نشریه حکومت اسلامی
سال بیست و یکم شماره 1 (پیاپی 79، بهار 1395)

Negotiation as the most important and effective means of diplomacy plays a unique role in meeting the objectives of a nation’s foreign policy. Seeking to establish world peace and security on the basis of divine transcendent values, Islam gives its support to the legitimacy of negotiations between Islamic states and other [non-Islamic] states. The issue of functional aspects of negotiations in meeting the objectives of Islamic foreign policy is of utmost importance. In this research work, an attempt has been made to show that an Islamic government can set the stage for accomplishing the principal objectives such as the ideals of the Islamic world, guidance, unity, establishing and promoting peace and security and peaceful coexistence, settlement of disagreements, safeguarding people’s own elected system of government, preserving international (world) order, making contracts and undermining the illegitimate sovereignty (rulers) front (ÔaghÙt).

ZakÁt (amount payable by a Muslim as a part of his religious obligation) or charity tax is one of the most important financial issues in the true faith of Islam whose function can be defined as either supporting those who have poor living conditions or promoting and strengthening Islam. ‘Uniting the hearts’, as one of the objectives achieved by consuming ZakÁt, has its roots in the Holy Qur’Án. This institution is intended to promote sympathy between people, establish friendly relations and to encourage cooperation in maintaining peace and security of the Islamic nations. The concept and scope of ‘uniting the hearts’ and the way in which it functions in the present-day situation are among the questions which need to be investigated. The present article deals with these issues drawing upon an approach to comparative jurisprudence (fiqh). The article concludes that ‘uniting the hearts’ or ‘ta’lif-e qulÙb’ is of a broad sense whose aim is to attract sympathy from those who are influential in society and who have the power and authority to call for cooperation with Islamic societies on the one hand, and to promote and strengthen the doctrinal and religious beliefs of the Muslims on the other. Seeking the ways in which Islamic societies can create and show sympathy towards each other and other nations are now within the scope of peace and security, inviting others to Islam, Islamic propagation and supporting scientific and cultural activities.

Philosophers’ thoughts are directed at building an ideal society with the hope that all or some constituent elements of such a society will be made possible in the real world. Philosophers such as Plato, and Lock, and even John Rawls’ theory of justice in the contemporary world are aimed at creating such a society. In the Islamic political thought, Muslim philosophers, having taken into consideration certain Qur’anic teachings, traditions received from the Prophet Muhammad and the Infallible Imams regarding the issue of ‘government’ and ‘sovereignty’ and the conditions of an ideal society, have sought to present a good model of a desired or ideal society. In this article an attempt has been made to give a clear picture of the position of “happiness” as an end in an Islamic ideal society as depicted in the thoughts of AllÁmeh ÓabÁÔabÁÐ, the well-known Muslim thinker and Qur’anic commentator (exegete). According to AllÁmeh ÓabÁÔabÁÐ, a society can attain happiness if it moves along the road of human nature (disposition) and is in perfect harmony with the existing system of universe. For him, an ideal government is one that, while laying its foundation on religion and human nature, strives to lead humans toward happiness. Therefore, a society cannot reach happiness in this world and in the hereafter unless it has been governed by a religion which has its roots in human nature. However, governments are intended to set the stage for every individual in the society to attain to his or her own deserved perfection and to move away all the obstacles for them to attain happiness.

The present article studies the textual proofs for the divine legitimacy of Imam in the Shi’a KalÁm according to the two frequently narrated (attested) Hadiths: al-Manzila and al-Thaqalayn. Drawing upon a descriptive-analytic method and adopting the so-called ‘fiqh al-hadith approach’ in the textual KalÁm, the article has dealt with the subject in question. According to what is signified by the al-Manzila Hadith, as Aaron became Moses’ vicegerent in his absence, and had all the positions of Moses as well, Imam 'Ali's (a) was also elevated to Aaron and all of his virtues and thus had all the positions, most important of which was his rightfulness for caliphate after the Prophet. According to the Qur’anic verses, Prophet Moses asked God to choose Aaron as his deputy, and God accepted his request and Aaron became Mose's vicegerent in his absence. The same thing was true of Imam Ali’s succession to the Prophet. Prophet Muhammad could never appoint someone as a successor or caliph without God’s permission.
In the Hadith of al-Thaqalayn, the Prophet’s Holy Family, Ahlulbayt, are introduced as a counterpart (Ýedl ) of the holy Qur’an, and the absolute obedience to the Qur’anic orders and instructions is treated as significant as the absolute obedience to the teachings of the prophets’ household. Since the holy Qur’an is a divine book free from errors that provides guidance to human beings, the Prophet’s household, like the holy Qur’an, should be free from errors and act as a guide to show people the right way and lead them toward perfection. This clearly signifies that the Prophet’s progeny are infallible, i.e. they do not commit sins at all, and are not liable to act erroneously. It is quite obvious that since the Muslim community is not fully capable of recognizing such people among themselves, God, on the basis of the Principle of Grace, has taken the responsibility of designating the people worthy of being successors to the Prophet Muhammad in order to save people from going astray.

The present research work studies the ‘fitnah of takfir’ as one of the most important problems in the Islamic world today. Unfortunately, to achieve their filthy aims, the enemies of Islam, taking the advantages of the ignorance of certain Muslim groups, is trying to skillfully manage and control their jihÁdi movements, which have been actually intended to be against unbelief and Zionists’ acts of aggressions, and motivate the Muslim sects to wage wars against each other. In addition, they set the stage for takfir, which does not have any footing in the orthodox faith of Islam, to find its way into religion and religious sects, taking on the appearance of a great fitnah (sedition) in the Muslim world today.
Drawing upon religious and fiqhi texts of religious sects of Islam (whether ShiÝi or Sunni texts), this research work tries to cast light on the nature of the fitnah of takfir on the one hand, and to put forward the fiqhi truthful opinion about those who are involved in leading the fitnah or who play a role in it on the other. It also makes clear the responsibilities of the other Muslim majorities around the world towards this takfiri group. The problem can be put this way: If Muslims are faced with the fitnah of takfir, what strategies can Islamic fiqh formulate to prevent it or lead it to the right direction in order to keep the Muslim community away from the enormous threatening dangers of these extremist takfiri groups?

Shekh FaÃlullÁh NÙrÐ advocated the guardianship of Muslim jurists (faqihs), and did not believe that Shah is the ‘Shadow of Allah’ (ÛillullÁh). In other words, NÙrÐ considered that those faqihs who are of broad authority in making legal decisions (mabsÙt al-yad) are the real rulers, not kings with absolute power. According to him, faqihs are ‘general representatives’, NuwwÁb-e ÝÀm, of the Imam of the Age (a). This belief can be traced in NÙrВs works and the available historical documents. Nevertheless, some claim that Sheikh FaÃlullÁh NÙrÐ does not have any opinion about the guardianship of a Muslim jurist and no discussions on this issue can be found in any of his works and that he is the advocate of ‘Islamic sovereignty’ and ‘a ruler endowed with majesty’, ÒÁhib al-shawkat.
The aim of this article is to cast light on the fact that the issue in question, i.e. the guardianship of the faqihs in the view of Sheikh FaÃlullÁh NÙrÐ and of those who do not support the idea of the guardianship or authority of faqihs, can be explored by basing the arguments on the words and thoughts of Sheikh FaÃlullÁh and available historical documents to verify the truth or falsity of the claims made by those who oppose his views.

Market control or controlling the market is one of the major concerns in the field of economy in every country and society. Societies make use of certain control mechanisms or procedures in accordance with their cultural and value systems. This research work tries to explore the strategies of market control by studying the ways in which Shi’a Imams have dealt with the problem. Having raised the question “What was Imam Ali’s strategy in controlling the market?”, the researcher tries to explore the historical resources drawing upon library method to gather the necessary data, and then makes analysis of the collected data by the use of the descriptive-analytic method. Finally, he formulated a conceptual model in the form of 2×2 matrix. After formulating the conceptual model and studying Imam Ali’s procedure in this regard, the researcher tries to offer and explain the four kinds of strategies of market control in terms of market conditions and of the approach adopted. These four strategies are as follows: limiting control strategy, diagnostic control strategy, social control strategy and internal control strategy.