The two concepts of right and duty have mutual impacts. When applied to the government, then the issue of the mutual rights of people and government comes to the fore.
The observation of the mutual rights of people and government is among one of the most important issues in the Islamic government. The best available model in this regard is the government of Imam Ali (AS) who despite all problems and difficulties maintained that the observation of the people’s rights was top on the agenda of the government.
In Imam’s viewpoint, the people’s rights intra alia included the right to advise, freedom, justice, equality, security, supervision, education, protection of human dignity and values… On the other hand the people are obliged to obey and abide by the allegiance they paid to the leader. The knowledge of these rights and their observation is necessary for a system based on theoretical and practical teachings of Islam.