amir Al-Mu'minin Imam Ali (a.s.) began to dismiss some of the governors from their posts in different parts of the Islamic state. Had he compromised, as some wanted him to do, subsequent Muslim generations would not have recognized the true picture of the Islamic religion for which Allah had sent His great Messenger (s.a.w.).
2. Economic Field:
Simultaneously with reforming the political system, Imam Ali (a.s.) started to revolutionize the economy of the state. No sooner had he begun his rule, than he cancelled the method of distributing wealth which had formerly been followed. He replaced the discriminate way of distributing money by a system based on equity as practiced by the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.).
So, all forms of discrimination in dividing the money among the people, was cancelled by the Imam (a.s.) stressing that fearing Allah, priority in embracing Islam, fighting for the sake of Islam, or companionship with the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), were not matters which gave their owners any sort of distinction in this world. Reward from Allah would be theirs in the Hereafter. Whoever had priority in these attributes, would receive his reward from Allah. But, here in this world, all people are equal in their financial rights in respect to the law and in their duties.
His ideas about justice are stated in one of his speeches:
"...Any man from the Muhajirin and the Ansar, who had kept company with the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), seeing that he had priority over the others just because of that, should remember that the reward of this merit would be awarded him by Allah in the Hereafter...
"Any one who responds to Allah and to His Messenger, believes in our religion, embraces it, prays with his face towards Ka'bah, deserves the rights of Islam and accepts its limits. So you are servants of Allah, and money is Allah's. It is to be distributed among you equally, with no one having any distinction over the other, as the pious ones will tomorrow have the best of rewards and highest results. Allah did not ordain any reward for the pious in this world. What Allah has is much better for the righteous..."(103)
In this way Imam Ali (a.s.) incarnated the concept of equity, giving allowances to all persons who enjoy the right of being Muslim citizens, without any discrimination on any grounds.
These are some of the features of the reformative process led by Amir Al-Mu'minin Imam Ali (a.s.) in different fields of Islamic life-- financial, administrative and governmental.