نشریه حکومت اسلامی
سال بیست و هفتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 103، بهار 1401)

The existence of a government and one social system is rendered necessary in human life, because the absence of a government and a social system may result in chaos in every aspect of social life. According to the ShiÝa, the responsibility of forming a government is upon the living Infallible Imam, but, at the age of occultation, taking into account some traditions which can be found in some compilations of hadiths, it is possible that some people will form in thir minds some false beliefs that any uprising or idea for establishing a government at this age is not permissible and Muslim believers have to be in a position of inactivity and refrain from any political actions or uprising until certain  events as signs of the reappearance of al-Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance) occur. In this research work, the writer tries to establish that the traditions in question may be weak in terms of chains of narrators, that the theme or content of such traditions do not suggest such false beliefs and that they are even inconsistent with the Qur’anic verses and other authentic traditions (hadiths).

The history of ideas about the position, function and duties of the elite is as long as the history of political philosophy. The idea that human societies have composed of various social forces and classes and the government should be in the hands of superior social groups can be found in the thoughts and ideas of the ancient philosophers of the Middle Ages. There are many theories and approaches in the field of elitism which have been studied qualitatively in this article in comparison with the ideas and thoughts of Muslim thinkers drawing upon the Imam Ali’s ideas and his approaches to elitism in one of his sermons called Shiqshiqiyyah. The study concludes that in the existing non-Islamic approaches to elitism emphasis is laid on the political legitimacy of the elite but Imam Ali’s view in this regard is based on the divine legitimacy and popular acceptance. The former approaches maintain that the elite function to secure their own interests but Imam Ali considers the elite as a social group which has the social responsibity of administering justice, fighting against oppression, and protecting national security. Imam Ali (‘a) has also taken into account the rights and duties of the elite and the masses towards each other, but other approaches have laid much emphasis on the duties of masses towards the elite and their interests.

The main question of this article is how to explain the ‘Second Step Movement’, drawing upon the movement pattern. The reason why this question is dealt with in this article is the significance of the ‘Second Step Statement’ as an instruction as well as a road map which was proposed by the Grand AyatullÁh KhÁmenei. The method used in this article is the ‘movement pattern’ attributed to ÝAllÁmeh ÓabaÔabÁÐ by means of which the components of the mover, the moved, the starting point, the goal, time and place are studied. According to the Second Step Statement, the mover find its expression in such things as Divine motivation, knowledge, and research and the moved can be exemplified into the ‘youth’, ‘Iranian society and ‘Muslim community’. The stating point is the second forty-year period after the triumph of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The time allocated to this movement is almost a fifty-year period during which Iran is supposed to attain a new Islamic civilization, and the place where this movement happens is, in the 1st phase, Iran and the Irianian Muslim community in particular and, in the second phase, Muslim community in general. And finally, the goal is the establishment of a new Islamic civilization and the idea of paving the way for the reappearance of the Grand Authority of the Imam of the Time, al-Mahdi, (may God hasten his reappearance). The findings of the research show that achieving the goals of the Second Step Statement like that of the first one is caused by the constituents the most important of which is to act on the guidance and guidelines of the Imam and leader of the Muslim community.

Economic problems, including high prices, is a significant issue in every society. Hoarding, one of the current factors, has a direct influence on high prices. According to the generally accepted Islamic view, hoarding is a forbidden and illegal action. In works of jurisprudence, in discussions of hoarding law, mentions have been made of its different examples or extensions. The research question revolves around studying the possibility of extending the hoarding law to the cases which fall outside the stipulated traditions. In other words, the question arises as to whether one can think of the over abundance and accumulation of goods such as articles of food as well as important commodities or services which people need in their lives in this modern age but which are fallen outside the narrative stipulations as objects for inclusion in the anti-hoarding law. Drawing upon a library research method, the article seeks to make a theoretical analysis of jurisprudential principles and relevant sources to gain access to the basis and goal of the hoarding law. Through careful study of this issue in works of jurisprudence, it follows that the basis for the prohibition of hoarding is the hardship and problems it brings about in society. It also suggests that the objects of hoarding as stipulated in traditions are not restricted to those objects only and thus the stipulated cases cease to be relevant and whenever there exists such a base as mentioned above, the prohibition of hoarding will also naturally apply. This view paves the ground to settle the problems in this field with regard to the existing spatial and temporal conditions and circumstances. Hence, in our present time, we must maintain that the anti-hoarding law extends to include such things as articles of food and even some other things like housing, drugs, hygiene products, means of transportation, and household articles.

To determine what principle one should follow in the realm of the international interactions of an Islamic state has become a concern for the Islamic political thought in recent years. In spite of the studies conducted by the authorities as well as the presentation of such views as “war and JihÁd” and “peace and peaceful coexistence”, yet to find a universal and unchanging criterion for the international interactions of an Islamic state is a question which requires researchers to investigate and find an appropriate answer to it. Relying upon the necessary triangle of ‘honor’, ‘wisdom’ and ‘expediency’ as a policy and  a framework governing the realm of the interactions of the Islamic state – included in the article 6 of the Second Step Statement – the analysis raised out of the judgement of reason and of the revealed doctrines indicate that “call to Islam and its rule” is considered as a fundamental and universal principle as well as a unique means of justifying peace and peaceful coexistence and JihÁd and war as soft and hard means as perceived by Islam in the realm of international interactions of the Islamic state. The aim of this article is to analyze what is called the foundation and principle in international interactions of an Islamic state in the light of the triangle of ‘honors, ‘wisdom’ and ‘expediency’. This aim is achieved by giving a description and making an analysis of jurisprudential propositions through collecting the library data which result in offering the thesis of ‘call to Islam and its rule’ as a fundamental principle in international interactions.

‘Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil’ as one of the principal and fundamental values of a society is the most important symbol and representation of the republic and Islamic state of the system of government which should be increasingly preserved, promoted and proliferated in society and which is to be taken as a guarantee for keeping the society safe and as a contributory factor in establishing values and removing abnormalities in the light of active and common participation. This fundamental value should be preserved through excersising the proper sanctions among which one can refer to the criminal sanction as a form of governmental intervention. Preservation here specifically means the contributory factors which encourage or make the individuals in society to act on this divine obligation or to take measures to enforce it or to remove the structural and human obstacles (negative confrontation due to the omissions) in the way of enforcing it. Accordingly, in the threefold international relation between the one who bids unto good deed (maÝrÙf ) and the one who forbids from the evil (munkar), the addressee and the relevant third parties, one can define ‘act (fiÝl ) and failure to act (omission) and also determine criminal sanction according to people’s rights and duties (obligations). The research method used in this article is descriptive-analytic and library sources have also been used.

Social capital can be defined as being a set of elements such as integrity, and shared trust, norms and values which contribute to the increase in cooperation between individuals in a social milieu. In Islamic teachings, mentions are made of unique capacities and capabilities of which the Islamic government can make use in promoting social capital. Since an increas in social capital in a society will result in an increase in security and a decrease in many social harms, inattention to this may lead to possible crises in society for which people have to pay a heavy price. Through expolring Islamic texts, this research works seeks to identify the contributory factors in producing and reproducing social capital. Taking these factors and other indexes into consideration and making use of relevant proper strategies makes it possible for the Islamic government to attain desirable results. The research method in this article is qualitative based on the Grounded Theory. Islamic doctrines (teachings), when carefully regarded and applied in different individual and social realms, leads to the accumulation of social capital and its consistency. The findings of this research work suggest that one can find traces of the idea of social capital in many Islamic teachings, though of course in an implicit way. Thus, the Islamic government can make the best of that unique capacity and capability in creating the possibility of increasing social capital.