Tauheed

Tawheed and Imamat of Imam Mahdi AS

A fact concealed in the belief in divine monotheism (Tawheed) is that none, except Allah, has the right to rule over others. Even a father does not enjoy any sovereignty over his children. When a father does not possess this right, the question of other individuals ruling over their fellow beings, 

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commanding and prohibiting, appointing them to a position or removing them from it, does not arise. To the extent that man does not have any right over his own self. Therefore, any government or rule that comes into existence without the permission of Allah the Almighty will be unjust and inequitable, and will be considered as an interference in divine affairs. Consequently, if a person or a nation obeys such a government or ruler, he/it has obeyed an oppressor and a tyrant and instead of responding to the divine call, he/it has chosen a way that is other than that of Allah.

Therefore, all the people of the world, who believe in divine unity, should accept a government or a leadership that is from Allah and in which His satisfaction is involved. Whether this patronage and mastership is that of a father over his small children or that of an individual over his self and his wealth. Had Allah not granted this authority to a father over his children, the former would never have enjoyed the right to rule over them. Similarly, had

Allah not made man the owner of his self and his wealth, he would neither have had the right to dominate his self and his wealth nor would he have had the power of decision making. Had Allah not made the possessor of unclaimed land as its automatic owner, it would be impossible for man to become its holder. Now, if he claims independent ownership, such a claim would be null and void because he has claimed ownership in Allah`s dominion without His permission.

In the holy Shariat of Islam, all the ownership that has been discussed is in some way or the other connected to divine nature (fitrat) and Shariat is in total consonance with fitrat. But even this natural mastership cannot come into the fold of Shariat without the permission of Allah. Since governance and authority is the exclusive right of Allah, none except Him can decide about it. Evidently, Allah has granted some of His servants the right to rule.

From the above discussion, it can be derived that the system of Imamat and leadership in Islam is that some have been given the right of mastership and authority from the side of Allah and with His permission. Thus, the obedience of such persons is obligatory and if their commands and prohibitions are not duly complied with, it would tantamount to a direct violation of Allah`s orders. Also, a basic difference between the order of Imam and that of his representative, like the jurists, is that if a jurist gives an order that is in direct contrast with a divine command, defiance of such an order would not be the disobedience of Allah`s commands. For, the famous tradition would be applicable over here.

"There is no religion for the one who obeys the creature while disobeying the Creator." (Behaarul Anwaar, vol. 73, p. 393)

In a divine government, there is no vertical rule, either in ascending order or descending order. Rather, in a divine government, only Allah rules Sovereign. Just as Ameerul Momineen Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (a.s.) stated in a reply to a query from Ibn Abbas,

`A divine government means that truth is established through it and falsehood is destroyed.`

If these two objectives are not achieved, such a government can neither be termed as divine nor is it necessary to obey it. Those at the helm of affairs will be accountable for not implementing the commands and prohibitions of Allah. Neither a ruler nor any of his subordinates has the right to disobey Allah and none without exception has the privilege to expect anything else, but divine obedience, from the people.

Another sign of this government is that nobody indulges in exaggeration or dethroning another in achieving any position or rank. If any person or group adopts any of these tactics, then certainly he is not worthy for such a position or rank.

In this system, position implies hardships and difficulties. The more sensitive the position, the greater will be the burden of responsibilities. Also, the value and worth of the position holder depends on his sincerity and good dealings. It is possible that an ordinary laborer, on account of his sincerity and diligence in his work, is dearer and more respected before Allah than the governor of a city. Adi Ibn Haatim al-Taai told Moaviyah about the style of Ali Ibn Abi Taalib`s (a.s.) governance,

"The strong does not fear his oppression and the weak does not despair of his justice."

(Mawaaqef al-Shia, vol. 3, pg. 222)

That is, the strong is sure that Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (a.s.) will not go out of his limits in a rage, due to some extraneous reason. Similarly, a weak is convinced that he will definitely receive justice at his (a.s.) hands and that his right will not be usurped. Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (a.s.) himself asserted,

"For me, a weak and feeble person is respected till I don`t get his right back for him, and a strong and powerful man is weak and infirm till I don`t take back the rights of others from him."

Briefly, in this system, the belief in Tauheed will be manifested with all its splendour and glory. There will be no distinctions in this society. National unity will be observed. There will be one religion, one law and one government, a demonstration of constant reformation and progress. Just as some of the commentaries have indicated while discussing about the following verse of the Holy Quran,

"Then whoever hopes the meeting of his Lord, he should act righteously and not associate anybody in the worship of his Lord. "

(Surah Kahf (18): verse 110)

It shows that `not associating anybody in the worship of Allah` means that in the government of Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.), one should not accept any other rule. This mastership is exclusively and solely for Allah the Almighty and one should not include or associate anybody in it.

It is recorded that somebody asked Imam Sadeq (a.s.) about the aforementioned verse. He (a.s.) replied,

"The best righteous act is the recognition of the Imams (a.s.). And not associate anybody implies belief in Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (a.s.) and his offspring (a.s.) as Imams and not to consider others in their caliphate and mastership. That is, not to regard outsiders as eligible for this esteemed position."

(Behaarul Anwaar, vol. 36, pg. 106)

The last block in the series of Imamat is Hazrat Hujjat Ibn al-Hasan al-Askari (a.s.). We are living in the era of his Imamat and are benefiting from all the bounties because of his holy existence. All the Imams (a.s.), during their lifetime, had the power to rule, to appoint and to eject a person from a particular office. The same applies for Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) and there is no partner for him in this regard. At the time of his reappearance, conditions will be created so that we derive more benefit from his holy existence. All the obstacles that were in the times of the previous Imams (a.s.), as well as during the occultation of Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.), will be done away with. All divine names like the Master, the Just, the Judge, the Sovereign, the Avenger, the Illuminator, the Subduer, the Manifest, etc. will be displayed with all their magnificence and grandeur. In other words, Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) will be the complete manifestation of these divine names as he is the caliph and ruler appointed by Allah. The position of divine caliphate will radiate and glow because of his holy presence. Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) will be the axis and focal point of all the works that are included as divine affairs.

Allah the Almighty, on account of His infinite wisdom, will grant existence to all things through the medium of Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.). The basis of all of these will be divine monotheism and everything will come into existence with the permission and order of Allah.

In traditions, the reappearance of Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) has been deemed as the fulfillment of aims of unity and oneness e.g. one government, one statute, one religion and one society. Allah will help Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) conquer the entire world. In a famous tradition, Jaaber Ibn Abdullah Ansari quotes the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.),

"He is the one whom Allah will make to conquer the East of the earth and its West (i.e. the entire universe)."

(Kitaabul Arbae`en, pg. 224)

The day of victory will be a great day. According to some of the commentaries of the Holy Quran, this day will be the day of conquest by Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.) over the entire universe. It will be the day when the unbelievers, who will bring faith on seeing its greatness, will find that their faith is of no avail to them and they will not be given any respite. There will not remain a village or a hamlet but that the voice of `there is no god but Allah` will be heard therein.

Islam will be the world religion. The concept of ownership will come to an end. The world will be one. There will be no visa/passport requirements for traveling from one country to another. Today, people have been divided on the lines of country and state. All this will come to an end with the advent of Imam-e-Zamana (a.s.).

Faith will have effects and blessings, and belief in Allah will be manifest, as the Holy Quran states,

"Had the villagers believed and acquired piety, We would certainly have opened upon them the blessings from the sky and the earth."

(Surah A`raaf (7): verse 96)

The door of blessings from the sky and the earth will be opened. Wars, disputes, polytheistic systems, malice and envy will be converted to fraternity, brotherhood, real peace, pure heartedness and a divine monotheistic system.

The proof for these is the tradition recorded by Ayyashi (r.a.) on the authority of Ibn Bukayr, who asked Imam Moosa al-Kaazem (a.s.) about the verse,

"And to Him submits whoever is in the heavens and the earth, wittingly or unwittingly, and unto Him they shall be made to return. "

(Surah Aale Imraan (3): verse 83)

Imam (a.s.) replied,

"This verse was revealed concerning our Qaem. When he will reappear, he will present Islam to the unbelievers of the East and the West. So, whoever accepts Islam willingly, he will order them to do what the Muslims have been ordered like prayers, fasting, hajj, zakaat, etc. But if somebody does not accept Islam willingly, Imam will kill him. Finally, there will not remain any disbeliever on the face of the earth."

Ibn Bukayr argued, "May I be held your ransom! Creatures are too many to either believe or be killed!" Imam (a.s.) retorted,

"Verily, when Allah intends something, He makes little as more and vice-versa."

(Tafseer-e-Ayyaashi, vol. 1, pg. 182)

In another tradition, under the verse

"Those, if we establish them in the earth, will perform prayers, pay the poor-rate, enjoin good and prevent evil. And with Allah is the fate of affairs. "

(Surah Hajj (22): verse 41)

Imam (a.s.) explains,

"This verse is for the progeny of Muhammad. Allah will entrust the East of the Earth and its West for Imam Mahdi and his companions and through them, He will make Islam dominant. Through them, He will destroy the innovations just as fools try to eliminate the truth so that no sign of oppression remains. They will enjoin good and prevent evil. All the affairs will be in the hands of Allah."

(Tafseer-e-Qummi, vol. 2, pg. 87)

Besides these, there are numerous consecutive traditions that explain this goal and in which, the aims of natural desires are discussed. Today, the immoral and the depraved, like those at the helm of the United Nations, are taking undue advantage of these natural cravings, raise slogans of human rights, justice and equality while rendering the masses even weaker and feebler.

The reason for this is the human nature that desires a government based on justice, equality, security and safety and in which the rights of the people are respected. This is the government and religion that shall appear in the last era with the obedience of a great leader. A leader loved by Allah`s friends, Prophets and all of His righteous servants. His rule will encompass the globe. The world will march forward in respond to his call and accept his lofty ideals and aims, a call sounded from the Holy Ka`bah by the son of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) and the light of Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (a.s.) and Hazrat Zahra (s.a.).

Hoping for the day of the weak and the oppressed, that is, the day of Imam-e-Zamana`s (a.s.) reappearance, a day that will bring the message of peace and security. The day when the world, filled with mischief, sins and corruption will be converted to a heaven brimming with peace, security and justice.

"And our last call is that all praise is for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds."

Doctrine of Belief in Allah

We believe that Allah is One (wahid), Alone (ahad), Peerless (laysa kamithlihu shay'), Eternal (qadim), Without Beginning or End; He is the First and the Last (al-awwal wa al-akhir).He is the All-knowing (al-'alim),the Wise (al-hakim), the Just (al-'adil), the Living (al-hayn), the Omnipotent (al-qadir),Independent of all things (al-ghaniy), the All Hearing (as-sami'), the All-Seeing (al-basir). He is not to be likened to substance nor form; He is neither heavy nor light, neither moving nor motionless ; He has no place nor any time, and no-one can point to Him as there is nothing like Him. Nothing is equal to Him, nor has He any opposite. He has no wife, no child, no partner and there is none comparable to Him. Vision does not perceive Him, yet He perceives everything. Anyone who likens Him to His creatures, for example one who supposes that lowest heaven, or that He will appear to the people of paradise like a moon, and so forth, he is as one who does not believe in Allah and is ignorant of the true nature of Allah. Who is above all deficiency. Yet everything we imagine will be a creature like ourselves. As Imam Baqir (A.S) said:

He is far greater than the explanation of the wise, and far beyond the research of discriminative knowledge (ilm daqiq).

Similarly, one who believes that He will be seen by His creatures on the Day of Judgement is an unbeliever, even though he does not liken Allah to anyone in appearance. Such pretenders have merely accepted the letter of the Qur'an and the hadith without using their intelligence

Indeed, they have chosen to ignore their intelligence for they have not taken note of the use of figures of speech which the nature of language necessitates. Thus they have misunderstood the true meaning of the Qur'an and the hadith.

Doctrine of Divine Unity (tawhid)

We believe that Unity of Allah (tawhid) must be in all respects, just as for His Unity of Essence (tawhid dhati) we believe that Allah must be One in His Essence and in their Necessity of His Existence (wujub al-wujub). Secondly, His Essence must be one with His various attributes, as we shall explain below. Likewise, nothing is similar in trs attributes to Him. His Knowledge and Ability are unparalleled and He has no partner in Creation nor in Providing for His creatures; therefore none is like Him in any of His Perfections. Thirdly, His unity must exist in the worship of Him, and worship of any other than Him is not permitted. Nothing must be made a partner to him in worship, whether the worship be obligatory (e.g salat) or not (e.g. du'a'). One who ascribes a partner to Him in worship is a polytheist, like one who pretends to be worshipping for the sake of Allah but is in fact worshipping for the sake of some other being. In the eyes of Islam he is kin to an idolater, and both of them are polytheists.

However, pilgrims to scared place, such as the graves of the Holy Prophet (S.A) or the Imams (A.S), and mourning are not kinds of polytheism, as some people who have attacked the shari'a have alleged. These people have not looked to the reason behind the pilgrimages, for they are a way of approaching near Allah through good deeds, in the same way as we can approach near to Allah by the performance of such goods acts as visiting the sick, escorting a funeral, visiting our brothers in Islam and helping poor Muslims. For example, visiting a sick person is a good act through which a believer obtains nearness to Allah. It is not for the glorification of the sick person himself; therefore it is not an act of polytheism the same way, other good acts, such as pilgrimage, mourning, attending a funeral and meeting with our brothers are not

kinds of polytheism. Moreover, it is known from religious jurisprudence ('ilm al-fiqh) that pilgrimage and mourning are among the good deeds of the religion, but this is not a place to go into an exposition of this. In brief, these actions are not kind of polytheism as some people suppose, neither behind them that of worshipping the Imams (A.S). Rather, their meaning is to bring the deeds of the Imams (A.S) to life again, to renew their memory in the minds of the people and to glorify the rites of the religion.

And whoever venerates the rites of the religion, that is of the godliness of their hearts. (22,32)

It has been shown in the law (shar') that these acts are mustahab. If a man performs these actions with the intention of pleasing Allah, he deserves to be rewarded for them.

Doctrine of the Attributes of Allah

We believe that Allah's primary, positive attributes (as-sifat athubutiyyah al-haqiqiyyah), which we call the attributes of Beauty and perfection (al-jamal wa al-Kamal), such as Omniscience ('ilm), Omnipotence (qudrah), Self sufficiency (ghina), Divine will (iradah), Everlasting Life (hayah), are identical with His being and are not in addition to Him, and that His attributes are not part from His Being. Thus His Omnipotence is dependent on His Everlasting life, and His Everlasting Life is dependent on His Everlasting Life, and His Everlasting is dependent on His Omnipotence. His is Powerful because His is Living and His is Living because His is powerful. In fact, there is no duality either between Him and His attributes, or between the attributes of perfection themselves: they must be considered as a unity. They differ in their meaning and their sense,but not in their substance and existence. For, if they differed in their substance, and given that they are eternal to assume that the self-Existence of Allah had number, and the very foundation of tawhid would be destroyed.

However,the positive attributes other than the attributes of perfection ( 8 )

(the secondary, positive attributes, as-sifat ath-thubutiyyah al-idafiyyah), such as those of being the Creator (khaliqiyyah), the provider (raziqiyyah), being Without Beginning (taqaddum) and being the First Cause (illiyyah), are all contained within one attributes which is His Self-Subsistence (qayyumiyyah), and we extract these other attributes from the central attribute when we observe the several effects (athar) of its manifestation (e.g when we observe His self-Subsistence in its Creating aspect, we call Him the Creator).

In contrast to this, negative attributes, which are called attributes of Majesty (jalal), are contained in only one negative attribute which is the negation of the possibility (imkan) of these things. This means that He has no body, no appearance, no movement, nor is His motionless; He has no heaviness, nor any lightness, etc.; in reality He has no imperfection. The result of the negation of these possibilities is a return to the Necessity of His Being (wujub al-wujud), which is one of the positive attributes of perfection. So the negative attributes of Majesty ultimately refer back to the positive attributes of perfection, and Allah is One in all respects ; there is no number in His Holy Existence, and there is nothing compound in His Essence.

It is not surprising that some persons, accepting that the positive attributes are, as it were, reflected in the negative attributes, but failing to understand that Allah's attributes are One with His Essence, have imagined, in other to reassure themselves of the Unity of Allah, that the positive attributes depend on the negative ones. However, in this way have permitted a great wrong, for they suppose that Allah's Essence,which is Absolute Being without the Possibility of imperfection, is complete negation and therefore non-existence.

Neither is it surprising that some persons say that His positive attributes are in addition to (idafah) His Essence, therefore saying that His attributes are pre-existence like His Essence, the result being that they are partners of His being. Similarly, others say that Allah is a compound of His attributes, but Allah is far above these things. As the first Imam, Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (A.S) said:

The perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attributes is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed, and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attributes. Thus, whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognizes His like, and whoever recognizes His like regards to Him as two, and whoever regards Him as two recognizes parts for

Him, and whoever recognizes parts for Him has mistaken Him.

(Nahj al-Balaghah, Khutbah 1)

Doctrine of the Justice of Allah

We believe that one of Allah's positive attributes is that He is Just beyond all injustice ('adil ghayr zalim). He does not treat His creatures without justice, nor does He rule them unfairly or cruelly, He rewards His obedient servants and punishes them for more than the sins they have committed.

We believe that He does not omit to do any good act, nor does He perform an evil one, because it is in His power to do every good act and to abstain from every evil one. For, since He knows the excellence of good and the badness of evil, He is not constrained to leave what is good and to do what is evil. Again, since doing good cannot harm him, there is no reason for him not do it. Moreover, since evil is not constrained upon Him, He is not forced to do evil. But Allah is Wise and His works must display His Wisdom, and they must be arranged in the best possible way.

Now, suppose that He treats a creature with cruelty or commits an evil, then it must be because of one of four reasons. (1) He is ignorant of the action. and does not know that it is evil.; (2)He knows what He does, but He has been compelled to do it, and is unable to desist from it; (3) it is necessary for Him to do it; (4) He does it at His pleasure, without cause, or to do it, and neither is it necessary for Him to do it.

Each of these is an impossibility for Allah, as each one entails a deficiency in Him. But He is Absolute Perfection; therefore we must say that He is glorified from oppression and from doing what is evil.

Nevertheless,there are Muslims who say that Allah can do evil. They say that Allah can punish the obedient and bring the evildoers and the unbelievers into paradise. They also say that Allah can order His

servants to perform actions which are beyond their capabilities and endurance, and, at the same time, that He can punished them for not doing those things. In short, they say that Allah can be an oppressor, can do what is in error, can deceive His servants, and do things which are without interest, purpose or benefit, because

He is not asked about that which He has done, but they will be asked. (21;23)

Let is be known that this is blasphemy concerning Allah for he has said in His Book, the Qur'an:

Allah does not desire injustice for (His) servants. (40; 31)

and

Allah does not love corruption. (2; 205)

and

We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in jest. (21; 16)

and

I have not created the jin and mankind except to serve Me. (51; 56)

and He has said similar things in other verses.

Glory be to thee who did not create without aim. (3; 190)

Doctrine of the Commands of Allah

We believe the Allah does not command His servants without there being evidence for the command, nor dose He require them to do that which they cannot endure or which they do not understand, because it would be an injustice to give a command to somebody who is unable to

do it or who has not been warned even though he had previously carried out his duties. However, somebody who is ignorant and has failed to carry out his obligations to Allah is in error for his omission and he will be punished, for it is incumbent on all mankind to learn the necessary duties of his din.

We believe that Allah has commanded his servants and given them laws for all that is in their interest to know, and that He guides them to the way of everlasting goodness and prosperity, and that He similarly makes them tremble before that which is aagainsttheir interest and that which is harmful to them. This is an example of His Grace and Mercy (lutf wqa rahmah) towards His servants, who are unaware of most of what is in their interest, and do not know what is harmful for them.

Allah is the Beneficent, the Merciful in his Essence. His Mercy and His Grace are of His Absolute perfection and One with His Essence. and it is impossible for them to be separated form Him. The disobedience of the disobedient does not cause Him to without His Mercy and Grace and Grace from His creatures.

Doctrine of al-qada' (predetermination) and al-qadar (Divine Decree)

The sect of the Mujabbirah maintained that Allah was entirely responsible for the actions of His creatures: that he forced them to do evil and then punished them for it, and forced them to do geed and then rewarded them for it. They maintained that the actions of people really His actions, but that they were figuratively attributed to people because humans are the locus of Allah's activity. The reason for this view was that the Mujabbirah denied natural causes (as-sababiyyah at tabi'iyyah) between things. and said that Allah was the real cause (as-sabab al-haqiqi), there being no other cause besides Him.

They denied natural causes between things because they supposed that this followed from the necessity of believing that Allah is the Creator without any partner, But one who has made such a claim has in truth attributed injustice to Allah.

Another sect, the Mufawwidah, maintained that Allah had given full power to His creatures for their actions, and that the power, force-ordaining and decree of Allah had no part to play. The reason they held this belief was because they considered that the attribution of man's actions to Allah necessitates attributing imperfection to Him, and that all existing things have particular causes (asbab al-khasah), and that this can be trace back to the cause of causes, the first cause, which is Allah. However, those who made this claim had separated Allah from His Power, and had given Him partners in His Creation.

Now our belief in this matter follows the teachings of our Imams, that the reality is between these two extremes, a middle way between the two opinions, something which understood by these disputants in theology (ahl al-kalam) who have gone some one extremes, some to the other. Knowledge and philosophy were unable to clarify this matter until after many centuries, so it is not surprising that those are not familiar with the wisdom of our Imams (A S) and their sayings suppose that our belief comes from an investigation of the most recent western philosophers, whereas the truth is that our Imams were ahead of them by ten centuries in this matter.

Imam Sadiq (A S) truly said in clarifying the middle way that:

There is no compulsion (jabr) (from Allah), nor is there absolute delegation of power (tafwid) (from Allah to man), but real position is between the two extremes.

What marvellous significance lies in this saying, and how exact is its meaning! It points out that our actions are, from one angle, really our own actions, and we are the natural cause so that they are under our control and subject to our free choice; and from another angle they are decreed by Allah and re subject to His power, because it is He Who gives existence. He does not compel us in our actions in such a way that He wrongs us by punishing us for evil deeds for we have the power and the choice in what we do. But He has not delegated to us the creation of our actions so that they become beyond His power, for to Him belongs Creation, Judgement and Command. He is Powerful over all things. and He has complete authority over people.

For, after all, our belief is that predetermination (qada') and Divine decree (qadar) are one of the secrets of Allah. and if someone can understand them as they should be understood, without going to either of the extremes, he is correct. Otherwise, it is not necessary for him to force himself to understand them exactly, for he may then be lead

astray, and his belief may be corrupted. It one of the most difficult topics in philosophy which can only be understood by a few people, and because of this many theologians (mutakalimun) have been led astray. The obligatory to arrive at an understanding of this matter is an obligation which is too great for the understanding of an ordinary man. It is enough for someone to believe in this in a general way following the sayings of our Imams (A S); that it is a reality between the two extremes, i.e. there is neither compulsion nor absolute free-will. Anyway, this matter in not one in which it is necessary to have faith based on investigation and profound thinking.

Doctrine of bada'

The meaning of bada' for a man is this: the appearance (bada' literally means' appearance') of an idea about some action which the man did not have previously, in such a way that it changes his intention do to that action. That is to say that something happens which alters his understanding and knowledge about that action, so hat he conceives the intention for leaving the work after he had previously intended to do it. This is due to man's ignorance concerning what is of benefit to him, and because he comes to regret doing or having to do what he had intended to do.

Bada' in this sense is impossible for Allah, because ignorance and imperfection are the cause of it, and this is impossible for Allah. The Imamites do not believe in this. Imam Sadiq (a s) said:

Someone who suppose that bada' occurs to Allah about some matter, causing Him to regret, is considered by us to be an unbeliever in Allah. (kafir)

And he also said;

I will keep at a distance from me someone who supposes that bada' occurs to Allah about some matter which He had not realized previously.

Some traditions have related from our Imam which have caused people to suppose that we believe in bada' in the sense described above. For example, Imam Sadiq (a s) said:

There was no bada' for Allah like the bada' in the case of my son Isma'il.

Because of such traditions, some writers of certain Islamic sects have accused the Imamites of belief in bada' attacking our group and the way of the Household of the Prophet (ahl al-bayt), and using this supposed belief to denounce the Shi'a.

The correct aspect of this question is according to what revealed in His Book:

Allah blots out, and He establishes whatsoever He will; and with Him is the Essence of the Book

(13; 39)

And the meaning of this is that Allah makes something appear on the tongue of the Prophet or his wali or in some other way according to the situation because of some benefit which calls for this revelation, then he abolishes that revelation so that it becomes other than what it was before, although Allah knew about this from the beginning. We can see an example of this in the incident of Isma'il when his father Ibrahim saw in his dream that he was slaughtering his son. The meaning if the saying of Imam Sadiq is that Allah has not revealed any matter as He had done in the case of Isma'il (the son of Imam Sadiq), by taking his life before He took his father's. This was so that people would understand that Isma'il was not the Imam, although it had appeared in the situation as if he were, because he was the eldest son.

And similar to this meaning of bada' is the abrogation of previous shara'i (pl. of shari'ah) by the arrival of the shari'ah of our prophet (as), and even the abrogation of some of th commandments which were brought by Muhammad (S.A.)

Doctrine of Religious Ordinances

We believe that Allah has sent His ordinances in the interest of His servants; that whatever is greatly to our advantage he has made incumbent

pon us (wajib); that whatever is to our disadvantage he has forbidden to us(haram): and that whatever is to our advantage, but not greatly so, He has made mustahabb, and has recommended us to do it. And this is of His Justice and Mercy.

It is clear that Allah must give His commandments to cover any eventuality, and that nothing can be found which is outside the scope of His commandments, although we may not be in a position to understand this.

We also say that it is impossible for Him to order something of which a part is evil, or to prohibit something of which a part is good. But some Muslims say that evil is what Allah prohibits, and good is what He commands, and that therefore there is no intrinsic good or evil in the acts themselves.

This is not in accord with reason, however, as the same people also say that Allah can do things which are evil; thus He can order what includes evil and prohibit what includes good. It has previously been mentioned that this opinion is erroneous, because it requires that Allah is ignorant and unable to do certain things; far be He glorified and exalted above what they say!

In short, the correct belief is that there is neither interest nor benefit to Allah in His commandments to us, but that they interest and benefit is entirely for ourselves, or to forbid that which contains no evil, because none on His laws are without aim, and He has no need of His servants.

God and His Attributes

The Development of Beliefs Through the Ages 

Among the fundamental intellectual topics that concern human life, religious questions enjoy a particular importance. They have always been regarded, in fact, as the most basic concern for the well- being and destiny of man and have produced profound insights and extensive knowledge. 

Scholars and researchers have undertaken wide-ranging and comprehensive studies on the origins and motives of man's religious concerns, pursuing their researches with a particular point of view and methodology that governs also their judgments and conclusions. 

The truth of the matter is that since the earliest prehistoric times, faith and belief have always been part of the texture of human society; neither in the past nor in the present is it possible to find a society in which religious issues have not been raised. The Noble Quran refers in several verses to the historical fact that heaven-sent Prophets constantly appeared in past nations where, in addition to their beneficial spiritual influence, they also played a fundamental role in the creation of human civilization. 

The study of the way in which human life has evolved and knowledge developed, together with the knowledge yielded by the most distant horizons of history, shows that man was attached to religious belief before he became fully aware of the methods of rational deduction. 

The first era of man's knowledge and industry does not, therefore, enjoy primacy over the earliest eras of religion and belief. It may even be claimed that human endeavor in the realm of religion and belief has been more strenuous and longer-lasting than his efforts in the area of knowledge and art, for the knowledge of a transcendent reality that is the essence of the world of being is more difficult and less accessible than the essence of those things which knowledge and art strives constantly to attain. 

The essential nature of the resplendent sun, which is the most manifest of all things, remained unknown to man for many centuries and its movements and effects were subject to all kinds of interpretations; although none could deny the luminosity of its rays, the minds of most men remained in deep darkness with respect to its knowledge. 

The perception of great truths, is, then, impossible without logical examination, deduction and comprehensive study. If superstitions and religious myths are to be found among ancient peoples, constantly being infused into new moulds because of deficiency and weakness in thought and restriction in knowledge, this does not mean, then, that religion, with its doctrinal content, is false. Rather, it demonstrates the primacy and autonomy of religious aspiration in the very depths of the human soul and heart. Moreover, from the science that seeks to explore prehistoric times, we cannot expect that it will uncover more of ancient religions than the traces of myths and superstitions decipherable in the vestiges of primitive man and beneath the earth. 

Since human conduct and activity are always accompanied by two clear characteristics—primacy and autonomy, on the one hand, and comprehensiveness and universality among the members of the species, on the other hand—it appears entirely logical that we should posit some origin for that conduct and activity in the depths of the human spirit. The existence of such a continuous phenomenon in an eternal and universal form, throughout history and prehistory, cannot be regarded as the effect of customs and habits; it is the manifestation of a primordial thirst and imperative instinct for truth. All religious beliefs, with their different aspects and forms, arise from a single gushing, abundant source—the primordial nature of man, which is neither externally imposed nor accidental. 

First there comes into being within man's disposition, the capacity to accept belief, and then belief takes form. The same inward inclination that impels a person to intellectual investigation and research in order to perceive reality is an indication of man's need of religious knowledge. This, of course, does not mean that an inward state and predisposition is necessarily accompanied by a correct and fully formed belief. 

In just the same way that the body desires nutritive substances without this desire, does not imply the goodness and wholesomeness of the food, the soul, too, seeks out its food—namely faith and belief—insistently seeking awareness of its lord and wishing to supplicate at His threshold. But the instinct that impels it to search is unable to recognize and assess beliefs and creeds, distinguishing the true from the false. 

Scholars are agreed that religious beliefs have always been intertwined with human life. However, their opinions differ concerning the fundamental roots of religion and the factors that have played a primary role in its establishment and development. Their judgments, in this respect, are generally based on studies of superstitious religions and primitive beliefs, with the result that their conclusions are, in the final analysis, defective and illogical. 

It is true that certain religions, lacking a connection with the principles of revelation, have been influenced in their appearance and growth by the social environment and similar factors. However, it is illogical to ascribe the foundation of all faiths and religious tendencies to material or economic circumstances and demands, to fear of the terrifying forces of nature, to ignorance or to considerations rejected by science. 

Without doubt, one of the factors in the emergence of anti-religious ideas and a phalanx of deniers of God, has been the false teachings, the inadequacies and the intellectual perversions of the followers of some religions. The peculiarities and separate characteristics of each religion must, therefore, be individually examined when studying the reasons that have led men to adhere to that religion. 

In many historical events, religion can be seen to have dominated all relationships. If religion were not a primary phenomenon it would have to be enclosed within the four walls of material motives. However, what factor could have given religious personalities such firmness and steadfastness for the sake of their religious goals? Was it the expectation of material benefits and personal gains that made the bitter hardships of misfortune and difficulty sweet-tasting to their souls? On the contrary, we see that they sacrificed all their material resources prosperity and personal desires, to their religious sentiments and ideals, going so far as lovingly to sacrifice their souls. 

In the story concerning the Pharaoh and his sorcerers, we read that he summoned all his magicians in order to defeat Moses, the one addressed by God (peace be upon our Prophet and him), hoping that with their ingenuity and magical powers, they might compel him to submit. But thanks to the miraculous power vested in Moses, they were overpowered and they turned to the true belief. The furious Pharaoh, whose arrogance had been broken, began to slander and threaten them, saying he would punish them with the worst of tortures: the severance of their limbs. But a profound revolution had taken place in the souls of the sorcerers; they remained firm and steadfast in the face of the threats and capling of the Pharaoh and his painful tortures. They replied, with remark- able fortitude, "..give orders for us to be tortured; your writ runs only in this narrow world."(20:72). 

This was a clear display of the strength of the innate desire for truth and reality in man when confronted with suppression, coercion and brute force. Men who had lived at the very heart of the Pharaoh's apparatus and had benefited from it, raised up their heads in rebellion and were ready to renounce their own lives. 

The specific inclination of man to religious concerns cannot, therefore, be explained in terms of materialist interpretations; on the contrary, incidents such as that of the sorcerers demonstrate the primacy of the religious sense in man. 

Illogical beliefs do not pertain only to religious questions. Before they were properly refined, many of the sciences were commingled with superstitions. Men found their way from incantation and magic to true and beneficial medicine and from unrealistic alchemy to realistic chemistry. No one can claim that if man once committed an error in searching for something, he is bound always to remain in error and will never find a way of reaching the truth. Those who believe in scientific philosophy and the primacy of the experimental method, accept that their experiments may yield erroneous results although they invariably give them the status of truth. 

Those who deny God insist on the conclusion that God is the product of human thought. For example, the English philosopher, 

Bertrand Russell, regards the fear of natural forces to have been the origin of religion. "In my opinion, religion is above all founded on fear: fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of defeat, fear of the mysterious and the hidden. In addition, as already remarked, a sentiment comes into being enabling everyone to imagine that he has a supporter in all his problems and struggles.'[l] This is merely a claim, unsupported by any evidence. 

Samuel King says, "The source of religion is shrouded in mystery. Among the countless theories of scholars on the subject, some appear to be more logical than others, but even the best of them is open to objection from the point of view of scientific proof. They cannot transcend the sphere of logical speculation. There is, therefore, intense disagreement among sociologists concerning the origins of religion. 

Nonetheless, we can respond that even if we accept the original and fundamental motive for man's belief in a creator to have been fear, this in no way proves that the existence of God is a mere fancy without reality. 

If fear motivated man to seek a refuge and if in the course of that search he discovered a certain reality (God), is there any objection to be made? If fear is the cause for the discovery of a certain thing, can we say that that thing is imaginary and unreal because it was fear that prompted man to seek it out? 

It would surely be illogical to maintain, for example, that the science of medicine has no reality because man has sought and discovered it out of fear, fear of disease and death? The truth of the matter is that the science of medicine is a reality, irrespective of whether the original motive of man in discovering it was fear of disease and death or some other factor. 

In all the affairs and occurrences of life, belief in a wise and powerful Lord is a real refuge and strong support. This is quite a different matter from whether or not men's motive in searching it out was fear of vicissitudes and the search for a refuge or not. The two matters are quite separate and must be studied separately. 

No doubt, in the primitive stages of his life, man was, indeed, prey to humiliating and painful terror when faced with awesome natural occurrences such as storms, earthquakes and diseases. A nightmare of fear cast its inauspicious shadow on all aspects of his life and his thoughts, and in the unceasing struggle he waged against impotence and fear, he sought a support where he might take refuge from his terrifying environment and find inner peace. Finally, through unrelenting effort, he conquered the nightmare of abjection and fear and attained a remarkable triumph. 

The study of the different stages in the life of primitive man, and the discovery of evidence that fear prevailed in his thoughts, do not prove that fear and ignorance were the sole fundamental factor in man's inclination to religion. Such an assertion would be the result of seeing only one dimension of the matter. General conclusions can be drawn from historical research and studies only when the entirety of history, with all the different periods in the life of man, is investigated and researched, not one corner of his vast and variegated history. 

The domination of human affairs by fear and abjection in specific and limited periods must not be made the basis for a general judgment conceming all eras. Would it not be a hasty judgment to say that all the religious ideas and sentiments of men, the inclination to the worship of God in all periods down to and including the present, have been caused simply by terror, by fear of the wrath of nature, of war and disease? 

In actual fact, the most firmly convinced among men are by no means the weakest. Those who, in the course of time, have raised high the banner of religion have been the strongest and most steadfast of men. A person's faith is never increased in proportion to his weakness, and the leader of a people in matters of religious belief is not the foremost among them in weakness, abjectness and impotence. 

Is the belief in religion of thousands of scholars and thinkers the product of fear on their part of storms, earthquakes and disease? Can their inclination to religion, the result of scholarly studies, of logic and rational proof, be attributed to their ignorance and lack of awareness of the natural causes of phenomena? What would be the answer of an intelligent person? 

Moreover, it is not in order to attain some kind of peace that man tums to religion. Rather, it is after attaining belief and conviction that he begins to enjoy the fruits of religion—peace and tranquility. 

In the opinion of divinely guided scholars, the world is a compendium of finely calculated causes and reasons, the precise system of the cosmos bearing witness to the existence of a source characterized by knowledge and power. The confused and incomprehensible brush strokes of a painting cannot be taken as the indication of a skilled artist, but precise strokes and designs with meaningful content are indeed evidence for the existence of a talented painter. 

*****

There are also people who regard belief in a reality beyond nature as to be the product of economic factors. They make strenuous efforts to establish some connection between religion and economics. They claim that religion has always been in the service of imperialism and exploitation and that it was the invention of the ruling, exploiting class as a means for breaking the resistance of the exploited masses. Religion has been used, they claim, to stupefy the deprived toilers and to encourage them to accept theirdeprivation. There is no doubt that, like everything else in the world, religion can be misused. When diverted from its true aims, it becomes a tool in the hands of profiteers who wish to enslave the nations. However, this misuse of religion should not provide opportunists with a pretext for mercilessly attacking everything that bears the name of religion. A clear separation must be made between perverted religions concocted by imperialism to stupefy the masses, and authentic, constructive religions. 

It is possible that in many human societies, unfavorable economic conditions, stagnation and backwardness may coexist with religiousbelief. But this coexistence does notnecessitate any causal relationship; one cannot be presented as the cause of the other. Sometimes we see a society enjoying prosperity and flourishing economically that is deeply attached to religion, while another society that enjoys similarly favorable economic conditions is to- tally averse to religion. Similarly, in an environment of poverty and backwardness, the sun of religion may set, while in another such environment, the influence of religion may be at its zenith. The obvious lack of congruity between economic conditions and the prevalence or decline of religious influence is a clear proof of the fact that contemporaneity does not suffice to establish a causal relationship. Some special factor must obtain for the emergence or disappearance of one to be linked to the existence or non-existence of the other. 

We can clearly observe this lack of congruity in two societies that are both under the oppressive domination of the exploiting class. In one of them, religion has totally left the scene, while in the other, its influence has expanded. 

Objective realities show us, then, that man is drawn to religion in a variety of external circumstances. Wherever religion demonstrates its appeal, one must look for the fundamental inward | motive in the specific nature of religion, not in economic circumstances. In addition, when we examine the aims of the heavenly religions, we reach the conclusion that the provision of prosperity and establishment of a just economic system based on religion have been one of the reasons for the sending of the Prophets. This, too, is one of the reasons why men have gravitated to religion and one of the benefits humanity has gained from religion. 

Authority and Tradition

Dr. Ghasem Kakaie

Authority, in Islamic terminology, may be defined as ”wilayah”. Literally, this term means intimacy, assistance, love, and tenure of office. He who has such qualities is called ”wali”. According to the Holy Quran, God is to be known as “wali”. God owns all existence[1] and as a result, He leads the universe.[2] Since God is Wali and Guardian of the entire world, He is its “Guide” as well. God, Who has authority over the entire existence, guides every type of existent to its own way of perfection. Unlike most of the existents, human perfection is to be achieved consciously and freely. Therefore, man is in need of teaching so that this consciousness and freedom may grow.

There are two types of divine guardianship:

· Generative Guardianship (al-wilayah al-takwiniyah): God has authority over the entire existence and leads the entire world to perfection. This authority is deterministic and undeniable.

· Legislative guardianship (al-wilayah al-tashri'iyah): Human beings are endowed with another kind of guidance. Through prophets, human beings are provided with divine law, and they are free to accept it and act accordingly. If they accept it, they will attain happiness, and otherwise they will go astray. Revelation grants human beings what they need for happiness, and meets their spiritual and individual needs through individual and devotional commandments, including supplications and prayer.

According to Islam, human beings' otherworldly happiness passes through this world and, therefore, human beings must be actively involved in the social life. One of the striking aspects of the Holy Quran is that it announces plans and rules for social life. In this regard, there are four duties for the Holy Prophet:

I Receiving what revealed by God.

II Communicating the revelation to people.

III Interpreting the revelation. In the reception and communication, the Prophet should be infallible and free of mistake. The language of revelation is sometimes of certain complexity, however; thus it should be explained and commented upon. The Prophet himself was responsible for interpretation of the Qur'an and explaining divine law in a more detailed account. In this detailing and commenting upon the revelation, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was infallible and free of mistake. At the same time, people are asked to act as the Holy Prophet (pbuh) instructs them: “And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)” (59:7). Whatsoever issued by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) is of a revelatory origin: “Nor doth he speak of (his own) desire. It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired” (53:3/4). Thus, the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s sayings are absolutely valid and should be accepted. This is also true about his conducts: “Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example” (33:21). Thus in addition to the Holy Quran, God's legislative guidance has been revealed in the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s sunnah, i.e. his saying and conducts.

IV Administering the divine rules: Islam has many social, political, and economical commandments. Clearly, the mere existence of rules cannot guarantee society's happiness. These rules should be executed and rule the society. Here, the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s fourth duty entrusted to him by God is execution of rules and establishment of a State. In other words, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has authority here. This is not only a right, but also an obligation entrusted to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) by God. For example, in the Holy Quran, God commands the Holy Prophet (pbuh): “thou mayst judge between mankind by that which Allah showeth thee” (4:105).

However, Islam draws no sharp line between this world and the other world, between devotional points and political ones. But rather many Islamic devotional commandments are at the same time political ones as well. No one has cast doubt in the fact that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) had established a State in his own era, during which he led Muslims and appointed some persons for certain positions. Moreover, in some occasions, he issued certain instructions in which rulers' responsibilities had been clarified. Also, to settle disputes among people, he appointed judges. He executed Islamic Penal Statute. Between him and other tribes and sects, pacts were concluded. In order to study people's and tribes' problems, he had appointed some persons to collect information; assigned natural resources, according to rules, to some people to exploit these resources. To collect Islamic taxes, a systematic organization had been established; and many times, he organized and dispatched peoples to resist attacks by other tribes and states. Such activities made sense only in the light of a State led by the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

After the Holy Prophet (pbuh)

For Muslims, Muhammad is the last and final prophet. In other words, after his demise reception of revelation and communication of revelation had come to an end. But as mentioned, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) had two other offices as well, one of which was infallible explanation of revelation. The other was that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) had authority and based on this he implemented the divine law and presided the state. After the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s death, some questions arose about these two last responsibilities. Did infallible commentary upon religion come to an end after the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s death? Is there no other reference whose explanation of the religion cannot be questioned? On the other hand, is there any one appointed by God to execute God's religion and social rules of the religion? In reply to these questions, two general views were formed. The first one, which is that of Sunnis, considers the Holy Quran's revelation and the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'ssunnah to be sufficient, and in this view no one has been appointed by God to execute the religion. In other words, according to them, there is no special authority for an Islamic State.

The Shi'a, on the other hand, believe that after the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s death, his daughter, Lady Fatima (s) and twelve Imams were infallible. After the Holy Prophet (pbuh), they undertook to comment upon and explain the religious laws in the same way that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) did. In other words, in the same way that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) took religious sciences from an infallible source and communicated them to people, and declared commandments which had not been apparently described in the Holy Quran for them, after him the aforementioned persons are of the same office, free of mistakes in commenting upon the religion, and infallible. According to what is said in Shi'i traditions (hadiths), they are aware of all apparent and hidden aspects of the Holy Quran. These persons are of three characteristics. The first one is that they are infallible. The second is that they have knowledge of the hidden world, and the third is that they have been appointed by God to this superior office and introduced by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to Muslims, and have occupied office of Imamate one after the other. They are perfect human beings and have the highest human characteristics. Thus, in the same way as that of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), their tradition, i.e. their sayings and conducts, is a firm argument as well. In other words they do not receive the revelation, but they comment upon the Scripture (the Holy Quran) infallibly. In addition to explaining the revelation, these perfect human beings are in charge of execution of divine commandments and establishment of religious state.

Within 250 years of the presence of Imams, they had such scientific position that even scholars from all schools of Islam benefited from their knowledge. In this period, Imams (a) trained many disciples in Islamic sciences. Their spiritual appeals were of great influence on Muslims, and they left many supplications and hadiths.

As for administrative system and establishment of a State, Imams (a) were confronted with many obstacles created by opponents and oppressors, and these obstacles led to martyrdom of first eleven Imams; and apart from a short period at the end of Imam Ali's life and at the beginning of Imam Hasan's Imamate, there was no possibility for other Imams to establish a State. Finally, there came the twelfth Imam. Here, the Shi'a reached a new stage, and theory of concealment which was predicted in Shi'i and Sunni religious and ideological resources, was realized. In other words, at this time the twelfth Imam is concealed from view, but like a sun concealed by clouds, he shows his existential blessings. In other words, his generative guidance continues to spiritually guide people; but people are deprived of his legislative and apparent guidance. According to Shi'i belief, he is still alive, and at the end of the time, he will come together with some prophets including Jesus Christ (a); and establish justice and a just State. Belief in savoir which is part of fundamental creeds of all religions makes itself apparent in Shi'i view in the existence of Imam of the Time (a). The Shi'a always await for his return. Such a faith grants a spiritual power to human being that, in spite of all problems and difficulties, he considers himself to be happy and remains hopeful.

Occultation and the Issue of Religious Authority

During the lives of Imams, many scholars benefited from their knowledge. When the minor occultation started, access to this source of teaching and infallible commentary upon the scripture was very limited. After this time, esoteric role of Imams to some extent was inherited by mystics and saints, and their legislative authority was inherited by jurisprudents. There have been, of course, people who have had both dimensions.

All great Sufis were, mediately or immediately, under training and guidance of Imam Ali (a) and other Imams (a). For example, Kumayl is attributed to Ali (a), Ibrahim Adham to the fourth Imam, Bayazid Bastami to the sixth Imam, Shafiq Balkhi and Boshr Hafi to the seventh Imam, and Ma'ruf Balkhi to the eighth Imam. These Sufi masters who considered themselves to be inspired by Imams, brought others to perfection and appointed them their successors; and in this way, various chains of Sufism were formed. Contrary to Sunnis, these great Sufis believe that God's religion is not only the Scripture and the Holy Prophet (pbuh)'s tradition so that it may come to an end upon his death; but rather there should be Imam and an authority along with the Scripture to comment upon the latter; and this office came to Ali (a) and his successors. Thus, this kind of mysticism is to some extent similar to esoteric Shi'ism.

Exoteric aspect and legislative authority of Imams were inherited by jurisprudents. At the beginning, however, religious scholars contented themselves to narrate sayings and conducts of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and Imams. Gradually and with appearance of various, intricate, and new needs, the need for reflection on, and analysis of, hadiths arose, and reason was recognized for deduction from the Scripture and tradition; and juridical discretion, i.e. rational deduction of new commandments from the Scripture and sunnah emerged as a discipline. Because of the stress that the Shi'a have put on reason, natural theology and philosophy elevated to a high place among the Shi'a.

A religious jurist is he who becomes able, through studying certain sciences and mastering them, to deduce religious rulings from their sources. The difference between a jurist's view and that of Imam is that the former may be mistaken, unlike the latter. Here a jurist is like any expert in any discipline that may make mistake, yet the lay should follow him. Indeed, following e.g. a jurist is following knowledge and expertise and not the person of the jurist as such. Thus, authority of jurist (wialayat faqih) means, in fact, authority of jurisprudence. According to Shi'i jurisprudence, a religious jurist whom they follow should be alive so that he may recognize requirements and needs of the age and deduce pertaining Islamic rulings from the holy Quran and sunnah. This grants vitality to the Shi'i jurisprudence, instead of being stuck with the views of the early jurists.

Authority of Jurist in Society

As mentioned before, in addition to individual rulings and devotional issues, Islam has many social, political, and economic rulings. Moreover, Islam is concerned with the happiness of all mankind and not only those who lived in a particular era. In the eras of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and Imams, they were responsible to do their best for establishing a sociopolitical system in which Islamic rulings could be practiced and human happiness could be secured. In the age of occultation, however, on the one hand such task cannot be abandoned and people cannot be deprived, and on the other there is no Imam available. Thus, the question is: who is in charge with and competent to undertake such responsibility.

There are two outstanding characteristics of Imams that make them distinct from others: infallibility (i.e. being free from mistake and sins) and immense knowledge. When there is no access to Imams naturally people should refer to someone who resembles them the most i.e. someone with highest level of piety and knowledge. This is why the Shi'a believe that in the time of the occultation it is the responsibility of the just jurist whose piety, knowledge and competence are more than others to be in charge of the Islamic state. This is the same idea which has been crystallized in the Islamic Revolution of Iran and is known as authority of jurist.

This State, however, takes its acceptability from people. For, according to Shi'i Islam, without acceptance of people, the State will be a despotic one. For this reason, Islamic State in Iran emerged as Islamic Republic. The term “Republic” determines the State's form, and the term “Islamic” specifies its content. Islamic Republic means a State whose form is democracy and its president is elected by people, and its content is Islamic. The role played by a jurist in an Islamic country, i.e. a country in which people have accepted Islam as their way of life is that of a supervisor or an ideologue. His duty is to supervise execution of strategies and overall running of the state. Thus people have to elect from among jurists the most competent one and, by listening to him, give him power to practice his authority.