According to Imam Khomeini, in the early days of Islam, the ideal Islamic government ruled twice: first at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and secondly when Imam Ali ibnAbiTalib (peace be upon them) governed the Muslim societies and set unprecedented divine patterns.
They were the only two examples that the immaterial values dominated. In other words, they were governments of justice in which the rulers had never violated the law. During those two periods, a government of law was in control and perhaps we will never find another government of law with such qualities all over the world.
A government whose head was equal to the simplest citizen living there before the law. It happened in the government of the early Islam. In such a government all are equal before the law because the Islamic law is a divine one and all – whether the ruler, the Prophet, the Imam or the common people.
The historical accounts indicate that Islamic leaders such as the holy prophet and his infallible successors such as Imam Ali (PBUH) were sitting among the people in small mosques and listening to their words.
Those who had the country's destiny in their hands were meeting the common people in the same mosque in such a way that when somebody entered the mosque could not differentiate the leader and government officials from the populace.
They were just like people in their dress style and association. Justice was so applied that if a citizen from the lowest class of the society took a legal action against the first person in the country, the judge used to summon the leader who would attend the court.
The Noble Prophet of Islam and Imam Ali (peace be upon them) were also following the law, the Divine law.
The founder of the Islamic Republic frequently said that if the human societies preserve Imam Ali’s legacy, they could be prevented from social and moral decline and a viable and fair social justice could be established across the world.
Imam Khomeini also highlighted that the commander of the faithful (Imam Ali-PBUH) is the marvel of the world, who has no equal by kindness in the world-from the beginning until the eternity- unless the more respectable Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).