Epistemological Foundations of Educational Justice Based on Nahj al-Balaghah in the Education System

Abstract

Educational justice in Nahj al-Balaghah is profoundly interconnected with knowledge and rationality. Justice cannot be sustained without insight and reason, as, in their absence, it may lead to deviation, discrimination, or dogmatism. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) regards reason as the illuminating force of justice and knowledge as a prerequisite for discerning truth from falsehood. This perspective underscores for educational policymakers and administrators that educational justice cannot be realized without systematic planning aimed at fostering critical thinking, the cultivation of wisdom, epistemic participation, and educational dialogue. Within the intellectual framework of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), educational justice possesses a simultaneously individual, social, ethical, epistemological, and structural nature. This multidimensional perspective can serve as a point of departure for designing Islamic educational models within Iran’s education system—models that are consistent with religious anthropology while remaining applicable to educational and managerial planning. Such an approach seeks justice not merely at the level of resource distribution, but at the deeper level of “cultivating a just human being.” This perspective reiterates the ultimate mission of Islamic education: to cultivate wise, morally pure, knowledgeable, responsible, and justice-oriented individuals capable of establishing a sound and divinely oriented society.