پژوهشنامه متین
پیاپی 53 (زمستان 1390)

Every society, relying on its socio-cultural conditions and in the light different historical-creedal periods, tends towards a specific government system. Iran is not an exception. Hence after several historical periods, having put behind such governments as Safavids, constitutional system, and dictatorial government, the Iranian society chose religious democracy as its government model. This system is based on religious principles and values which is the merging place of religion and politics. Hence, in theory and practice it should abide by democracy and religion. Since elections are the basis of democratic systems, and in the light of religious ethics, commandments and beliefs, the present paper is an attempt to study ethics and elections as two pillars of religious democracy. Hence, the nature and necessity of election ethics, its elements in Imam Khomeini’s thoughts, and the nature of these criteria in the Quranic verses and traditions will be studied to make a conclusion.

Today, there are rare instances of exertion of force in the form of physical compulsion or use of violence in conclusion of contracts, but due to internal and external conditions the consent of the parties to the contract is undermined. According to jurists and lawyers, although the existence of emergency conditions undermines the consent of the parties to the contract, it does not damage the validity of the contract. But if the same emergency condition is abused and an unfair contract is imposed on the helpless party, such an agreement is not valid. Due to the lack of clear reference in the law, the lawmakers – in this case lawyers and jurists – have offered different guarantees for the nullification of such a contract which include nullification, right to abrogate, ineffectiveness, and adjustment. Although most of the Imamiyah jurisprudents advocate the validity of such contracts, some jurisprudents have proposed their nullification with regard to an amount above the equal price, but other jurisprudents have opposed it. Referring to the Rule of Hardship and Necessity, Imam Khomeini considers an amount above the equal price as invalid. This view which is somehow modification of the contact would guarantee the rights of the helpless person and at the same time is not open to the criticisms leveled against other viewpoints.

The Guardians Council is one of the most important institutions in Iranian political system, hence its study is very important. Therefore, in the first place, its status is compared with similar institutions in other countries to explain the philosophy of its establishment. Since supervision over the management of the country at macro level, including the elections, is among the prerogatives of the Guardians Council, it is important to clarify its role. However, due to the lack of clear reference to the nature of its supervision, there are controversial viewpoints in this regard. Since the council is also vested with the power to interpret the Constitution, it has interpreted the Article on its prerogatives and called its supervision approbatory. Despite considering this interpretation binding, due to the existing problems, there are still some debates about this issue. Hence attempts have been made in the present paper to offer an informative interpretation of the said article which can provide an effective, logical and fair supervision.

The Pahlavi regime played a new trick in August 1977. Under international pressures and to appease the regime’s opponents, the Shah dismissed Amir Abbas Hoveyda after 13 years of being the prime minister and replaced him with Jamshid Amouzegar. Although Amouzegar’s cabinet was formed to consolidate the foundations of the Shah’s regime, during his tenure, unexpected events unfolded in the country which effectively accelerated the process of Islamic Revolution. Meanwhile, Imam Khomeini’s strong and sagacious leadership thwarted Amouzegar’s programs and deliberations. Why Amouzegar had been appointed, what happened during his tenure and what he had done to halt the Islamic Revolution are the major concerns of the present research. The data for the present paper was garnered from books and journals of repute and analyzed throughdescriptive-anlytical approach.

Rational credibilties in rational sciences are so important that in the approach ofthese sciences man’s humanity lies in his ability to construct the world of credit.What are rational credibilities? What is the definition of rational credibilities? Whatare their characteristics? The Principles of Jurisprudence too is indebted to rationalcredibilites, for the principles deal with jurisprudence whose creative material iscredit. Hence renowned Usuliun, though not independently, have discussedcredibilities. The present paper is based on the notes of the author’s classes oncredibilities. The main focus of this paper is to define credibilities and theirclassification in the works of renowned Usuliun. Also the definition of the author ofrational credibilities based on Imam Khomeini’s viewpoints has been given in theend.

The Arabic word ibtila has two meanings. In its first sense, it refers to affliction and infliction. Ibtila can be affliction of hardship or being blessed with blessings, which are the inseparable parts of the universal system. The happenings in man’s life have profound meanings. The significance of ibtila is that it sublimates man’s status, causing his spiritual sublimation in the direction that he is capable of accomplishing. The ecstasy of the world is shortcoming; the world is not capable of being a place for reward and punishment. It is only an educational home for raising man in order to attain a superior goal in the sublime world. Ibtila in its second sense means test and awareness. Awareness refers to becoming conscious of creation of man and the world as well as a semantic approach to all possessions and non-possessions, joys, hardships and other happenings. Hence afflictions and tests are always a means for perfection and spiritual sublimation. Attempts have been made in the present paper to rely on the Quranic verses, traditions and remarks of thinkers to explain Imam Khomeini’s viewpoints about affliction and test.

There are two major viewpoints about Islamic fixed punishment (Hadd): some consider Islamic fixed punishment as an offensive attribute which has legal punishment, while others argue that it is a punitive attribute whose limit has been fixed by the Lawgiver, while the rests are categorized as Ta’zir. But despite this definition, the punishments are not always observed some mitigating or augmenting factors influence them. As a result the offences falling with the category of fixed punishment are punished according to the rules of Ta’zir. Likewise, with regard to the offenses falling with the category of Ta’zir where the ruler can determine the nature and amount of punishment, the punishment given to the offender is according those stipulated for fixed punishments. In other words, in jurisprudence, some time fixed punishment and Ta’zir replace each other. There are four conditions for offenses falling within the category of fixed punishment. However, jurisprudents maintain that the boundaries of these two Islamic punishments should not overlap.