Now that two decades[^5] have elapsed after the victory of...

Now that two decades[^5] have elapsed after the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the beginning of the rule of Islam and wilayat al-faqih system in our beloved Iran, our nation’s avowed enemies who correctly realized that the secret behind the perpetuity, independence, grandeur, and honor of this country is people’s fidelity to religion and wilayat al-faqih, are hatching various cultural plots to undermine the Islamic ideology and cast doubt upon the Islamic and religious beliefs, principles and values of our people and society with the aim of weakening the principle of wilayat al-faqih which is one of their strategic objectives.

Regrettably, a group of intellectuals render assistance, consciously or unconsciously, to this trend through actions, behavior, speech, and writings. We believe that in the current status of our society, wilayat al-faqih constitutes the central pillar of Islam, and its safety contributes to the splendor of Islam and Islamic laws and values in the society.

As such, we have decided to elucidate this theory, support it academically and logically, and enlighten the general public, particularly the young generation of our country who probably know very little about this theory and its ramifications, and thus discharge a small part of our religious duty.

Observing the academic coherence of the discussion, we have endeavored to avoid using technical and complicated terms and dialectical methods so that the discussion may appeal to those who have little familiarity with the seminarian and academic issues and terminologies. We have also tried, as far as possible, to use simple words and expressions and avoid dealing with complicated and ambiguous topics.

Likewise, we have tried to deal with all the aspects of this theory to address the subjects which we find significant and controversial. However, things like the brevity of content and the readers’ patience and the time that they have been taken into account as far as possible.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that this work contains a number of speeches, articles, books, and question-and-answer sessions of the erudite professor, Haḍrat Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi (may his sublime presence endure), which have been compiled, edited and published by the author.

Since the theory of wilayat al-faqih constitutes part of the Islamic political theory, those who are willing to be familiar with the different aspects of it may refer to the other two pertinent books of the author, viz.