124 chapter three
carefully from those who should be “most ready to stop (to ponder)
on doubtful points, most regardful of arguments, least annoyed at
the quarrel of litigants, most patient at propping into matters and
most fearless at the time of passing judgment”. They should be rea-
sonably rewarded with no power over them from other administra-
tive ranks. Executive officers should be tested before being appointed
and should not be appointed on grounds of partiality and favouritism
to avoid injustice and unfairness. Also, they should be generously
rewarded so that they may not “have an eye upon the funds in their
custody”. But they should be observed by the state and be under
the surveillance of trusty observers as that would urge them to pre-
serve trust and competence. The importance of the clerical estab-
lishment lies in its role in smoothing and speeding up governmental
communications. Secretarial workers should be chosen with care
because they were entrusted with government documents which con-
tained policies and confidential information. The selection of those
members of staffshould not be only on the basis of the impression
they might project, but they should be also tested and reference from
previous employment should be considered. To organise their work
the establishment should be divided into departments and one chief
should be in charge of each department. Finally, the work of that
establishment should be viewed with great care since if any defect
of the secretaries was overlooked, the government would be held
responsible for it.
The prosperity of society
This, in the views of the fourth caliph Ali, therefore, depended upon
three main issues: moral values, economic development and just dis-
tribution of economic resources. Moral values based on the teach-
ings of Islam were essential to the prosperity of the community to
avoid the misuse of economic prosperity and to preserve a sound
social structure. Economic development relied on the acknowledgement
of the importance of various sectors in society and the need to achieve
economic integration among those sectors. The fourth caliph looked
at society as being divided economically into various interrelated sec-
tors each of which should be of the focal attention of government
in the process of development. The classification brings to mind
Plato’s classification in his Republic, though at the time of the fourth
caliph Greek philosophy was not yet translated by the Arabs. Although
the role of the agricultural sector in economic development was