Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Research Scholar, Fourth Level, Department of Fiqh al-Hukumah, Imam Ali (AS) Educational and Research Complex, Qom Seminary
2
Lecturer in External Jurisprudence and Principles of Islamic Law, Qom Seminary, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Jurisprudence and Principles of Islamic Law, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran.
Abstract
Among the significant challenges to the formation of an Islamic government in the Period of Occultation is whether the formation and administration of an Islamic government are exclusively limited to the Infallible Imam (peace be upon them) or not. The origin of this issue lies in the existence of certain texts (nusūs) which confirm certain characteristics in the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them), such as the supreme knowledge of the Infallibles, the power (authority) of the Infallibles, and the conditionality of the existence of the Infallibles for the actualization of political and social rulings.
This article, in an analytical and jurisprudential manner, examines these issues to invalidate the idea of exclusivity. Of course, invalidating exclusivity does not mean proving the right to independent rule for someone other than the Infallible Imam, but rather affirms this right, subordinate to the authority of the Infallible Imams, and only in the absence of access to the perfect example of Islamic government, for the type of government most similar to the government of the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them). The most important answers given are as follows: the lack of indication of exclusivity in the aforementioned texts, the generality of action, whether direct or indirect, the difference between divine ontological vicegerency and contractual vicegerency, the authority of independent juridical opinion, the impermissibility of neglecting and abandoning a necessary position, compensation by justice, and the actualization and continuity of rulings. This idea can also be refuted with other answers, including the principle of "gradual descent"[1], the reduction of oppression, the argument from the office of market inspector (hisbah), and the negation of hardship on the people.
[1]. By "gradual descent," we mean that the intellect recognizes that when a principle is absent, its equivalent (or parallel) should be sought, but it is not permissible to nullify it-for example, the principle of the Imam's authority. In the absence of an Infallible Imam, one must find his counterpart; God's command is not to be nullified. Those who oppose the authority of the Supreme Jurist disagree not only with the Qur'an and traditions but also with reason.
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