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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Cursory Glance at the Theory of Wilayat al-Faqih Chapter 4: Arguments for Wilayat al-Faqih Before dealing with the proofs substantiating wilayat al-faqih , it is appropriate to explain the meaning of wilayat al-faqih first so as to clear up any ambiguity about it and in the light of the clear picture we have, we can examine its proofs.

Ontological guardianship and legislative guardianship Ontological guardianship [wilayat at-takwiniyyah] and legislative guardianship [wilayat at-tashri‘iyyah] Perhaps, there is no need to note that by wilayat al-faqih , we do not mean the ontological guardianship. Rather, we try to prove the legislative guardianship of faqih .

Wilayat at-takwiniyyah which means having authority over the entire universe and the rules governing it is basically related to God, the Exalted, the Creator of the entire universe, the order of creation and the laws governing them. Sometimes, certain examples of this guardianship are granted by God to some of His servants, whereby they can exercise authority over whatever exists in the universe.

The miracles and wonders shown by the prophets ( ‘a ) and divine saints [ awliya’ ] are among these examples. According to the Shi‘ah, the most extensive example of ontological guardianship granted to the servants of God is that which God granted to the Prophet of Islam (S) and the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) after him.

In any case, in our the discussion of wilayat al-faqih we are not concerned with the idea of exercising authority over the system of creation the laws of nature though sometimes a faqih having such a quality may have miracles [ karamah ]. The question of the management of society which concerns the Prophet (S) and the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) as well as the faqih is connected to their legislative guardianship [ wilayah at-tashri‘i ].

That is, it is the question to which the Qur’an refers in some verses, such as “The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves” [^1] and in some hadith s, such as “Of whosoever I am Master [ mawla ], then ‘Ali is also his Master [ mawla ].” Legislative guardianship has a legal basis. That is, a person can, through laying down laws and executing them, have authority over the people and members of the society, and it is incumbent upon them to submit to him and to comply with the laws.