Abstract
Imam Ali (PBUH)’s government is the quintessence of governance grounded in religion which provides an approach to observing human rights in today’s political systems. Imam Ali (PBUH), in the capacity of the Islamic ruler, explained the principles and examples of human rights in the light of human dignity and recommended observing the economic, social, political, and cultural rights to the government’s agents. Raising the research question of the basis for human rights in Imam Ali (PBUH)’s government, the present study, which was conducted within the theoretical framework of the essential rights and dignity of human beings, was aimed at explaining Imam Ali (PBUH)’s view and conduct about the basis for human rights. Using the historical- descriptive-analytic research method and library sources, the study reached the conclusion that human rights are predicated upon human dignity; and that Imam Ali (PBUH)’s equal provision of human rights with an emphasis on ‘people are either your brothers in religion or similar to you in creation’ was an attempt at epitomizing the Koranic verse ‘Indeed, we bestowed dignity upon the children of Adam’. For, short of the equal provision of all human rights, human dignity is not realized. Equal human rights based upon essential human dignity in Imam Ali (PBUH)’s government include equity (e.g. the equity of the distribution of public resources), safety, security, making a living, education, justice, property ownership, freedom, and self-determination.