لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Hukumat-e Islami
Imam Khumayni's
Contribution to Islamic Political Thought
By Dr. Zafarul-'Islam Khلn
Many Muslim authors, in early and recent times, have
written extensively on Islamic political thought.[1] One
of the latest authoritative and eloquent contributions is
Imam R'hullلh Khumayni's al-Huk'mat al-'Islلmiyyah.
The Imam, who devoted most of his life to reviving the
political ideals of Islam, does not appear in this book
as a non-committal academic scholar but as a
revolutionary mujلhid and, لlim who is
pained at the loss of Islam's political role in our
societies and exhorts us to strive to restore Islam as a
political force on the world map.
Imam Khumayni was a prolific writer on a number of
Islamic themes.[2] His first work was a hلshiyah
(footnotes) on the 'tradition of Ra's al-Jلl't.'
Soon thereafter he wrote an independent commentary, sharh,
on the same work. He wrote a spiritual-philosophical work
in Arabic, Misbلh al-hidلyah, at the age of 27.
Two years later he wrote a commentary on the Du'ل'
al-Sahar. Chihil hadith or Arba'in,
which is an exposition of forty selected traditions of
the Prophet and the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, was written
when the Imam was about forty. Among the Imam's early
writings there is a commentary on Fus's al-hikam
and Miftلh al-ghayb, and two treatises entitled Asrar
al-salلt or Mi'raj al-sلlikin and Risلlat
al-talab wa al-'irلdah.
The Imam's first major work of immediate social and
political relevance was Kas'hf al-'asrلr, written
in 1941 during his early life as a teacher in the hawzah
'ilmiyyah of Qumm. The son of Shaykh Mahdi al-Qummi,
a religious teacher of Qumm, had written a book, Asrلr
al-fs'ahah (Secrets of a Thousand Years), in which he
insulted Islam. The Imam took leave for a few weeks and
wrote his angry rejoinder. He later told his son Ahmad,
who wondered why he was 'angry' in the book, 'You were
not present at that time to see what insults were being
hurled at Islam.'
Among other early works of the Imam, there is the Hadith
jun'd al-'aql wal-jahl, a commentary on a hadith
of al-Kلfi He also wrote ءdلb al-salلt, a
mystical-philosophical ('irfلni) work about
Muslim prayers.
The Imam's major fiqhi works are al-Rasل'il
and Tahrir al-Wasilah. The Rasل'il, in two
volumes, as evident from the very title, comprises
treatises on a number of fiqhi issues like ijtihلd
and taqlid etc. The Tahrir al-Wasilah,
is an original contribution to fiqh with
authoritative discussions on many new issues facing the faqih.
The Imam started it while in exile in Turkey and
completed it in Najaf, Iraq. When the copies of the first
edition of the book reached the Imam in Najaf, he found
that the printer had placed under his name the
description 'Head of the Hawzah at Najaf' (hawzah
means a religious centre). The Imam strongly objected to
this and returned all the copies to the printer to delete
that line, which was not unusual with such books.
The Kitلb al-bay', in five volumes, on
commercial transactions, contains the Imam's lectures at
Najaf over 13 years.
Its fifth and last volume was published after the
Imam's return to Iran. The Kitلb al-tahلrah, in
three volumes, on issues of ritual purity, comprises .the
Imam's lectures at Qumm. Huk'mat-e Islami ('Islamic
Government') is perhaps Imam Khumayni's most important
published work. It is a small book in Persian.[3] Its
Arabic, English, French and Urdu translations are
available. The book is not an ordinary exposition of
Islamic political thought or about how to establish an
Islamic order. Instead, it purports to address a specific
problem in the traditional Shi'i thought, that all
authority in the absence of the Hidden Imam, in
occultation since 260/873, is illegitimate, that the 'ulamل'
and fuqahل' should confine themselves to their
schools and zلwiyahs, that no just and rightful
government can be established before the appearance of
the Awaited Imam. The book is basically aimed to clear
this misconception in Shi'i minds which allowed tyrants
to usurp political authority in Muslim society for over a
millennium. This suited the unjust rulers very well, and
led to the marginalization of Islam in the society. This
new position was a revolution in Shi'i thought, which
paved the way to the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
A similar situation arose in Sunni Muslim circles
where some ulamل' outlawed rebellion against
unjust rulers on the pretext of avoiding the fitnah
and blood-letting that such a rebellion eventually leads
to. Hence the opposition to a ruler became a religious
crime. Some Sunni 'ulama' invented savings like
('The Sultan is the shadow of Allah on earth; whosoever
insults him will be humiliated by Allah, and whosoever
honours him will be honoured by Him')!
This saying, part of some printed Friday sermons, is
still parrotted by ignorant prayer-leaders (I will not
call them imams) in the Subcontinent. The result of both
these positions was the same: the learned and just ulama'
refrained from challenging corrupt rulers and taking over
political authority in their respective societies.
The Imam has powerfully smashed this thinking using
texts from the Qur'an, hadith, sayings of the
Imams, and reasoning.
The Imam describes his theory as 'the governance of
the faqih' or the jurisprudent (wilayat
al-faqih). Therefore, the book is also called Wilayat
al-faqih. It comprises 16 lectures that the Imam
delivered at the hawzah of Najaf between 13 Dh'
al-Qa'dah and Dh' al-Hijjah 1389 (23 January-10 February
1970) with the aim of proving that it is the principal
obligation of the fuqaha', i.e. experts in Islamic
law and sciences, to lead, guard, oversee and orient the
Islamic State.
As soon as the Imam started these lectures, the
reactionaries at Najaf prevailed upon some students,
under threat, to stop attending these lectures because,
as the Imam said, 'these people believed that the Shلh
and Saddلm should rule and not an imam and a mujtahid
fulfilling all the conditions.' They used to say that
government is no business of the faqih. The Imam
and his friends and disciples were harassed. He would
tell them:
'Whatever the harassment you face, it cannot equal
even one day of the difficulties the Prophet endured.'
The reactionaries sent people to tell the Imam that
'Najaf does not tolerate such talk.' The Imam and his
disciples and friends, according to Ahmad Khumayni, spent
'very bitter days' in Najaf.[4]
The reactionaries in Najaf threw the Imam's book, Huk'mat-e
Islami, into the city's wells. Some of them used to
come to the Imam and request copies of the book on the
pretext of sending them to other cities like Basrah and
Baghdad. These copies never made it to those cities.
Enquiries revealed that they used to throw the copies
into the Euphrates. The book was smuggled into Iran where
the Imam's disciples would print copies and distribute
them.
The book Kashf al-'asrلr, although written
about three decades before the Huk'mat-e Islلmi,
strongly advocates for Islamic government under the
guidance of a faqih.
The Imam says in this book that we have to start from
the scratch, relying on ourselves. He compares the
bureaucracy and royal extravaganza in Iran with the
simplicity of Islam where the ruler has no special
rights, apart from his duty to uphold the law and execute
the Shari'ah.[5] He exposes the role of alien and
colonial forces in plundering Muslim wealth in collusion
with a small estranged minority at home.[6] He compares
the simplicity and poor-friendly Islamic government with
the imported models of government where the poor have no
rights or say [7] Millions go hungry and remain deprived
of basic health and education facilities, while a few
corrupt people enjoy immense wealth.[8] Whereas free
justice in the Islamic legal system may be achieved in
two or three days, the new imported legal systems consume
decades to dispense highly expensive justice.[9] The Imam
says that ideas have humble beginnings; they grow slowly
and gradually until they are adopted by the masses.[10]
He tells his students that you may not have a state or an
army but you have the power to spread the message.[11]
The Imam says that the idea that Islam is devoid of a
political system was spread by the colonial powers which
subjugated our societies. This is not true. The Prophet
was a ruler and the caliphs were rulers after him,
because laws are not respected unless there is an
authority to enforce them.[12] The Prophet did not
suffice to explain and convey the rules but also executed
them. The head of the Islamic State is not a lawgiver, he
is only an enforcer of the law.[13] 'If all that we want
is to perform prayers and pray to our Lord and remember
Him, then colonial powers would not oppose us, if we let
them go away with what God has bestowed upon us, leaving
it to God to ask them for an accounting - if this is our
thinking, then we have no responsibility.'[14]
The Imam comments at length on a number of Qur'anic
verses and ahلdith to prove his point, like the لyah,
'Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and the rulers from among
you.'[15] The Imلm says that the Qur'لnic verses
concerned with the issues of society are many times more
than the verses about ibلdلt. 'In any of the voluminous
books of hadith, you would hardly find more than
three or four chapters about prayers and man's
relationship with his Lord, in addition to small chapters
on ethics. All else is related to social and economic
issues, human rights and society's administration.'[16]
The Imam derives two precedents from the Prophet's
life for the establishment of an Islamic government.
Firstly, he himself established a government, appointed
governors, sat as a judge in Madinah and appointed judges
for other areas of the Islamic State; he sent envoys to
other countries, concluded treaties and waged wars.
Secondly, he appointed his successor (khalifah) at
Allah's orders to carry on the head of state's duties
after him.[17]' It is self-evident,' he points out, 'that
the necessity of enforcing the laws was not particular to
the time and place. of the Prophet, upon whom be peace.
Rather the necessity is continuous, since Islam is not
limited to a particular time or place and is universal.
It must be applied, enforced and adhered to forever.
If Muhammad's halلl is halلl to the Day of Resurrection
and his haram is haram to the Day of Resurrection, it is
not lawful to suspend his punishments or to ignore his
teachings or to stop qisلs or to suspend the
collection of taxes, or refrain from defending the Ummah
of Muslims and their territories. To believe that. Islam
was revealed for a limited period or for a particular
place is contrary to the demands of the Islamic beliefs.
Since the enforcement of laws after the Noblest Prophet,
upon whom be peace, and forever, is a necessity of life,
therefore it is imperative to have a government committed
to enforcing the laws and regulating the society'[18]
The Imam goes on to argue that 'both the Shari'ah
and reason force us not to leave the governments to their
devices. The proofs in this regard are clear. Persistence
of these governments in their offences means the
suspension of the system of Islam and its rules. Many
texts exist which describe any non-Islamic system as
shirk and its ruler or authority as tلgh't. We
are responsible to eradicate the traces of shirk from our
societies and to banish them totally from our lives. At
the same time it is our duty to prepare the right
atmosphere in order to bring up a believing and righteous
generation which will smash the thrones of the tلgh'ts
and destroy their illegal authority, because corruption
and deviation flourish at their hands. This corruption
must be eradicated and its perpetrators severely
punished. In His noble Book, Allah has described the
Pharaoh as a corrupter. Under a pharaonic
rule controlling and corrupting the society, a
God-fearing believer is unable to live while adhering to
his faith and uphold righteousness. He has only two
alternatives open to him: either he will be forced to
commit sins or rebel against the rule of tلgh't,
fight it and try to abolish it, or try to lessen its
evils, at least. Only the second option is open to us. We
have no option but to endeavour to overthrow the corrupt
and corrupting systems and to crush the treacherous and
oppressing cliques overlording the people. Muslims,
wherever they may be, are entrusted with this obligation
in order to create a triumphant Islamic political
revolution.'[19]
The Imam also asserts that 'the very nature of the
Islamic laws is another proof of the imperative to
establish government.
These laws inform us that they have come to establish
a State with an administration, a healthy economy and
high culture.' He goes on to discuss at length Islam's
diverse social, economic, defence and international laws
which cannot be enforced except by a State.[20] He argues
that the vast funds generated by zakلt and khums
are meant to run a 'great sovereign State,' instead of
just taking care of the needs of a few poor or noble
people.[21]
The rot, in the Imam's view, started from the time of
the Umayyads who worked to destabilize Imam Ali's
legitimate government. 'Their efforts led to the change
in the style and system of government, and caused
deviance from Islam.' The Abbasids continued this line.
'Thus khilلfat was transformed into a sultanate'
and hereditary monarchy, and the government came to
resemble the regimes of Persian and Roman emperors and
Egyptian Pharaohs, and this situation continues to this
day.'[22]
Having proved that the establishment of an Islamic
government is imperative in terms of the Shari'ah
and reason, he concludes that 'what was imperative in the
times of the Prophet, upon whom be Allah's blessings, and
Amir al-Mu'minin'Ali ibn Abi Talib, upon whom be peace,
remains imperative to this day of ours.' Then he poses
with the following question: 'More than one thousand
years have passed since the Great Occultation (al-
ghaybat al-kubrل) of our Imam Mahdi, and another
thousand of years may pass before the arrival of the
Awaited Imam becomes necessary. Should the laws of Islam
remain suspended during this long period? Should the
people be free during this period to do whatever they
wish? The laws that the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be
Allah's blessings, promulgated and endeavoured to
disseminate, explain, and enforce for 23 years-were they
limited to only a particular period? Did Allah limit the
life of the Shari'ah for 2 years, for instance?
Should Islam lose everything after the Lesser
Occultation (al- ghaybat al-sughrل)? To espouse
this view, in my opinion, is worse than believing that
Islam has been abrogated. No one who believes in Allah
and the Hereafter can say that the frontiers of the
Islamic homeland should not be defended, or that zakلt
or khums may be withheld, or that the penal code
of Islam may be suspended, or qisلs and diyah
laws may be put in cold storage. Hence anyone who says
that the establishment of the Islamic government is not
imperative, denies in fact, the necessity of enforcing
the laws of Islam and calls for their suspension.
Consequently, he denies the comprehensiveness and
perpetuity of the true religion of Islam.'[23]
The Imam goes on to say that earlier no Muslim doubted
the continued necessity of government after the Prophet,
upon whom be Allah's blessings. All agreed on this,
although they differed about the person who should take
over as his successor.
Undoubtedly, the Islamic government existed after the
Prophet, especially during the time of Amir al-Mu'minin
Ali, upon whom be peace, with all its administrative and
executive functions.'[24]
Discussing the shape of the forthcoming Islamic
government, the Imam asserts that it will be a government
of law:
Government in Islam means following and enforcing the
law. The authority of the Prophet and the legal rulers
after him was derived from Allah, Who has ordered [us] to
follow the Prophet and the rulers after him: Thus there
is no room for opinions and whims in the government Of
Islam. The Prophet, the Imams, and the people follow
Allah's will and His Shari'ah.[25]
The Imam goes on to say that 'If we believe that the
rules about the establishment of the Islamic State are
still valid and that the Shari'ah rejects anarchy,
it is imperative that we establish an Islamic
government.'[26]
'Wilلyah means government, administration and
leadership of the country.... Wilلyat al-faqih is
a legal issue established by the Shari'ah. Just as
the Shari'ah has made each one of us the guardian
of his minor children, the duty of the guardian of the
entire people does not differ from the guardianship of
minors except in terms of quantity.'[27]
The idea of wilلyat al-faqih is not an
innovation of Imam Khumayni. He cites that the fatwل
of Mirzل Shirلzi outlawing tobacco, and the fatwل
of Mirzل Muhammad Taqi Shirلzi ordering jihلd
and the defense of the country were based on their
understanding of the idea of wilلyat al-faqih. He
also asserts that the Shaykhs Narلqi and Nل'ini were
supporters of this idea.[28]
The just faqih, as guardian or ruler, controls
in society what the Prophet, upon whom be Allah's
blessings, used to control, except that the faqih
will not share the exalted office of prophethood.[29]
Even if the fuqahل' are temporarily unable to
establish Islamic government, they should not leave the
battlefield; instead, they should come forward to
alleviate the burdens and problems of Muslims as much as
possible and apply the laws according to their
capacity.[30]
Muslims, in the Imam's view, must not cooperate with
unjust rulers. Basing himself on the saying of al-Imam
Ja'far al-Sلdiq that 'whoever seeks justice from the
unjust rulers is, in fact, seeking justice from tلqh't,'
the Imam says that this statement was a political ruling
ordering Muslims to shun unjust authorities.[31] He also
cites the instances of the fuqahل' appointed by
the Shi'i Imams as parallel judges and administrators for
specific communities.[32]
Anticipating his students' response, that they were
already upholding and serving the religion, the Imam
rhetorically poses a few questions to them:
-Do you enforce the Islamic punishments, hud'd?
-Do you defend the borders of the Islamic territory, and
protect its independence?
-Do you collect the rights of the poor from the rich and
make them available to the needy, as ordered by
Allah?[33]
The clear answer to all this, the Imam says, is that
the fuqahل' are not discharging these
responsibilities.[34] Quoting Imam Ali's saying that 'the
fuqahل' are the citadels of Islam', the Imam
chides the students with the question: 'What citadels of
Islam are you then?' and goes on to comment: 'We are
content with a small number of rules which we discuss
generation after generation. We have thrown away many of
the issues and details. Many of Islam's issues are alien
to us. The whole of Islam is alien. Only its name
remains. Its punishments have been forgotten. The
punishments elaborated in the Qur'an are recited like
verses. Only the written form of the Qur'an remains. We
read the Qur'an only to vocalize its letters properly.
The rotten state of the society, the spread of corruption
in the length and breadth of the country under the
knowledge and support of the perverse government, remain
issues of no concern to us. It is enough for us to know
that there is a certain punishment for the adulterous man
and woman.
Enforcement of that and other punishments does not
bother us.'[35]
He tells his students: 'Do not tell me, All this
will have to wait until the appearance of the Hujjah
(Imam Mahdi), upon whom be peace. Have you left
your prayers waiting for him to appear? Do not say what
some have said, that sins should be promoted in
order for the Hujjah to appear. That amounts to
saying that unless sin became rampant the Hujjah will not
appear.
Do not simply sit here discussing certain Issues, but
study all the rules deeply.'[36]
'Has Islam not been obliterated?' the Imam
rhetorically asks his students. 'Does Islam not stand
abolished? Have its rules not been suspended in the vast
territories of Islam? Are its laws obeyed and its system
followed? Is it not a state of anarchy? Is Islam mere ink
on paper? Do you think that it is sufficient for our
religion in life that its rules are registered in the
book of al-Kلfi[37] and then placed on a shelf? Will
Islam be preserved if we kiss the Qur'an and place it on
our heads and recite its verses in a good voice during
night and day?'[38]
The Imam also sets some rules for the future Islamic
State.
For instance:
If a faqih violates the rules of the Shari'ah,
he will automatically stand dismissed from the office of
the wilلyah, due to the lack of 'justice' in him.
The supreme ruler, in fact, is the law and all enjoy its
protection.
People are free in their lawful activities from the
day they are born....
If Allah wills the Islamic government to be
established, which is not difficult for Allah, all will
enjoy security of life, wealth, family and property,
because a ruler has no right to subject the people to
what is contrary to the true Islamic law.'[39]
Two qualifications must obtain in the Islamic ruler:
he must be an expert of Islamic law and sciences and must
be just. Without these two conditions no one may assume
the office of the Imam of the Islamic State.[40]
The ruler enjoys no special rights and privileges in
the Islamic State. Says the Imam:
Undertaking the responsibilities of the State does not
confer any importance or high station on the
office-bearers, because the government is a means for
executing rules and implementing the just Islamic system.
The government loses its significance if it became an aim
all in itself[41]
The Islamic government is different from the known
modes of government:
It is not a system where the head of state enjoys
absolute power, playing with the people's wealth and
lives.... It is a constitutional government, not in the
ordinary known sense but in the sense that its
functionaries adhere to a set of conditions and rules
explained in the Qur'an and Sunnah, which make it
imperative upon them to obey the system and apply the
rules and laws of Islam. Hence the Islamic State is a
realm of divine law. The difference between the Islamic
government and the constitutional one, be it a monarchy
or republic, lies in the fact that representatives of the
people or the monarch legislate, while the authority of
legislation (in the Islamic State) is confined to Allah
alone.
None, whosoever, is allowed to legislate and none has
the right to govern with laws that do not enjoy Allah's
sanction.[42]
A very important characteristic of the Islamic
government is that it is a system based on voluntary
cooperation, in which every Muslim willingly cooperates
with the State to obey and implement Islamic laws. There
is no conflict between the individual's conscience and
personal interests and those of society at large. Hence
an Islamic State does not need a large army of police,
security and intelligence agencies. Says the Imam:
Whatever has come in the Qur'an and Sunnah is
accepted and obeyed by the Muslim masses. This adherence
facilitates the State's responsibilities. On the
contrary, in constitutional governments, be they
monarchical or republican, after a majority legislates
something the government endeavours to secure the
people's obedience by force if necessary.[43]
In the Islamic State, Allah alone is the legislator
and the lawgiver; all, including the Prophet and his
caliphs, follow the same set of rules.[44]
Concluding the lectures, the Imam enjoins his students
to explain to the people Islam's programme for
government. 'Explain it to the whole world. Perhaps
Muslim rulers and presidents will be convinced of the
validity of this and follow it. We do not compete with
them for the chairs, but will keep whosoever is a
follower (of Islam) and faithful in its enforcement.'[45]
The Imam foretold in these lectures that 'future
generations' will establish the Islamic government with
the help of Allah.[46] He did not know at the time that
this will be achieved within a decade under his own
leadership.
It should not be misconstrued-as is often done these
days under the faked scare of Muslim
'fundamentalism'-that the Imam is calling for forcing
Islam on unwilling non-Muslim societies.
The question of establishing an Islamic State arises
only in societies with Muslim majorities. If non-Muslim
societies do not wage overt or covert war against
Muslims, Muslims have to live in peaceful coexistence
with them as ordered by Allah.[47]
1. Early works on the various aspects of Islamic
political thought include: Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276/889),
al-'Imلmah wa al-siyلsah; Al-Fلrلbi (d. 339/950),
al-Siyلsah al-madaniyyah; Al-Mلwardi (d. 450/1058),
al-'Ahkلm al-sultلniyyah wa al-wilلyلt al-diniyyah;
Abu Ya'lل al-Farrل' al-Hanbali (d. 488/l066),
al-'ahkلm al-sultلniyyah; Ibn al-Tiqtiqل (d.
709/1309), al-'ahkلm al-Sultaniyyah; Ibn Taymiyyah (d.
728/l328), al-Siyلsah al-shar'iyyah; Sayy'id Muhammad
Ismل'il Shahid (d. 1246/1831), Mansab-e Imلmat; Siddiq
Hasan Khلn al-Qannawji (d. 1307/1890), Iklil al-karamah
fi tibyلn maqلsid al-'Imلmah.
Some recent works include:
'Abd al-Wahhلb Khallلf, al-Siyلsat al-shar'iyyah
(Cairo 1931); Ab' al-'A'lل Mawd'di, Khilلfat wa
mul'kiyyat and Islلmi riyلsat (Lahore 1962); Sayyid
Qutub, Ma'لlim fi al-tariq (translated into English as
Milestones); 'Abd al-Hamid Mutawalli, Mabلdi' nizلm
al-hukm fi al-'Islلm (Alexandria 1964); Muhammad 'Abd
Allلh al-'A'rabi, Nizلm al-hukm fi al-' Islلm (Beirut
1968); Mahm'd Hilmi, Nizلm al-hukm a'l-' Islلmi (Cairo
1973); Muhammad Salim al-'Awwل, Fi al-nizلm al-'Islلmi
li al-dawlat al-'Islلmiyyah (Cairo 1975); 'Abd Allah
Fahd al-Nafisi, 'Indamل yahkumu al-' Islam (London,
n.d.). Muhammad Y'suf M'sل, Nizلm al-hukm fi al-Islam
(Cairn).
2. In the compilation of this list and relevant
details, I have benefitted from the Imلm's son Al-Sayyid
Ahmad al-Khumayni's articles, Mu'allafلt
al-'Imلm, Shakl al-Huk'mat
al-'lslلmiyyah, Qirل'لt fi Kashf
al-'asrلr, and 'Nazrah fi Kitلb al-Huk'mat
al-'Islلmiyyah, published in the Tehran Arabic
weekly, Liwل al-Sadr, in seven instalments during
2 Rajab-13 Ramadلn 1404.
3. The edition of al-Huk'mat al-'Islلmiyyah I have
used is published by Mu'assasat al-' A'lami
lil-Matb''لt, Beirut (n.d.). 4. Al-Sayyid Ahmad
al-Khumayni, Qirل'ah fi Kashf al-'asrلr
(2), Liwل' al-Sadr (Tehran, 6 Ramadلn
140476 June 1984), p. 8.
5. Al-Huk'mat al-'Islلmiyyah, pp. 41f , 53.
6. Ibid', pp. 21f.
7 Ibid., pp. 36, 37
8. Ibid., p. 36.
9. Ibid., p. 13.
10. Ibid., p. 119
11. Ibid., pp. 108f.
12. Ibid., p. 18.
13. Ibid., pp. 19, 23.
14. Ibid., p. 21.
15. Al-Qur'an, 4:58-9.
16. Al-Huk'mat al-'Islلmiyyah, p. 9.
17. Ibid., pp. 24f. Succession by prior appointment is
the Shi'i stand.
Sunnis believe that the Prophet did not appoint a
successor and that after his death the Muslims elected
the khalifah to carry out the enforcement of the Shari'ah
and the regulation of the society. However, even Sunnis
agree that the appointment of a khalifah or Imلm is
obligatory for the Muslim society.
18. Al-Huk'mat al-'Islلmiyyah, p. 25.
19. Ibid', pp. 33f.
20. Ibid., pp. 27f.
21. Ibid., pp. 29-31.
22. Ibid., p. 33.
23. Ibid., pp. 26f.
24. Ibid., p. 27
25. Ibid., p. 43.
26. ibid., pp. 47f
27. Ibid., p. 50.
28. Ibid., pp. 115f.
29. Ibid., pp. 49f.
30. Ibid., p. 52.
31. Ibid., pp. 86f.
32. Ibid., p. 91.
33. Ibid., pp. 63f
34. Ibid., p. 64.
35. Ibid., p.65.
36. Ibid., p.66.
37 The Imam refers to al-Kلfi by Muhammad ibn Ya'q'b
al-Kulayni (d. 329/941), which is one of the most
authoritative Shi'i collection of ahلdith and contains
16,099 traditions of the Prophet and the Imams of the
Prophet's Household transmitted through narrators
accepted by Shi'i scholars.
38. Al-Huk'mat al-Islلmiyyah, pp. 72f
39. Ibid., pp. 70f
40. I bid., pp. 45 ff.
41. Ibid., p. 53
42. Ibid., pp. 41f.
43. Ibid., p. 42.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid., p. 135.
46. Ibid., pp. 116f.
47. 60: 8-9.
The author is Director of The institute of Islamic
and Arab Studies, New Delhi. This paper was presented at
the Imam Khumayni Seminar held on June 6, 1992, in New
Delhi.
