Origin of Morality and the Political in Imam 'Ali's Intellectual System through an Approach to the Saying 216 in Nahj al-Balaghah

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Abstract

In a primeval society, man lives a primeval life and in a civil society he lives a human life. As the most distinctive aspects of man's social life, morality and politics are, according to Nahj al-Balaghah, done by one who, in addition to his "natural" and human self, enjoys a perfecional life and a transcending insight and, at the same time, emphasizes functional reason:
"For you, it is sufficient that your reason separates the ways of misguidance from salvation" (Sayyid Radi, 1389, Wisdom 421, p. 1131).
What that makes the notion of politics in Imam 'Ali school a lofty one and secures its relation to moral values is a common origin called "Divine right" which brings in harmony subjects such as government, mutual relation of the ruler and the ruled, legal issues and obligations stemmed from them and pictures politics as a Divine aspect specifying duties of knowing and faithful man.
Based on the sermon 216 of Nahj al-Balaghah, the present article seeks to explain some primary assumptions and the meaning of Divine right in brief and discuss the relations between morality, values, religion, and politics as much as possible.
Thus, facing the main question (which relation is between morality and the political in Nahj al-Balaghah?), the following hypothesis may be studied:
"Origination of governmental issues from "Divine right" creates at the same time a true guarantee for combining moral values and the political, and pictures human rights and obligations in a clear and desired way".

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