Two paradoxical features in Imam Ali (pbuh)
One criterion is that there were seemingly two conflicting sets of characteristics in the Commander of the Faithful: the first was steadfastness, resistance, and strictness; another was leniency, compassion, and clemency. These qualities existed in the Commander of the Faithful to their perfection. He was steadfast and strict in the face of every evasive course of action. In the face of oppression, oppressors, deviation from the path of God, transgression, and greed: the Commander of the Faithful would stand up against these matters with complete steadfastness and power; his resistance against those conditions is unprecedented, to this very day. He also behaved in a completely sensitive and delicate manner when it came to divine remembrance and dhikr; he behaved similarly towards the oppressed, underprivileged, and vulnerable classes of society.
