ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Cursory Glance at the Theory of Wilayat al-Faqih Chapter 1: Wilayat al-Faqih, Exigency and Presuppositions The importance of discussing wilayat al-faqih 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.

The establishment of this system is ascribed to numerous contributory factors but the key factor is the love for Islam, and as Islamic system its survival will not be possible without preserving this feature. A sociopolitical system with its Islamic character has to be based on Islamic principles and values both in legislation and execution. This characteristic will continue to exist as long as the people and those who accept this system believe in Islamic doctrines and abide by Islamic values.

If, God forbid, Islamic beliefs and thoughts are gradually forgotten by the members of society, essence of Islam will be subject to deviation or if the people forget the foundational values of Islam and deviant trends emerge, the edifice of the Islamic system will decay and there will be nothing to guarantee its survival in the long term. Of course, the name of Islam may remain, but its essence and truth will fall into oblivion.

Muslim society already had such an experience during the early days of Islam, and that is when after the demise of the Prophet of Islam (S)[^2] the Islamic and divine system was transformed into a monarchial and taghuti [^3] government of the Umayyads[^4] and ‘Abbasids,[^5] and only the name of Islam remained and then Islamic beliefs were distorted and Islamic values were forgotten, and the status of the government was more lamentable.

This bitter experience ought to be a useful lesson to all of us. This situation went on like like for fourteen centuries until another revolution patterned after the divine revolution of the Prophet of Islam (S) took place in the world, and a new sociopolitical system anchored in the Islamic principles was established.

Yet, we should know that just as the first Islamic system and revolution of the Holy Prophet (S) was not immune from dangers and it did not last long before deviation actually permeated in society, the immunity of this revolution will not be guaranteed unless we learn from the past and unless the Muslims show great perseverance in preserving this system.