ISLAMIC GOVERNMENT
Year:2013 | Volume:18 | Issue:2 (68)|Papers Count:7

According to the fiqh of Shi‘ah Imamiyyah, one has no right to be ruler or gain authority over others unless this authority is determined and conferred on a person by the Islamic Law. The divine legislator considers justice and piety as necessary conditions for the execution and legitimacy of being a ruler. Therefore, justice is a necessary condition for the leadership of the Islamic nation. The question that arises here is: Should we consider the authority of those who preside the three powers to be similar to the authority which a ruler has, and so justice and piety are necessary for their being legitimate? Different views have been raised regarding the nature of these posts. Some consider these posts as some kind of agency (wikalah), some hold that they have the character of guardianship and others see that each of them should be treated separately. This paper rejects the idea of their being a kind of agency and takes them to have stages or ranks of legislative guardianship, whereby justice, which is one of the conditions of guardianship, has to be taken as prerequisite for holding these posts. After examining justice-based posts in the Constitution, the paper points out to the legal gaps in this respect and emphasizes on the firm, legal and Shar‘i status which the Guardian Council and the Assembly of  Experts have as the authorities that recognize what justice is.

The authority of faqih (Muslim qualified jurist) and the general deputyship of faqihs and the special deputyship of the Companions of the Prophet have found expression in the words and practical life and conduct of the Infallible Imams. In the period of Occultation, the discussion on the general authority and deputyship of faqihs has been raised in various fiqhi books. The main question of this research paper is focused on how the theory of the authority of the Muslim qualified jurist (faqih) was actualized in the period of Occultation. Did the authority of faqih take practical form only in the Islamic Republic of Iran or there was a historical precedent for it? To answer the above questions, the present article has made a historical study of the issue in question in the present time when Shi‘ah rulers have ruled over Muslim societies. The article also seeks to find out to what extent faqihs have participated in and exerted their influence on the formation of an Islamic government and what crucial role they have played in exercising their authorities. The hypothesis raised in the research rests on this idea that from the advent of Safavid Dynasty to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Shi‘ah faqihs have found the way paved to exert their increasing authority and to take government posts defied for them as faqihs due to the formation of Shi‘ah government and its subsequent recognition of Shi‘ism as a formal religion. It is worth mentioning that since the establishment of Safavid Dynasty, Shi’ah faqihs have increasingly exercised their authority while taking up government posts to the extent that when we approache to the time when the Islamic Republic was formed, this ever-increasing tendency to hold government posts and act as official faqihs has reached to its climax and become crystalized during the reign of Muslim jurist (ruler) in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the latter contemporary period, the structure of the Islamic government was devised in accordance with the theory of the “authority of the Muslim qualified faqih”, who has been defined and appointed as the first government official.

The Glorious Qur’an contains unique political terms, one of which is the term ‘munafiqun’ or hypocrites. This term is peculiar to the Glorious Qur’an as a divine scripture and has not been used as a term having a political sense before the revelation of the Qur’an. It should be noted, of course, that the term ‘nifaq’ and its derivations can only be found in Medinan Suras. Some commentators as late Allamah Tabatabaī holds that the use of this term in Medinan Suras has no peculiar implication while in this research an attempt has been made to establish the fact that the term ‘munafiqun’, as applied in Medinan Suras, is due to the formation of the Islamic government in Medina by the Prophet Muhammad. For if such a government had not been established, such political entity as ‘munafiqun’ would not have come into existence.

Women’s participation in public activities (women’s incumbencies) and the clear role they play in managing the general affairs of society and holding high posts in government institutions has been the focus of attention of different societies in recent centuries, and it has become a fact in many countries. The question of the permissibility 0f the increasing level of women’s participation in political activities became a cause of concern in the early years after the Islamic Revolution in general and in the recent years in particular. This paper investigates this issue by resting on fiqhi foundations and evidence; and apart from exploring this issue in the framework of the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, such things like Shari‘ah path, the widely accepted foundations of the wise and, last but not least, judgment of Islamic Law are among the evidence that have received special attention.But in case the evidence proving the permissibility or impermissibility of women's participation in public activities is open to doubt, the implications of practical principle is scrutinized. In the conclusion, though impermissibility of women’s broad participation has not been proved, the weightiness of the idea of permissibility has been established and so in case there is a necessity or worthy expedience, this question can be recommended in the form of a secondary judgment.

Today the principle of the ‘rule of law’ is regarded among the best indications of rule and governance. Taking a probing look at this concept in the light of the western works and studies and reviewing the different perception of the jurists of the Roman-German judicial system and common law, this paper attempts to cast light on its indigenous meaning in the common law and in the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To this end, having focused on the articles of the Constitution and certain criminal laws, an attempt has been made to elucidate the importance of this principle and expound its different aspects as well as the guarantees against its breach.

The Prophet of Islam, who was regarded as the head of government and his governors and deputies, who represented the government agents, sought to follow the strategy of “ invitation and peace” in the course of achieving the hoped-for aims, performing political duties of the Islamic state and implementing the general policies of Islam with regard to the foreign policy. In this way, they proved that Islam is a religion of rationality and logic, and that Jihad (holy wars) in the cause of God is declared only when all diplomatic means fail. So the essential principle in the diplomacy Islam is “peace and invitation”.This paper attempts to evaluate the significance and high status of diplomacy during the period of the Prophet’s government and its peaceful impacts on strengthening and fostering the foundations of the Holy Qur’an from a new perspective, and concludes that the use of peace-seeking diplomacy during the period of the Prophet’s government was especially effective in the spread of the true religion of Islam.In this article, the author first explains the meaning of diplomacy and peace and sheds light on the principles of diplomacy of the noble Prophet of Islam. Then, after elucidating the aims and importance of the relations and the constituents of this diplomacy, he elaborates on the peaceful diplomacy of the Prophet of Islam.

This article aims at expounding Imam Hadi’s political views. Due to the extremely difficult conditions and extraordinary political situation during Imam Hadi’s period, he found no opportunity for expressing his political views during his Imamate. This paper seeks to elaborate on some of his views from a political perspective. First, it touches on Imam’s general view about politics and government, including the way he looks at such things like authority, this world and cooperation with tyrannies or governments in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. Then, it deals with the main features of politicians and political elite, and it goes on to deal with the status of people and their duties in the light of Imam’s view. What has been gathered from Imam’s political thought indicates that it is necessary for politicians and political elite to have such characteristics like observing divine piety, truthfulness and sincerity in their conduct towards people, forbearance, giving special attention to meritocracy and creation an atmosphere for critics.In contrast, people should preserve to knowingly obey the rulers, not fanatically, and to have a spirit of goodwill and advice, benevolence, and good knowledge of the things.