The Exercise of the Authority of Faqih and its Course of Development in the Contemporary History of Iran

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.