Re: Historic Letter on Good governance by Ali bin Abu Talib
Here is the summary of the letter. (let me know if I missed something). Hazrat Ali handed this set of rules to Maalik s/o Haris Ishtar before sending Maalik to be the governor of Egypt.
In the name of Allah who is rahman and rahim
O Maalik!
----Collect taxes, fight the enemies of state, take care of citizens' needs, and establish & maintain cities.
--- Fear and obey Allah
---Follow the guidance as per Quranic injunctions (as disobeying them will result in whole lot of trouble)
---Praise Allah with every aspect of your action and thought (Allah helps those who follow Allah's injunctions)
---Control your longing for material things, as an excess of such desires leads to bad deeds
O Maalik, I [Ali] am sending you to the land where many governments good and bad have come and gone. People will judge your rule in light of the prior governments.
---Set up good example with your actions
---Treat your citizens with love and respect otherwise you will by punished by Allah
---Provide and allocate their due share of resources to the seven classes of the society.
And here are the seven classes:
First class/ group -- Military
Second class / group -- bureaucrats
Third class / group -- Judges
Fourth class / group -- Police officers
Fifth class / group -- Taxpaying citizens (Muslims who pay Kharaj, and Zimmis who pay Jizya)
Sixth Group -- Businessmen and industrialists
Seventh and the lowest class / group -- Homeless and/ or sick people