An analysis of the nature of the ideal city from the view of Imam Ali (AS)

Ideal city is a title for terrestrial society, where the maximum material and spiritual facilities in this city cause most people to be oriented to the spirit of God-belief and God-centeredness. Since comprehensive research on the characteristics of the ideal Islamic city from the view of the infallible imams (AS) and especially from the view of Imam Ali (AS) is still at the beginning, the present research studies the view of Imam Ali (AS) from the sources of hadith, specifically Nahj al-Balagha in order to achieve the principles governing the ideal city. In this way, eight main bases from the view of Imam Ali (AS) in introducing the ideal city, including Tawḥīd, justice, life, human dignity, security, freedom, order, and ownership, have been identified, and these eight bases have been pursued in the three main dimensions of the ideal city, including intellectual foundations, human relationships, and physical dimensions. The results show that the intellectual dimension of the city was the most prominent and important dimension from the point of view of Imam Ali (AS), which is considered to be the manifestation of the ideal city and also influences other aspects. Finally, the ideal city should pay full attention to all aspects of human life, both physical and spiritual, and a clean and healthy environment has an instrumental role and is only a platform for the development of these dimensions with the aim of achieving the main position of humanity, that is, Caliph of Allah. Therefore, everything in this city is a tool to serve humans and develop their dignity.