The legitimacy and acceptability of Wellayat-e Faqih from Imam Khomeini's Viewpoint

The appointment and election of Wally-e Faqih, the actualization of Wellayat, and the legitimacy and acceptability of Wally-e Faqih, in general, are among the most important controversies among the Islamic political groups after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. To explain the legitimacy and acceptability of Wally-e Faqih from Imam Khomeini's viewpoint, the paper, first, presents the existing theories concerning the legitimacy and acceptability of Wally-e Faqih and discusses over the dependence or independence of legitimacy on acceptability, and then, evaluates the views of the two political parties in the Islamic Republic of Iran in this respect. It seems that the theory maintaining the appointment of Wally-Faqih by Allah (divine legitimacy) accords to Imam Khomeini's works and acts, though his emphasis on its acceptability by the people strengthens the idea of the dependence of legitimacy on acceptability.