Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist

"Vilayat faqih" redirects here. For other uses, see Vilayat-e Faqih (disambiguation).

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The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Persian: ولایت فقیه, romanized: Velâyat-e Faqih, also Velayat-e Faghih; Arabic: وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, romanized: Wilāyat al-Faqīh) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), at least some of the religious and social affairs of the Muslim world should be administered by righteous Shi'i jurists (Faqīh).[1] The nature of these affairs are disputed.[2]

Wilāyat al-Faqīh is associated in particular with Ruhollah Khomeini[3] and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a series of lectures in 1970, Khomeini advanced the idea of guardianship in its "absolute" form as rule of the state and society. This version of guardianship now forms the basis of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which calls for a Guardian Jurist (Vali-ye Faqih, Arabic: وَلِيُّةُ فَقِيهٌ, romanized: Waliy Faqīh), to serve as the Supreme Leader of that country.[4][5] Currently, this role is held by Ayatollah Khamenei.

Under the "absolute authority of the jurist" (Velayat-e Motlaqaye Faqih), the jurist/faqih has control over all public matters including governance of states, all religious affairs including the temporary suspension of religious obligations such as the salat prayer or hajj pilgrimage.[6][3] Obedience to him is more important (according to proponents) than performing those religious obligations.[7] Other Shi'i Islamic scholars disagree, with some limiting guardianship to a much narrower scope[2]—things like mediating disputes,[8] and providing guardianship for orphaned children, the mentally incapable, and others lacking someone to protect their interests.[9]

There is disagreement over how widely supported Khomeini's doctrine is; that is, whether "the absolute authority and guardianship" of a high-ranking Islamic jurist is "universally accepted amongst all Shi’a theories of governance" and forms "a central pillar of Imami [Shi'i] political thought" (Ahmed Vaezi and Taqi Yazdi),[10] or whether there is no consensus in favor of the model of the Islamic Republic of Iran, neither among the public in Iran (Alireza Nader, David E Thaler, and S. R. Bohandy),[11] nor among most religious leaders in the leading centers of Shia thought,[12] such as Qom and Najaf (Ali Mamouri).[13]

  1. ^ "Review by Hossein Modarressi, by The Just Ruler or the Guardian Jurist: An Attempt to Link Two Different Shicite Concepts by Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 3 (3): 549–562. July–September 1991. JSTOR 604271. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Archived copy [in Persian]". sistani.org. Archived from the original on 13 September 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2006.
  3. ^ a b Algar, Hamid; Hooglund, Eric. "VELAYAT-E FAQIH Theory of governance in Shiʿite Islam". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. ^ Wilfried, Buchta (June 2005). Taking Stock of a Quarter Century of the Islamic Republic of Iran] (PDF). President and Fellows of Harvard College. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  5. ^ Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, section 8 Archived 23 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Article 109 states an essential qualification of "the Leader" is "scholarship, as required for performing the functions of mufti in different fields of fiqh"
  6. ^ Keyhan, January 8, 1988
  7. ^ Abrahamian, Khomeinism, 1993: p.56
  8. ^ Interview: Hamid al-Bayati (May 2003) Archived 9 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Archived copy [in Persian]". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
  10. ^ Vaezi, Ahmed (2004). "What is Wilayat al-Faqih?". Shia Political Thought. Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. ^ Nader, Alireza; Thaler, David E.; Bohandy, S. R. (2011). "3. Factor 2: The Prevailing View of Velayat-e Faghih". The Next Supreme Leader. RAND Corporation. pp. 21–30. ISBN 9780833051332. JSTOR 10.7249/mg1052osd.10. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  12. ^ Olivier Roy (1994). The Failure of Political Islam. Translated by Carol Volk. Harvard University Press. Even in Iran, until Khomeini the ulamas were content to have control over the laws voted by parliament. It was Khomeini who first defined the conditions for the exercise of power by the clergy (theory of the wilayat al-Faqıh), a position that would only be adopted by a minority of the Iranian high clergy.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mamouri-quest-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).