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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Political Theory (Legislation): Volume 1 Session 9: An Examination of the Status of Laws in the Religious System Principles of Islamic political theory In relation to philosophy and the Islamic political theory, it must be borne in mind that there are some people who accept all its principles, some who acknowledge some of them, and, some who accept none of them.

Nonetheless, in a bid to elucidate and establish this theory, it is imperative to explain these principles. Since some of these principles are self-explanatory, we shall mention and explain them briefly, and only explain other principles which require more space for discussion and examination. 1. Law One of the principles and presumptions of the discussion is society’s need for law. As it was said earlier, another principle in the Islamic political theory is that law must be sanctioned by God.

Its implementer must also have the permission of God. To say that law must be divine is that God Himself enacts the law and reveals it in the Qur’an, or the Prophet ( s ) or an infallible Imam ( ‘a ) is given the authority to enact the law**,** or those who are vested with authority by the Prophet or an infallible Imam ( ‘a ) enact different orders in diverse circumstances.

Therefore, we shall have three types of divine law: The law which God Himself has enacted; in which the Prophet ( s ) or any infallible Imam ( ‘a ) does not have any role; The law which the Prophet ( s ) or an infallible Imam ( ‘a ) has enacted by the authority vested in him by God; The variable orders which certain individuals enact with the permission of an infallible Imam ( ‘a ) and will be binding for the Islamic society because their source can finally be traced to the will of God.

Thus, God Himself directly enacts the law and His decrees are mentioned in the text of the Qur’an. However, with respect to the implementation of the law, God is not the agent or implementer. The implementer must be the one who is present in society and can be seen by the people, bids and forbids, and implements the laws.

It refers first and foremost to the Prophet ( s ) or an infallible Imam ( ‘a ), and at the second level, to the person who is granted executive authority by the Prophet ( s ) or an infallible Imam ( ‘a ); i.e.