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Wilāyat al-Faqīh: Exigency and Presuppositions Part 1 - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Wilāyat al-Faqīh: Exigency and Presuppositions Part 1 2024-02-24 504 Views Leadership , Wilāyat al-Faqīh Contents The importance of discussing Wilāyat al-Faqīh The academic status of the question of Wilāyat al-Faqīh Footnotes Indeed, the theory of wilāyat al-faqīh [guardianship of the jurist] can be regarded as the most important foundation of the political system in Islam during the period of occultation [‘aṣr al-ghaybah] of the Imām of the Time [Imām al-Zamān] (‘a).

It is the theory that practically proved during the last quarter of the 20th century to all and sundry that religion is competent to administer the affairs of society. Relying on this idea, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ḥaḍrat Imām Khomeinī (qs), was able to establish the Islamic government system and to administer it well notwithstanding the opposition of all imperialist powers in the world.

Though the notion of separation of religion and politics and the irresponsiveness of religion in solving social problems and its incompetence in administering the society have been vigorously propagated since the end of the 16th century in the West by both political scientists and statesmen and also acknowledged by the ecclesiastical authority, a Muslim cleric who was a source of emulation was able to bewilder both friends and foes by setting up a government system based on religious principles, values, laws, and in brief, the religious thought.

By emphasizing the slogan that “Government is the practical philosophy of all Islamic laws” and refusing to give any name to the new government other than “Islamic republic” and that is, that omitting the word “democratic” suggested by some for this government, he has shown in theory and practice that the “Islamic republic system” under the axis of wilāyat al-faqīh is a purely religious system, and that this new system which is detached and distinct from all the current systems in the world, in spite of the arbitrary claim of the opponents, is able to administer the society successfully.

The importance of discussing Wilāyat al-Faqīh Our political system, which is now more than two decades old [1] and which thrived at the cost of the pure blood of thousands of noble and self-denying individuals, is a system characterized by its Islamic nature.