Hukumat-e Islami (The Islamic
Goverment)
Imam Khumayni's Contribution to
Islamic Political Thought
By: Dr. Zafarul-'Islam Khan
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 Rúhullah Khumayni's al-Hukúmat
al-'Islamiyyah. 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 mujahid and, alim 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 hashiyah (footnotes)
on the 'tradition of Ra's al-Jalút.' Soon thereafter he wrote an independent
commentary, sharh, on the same work. He wrote a spiritual-philosophical work in
Arabic, Misbah al-hidayah, at the age of 27. Two years later he wrote a commentary
on the Du'a' 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 Fusús al-hikam and Miftah al-ghayb, and two treatises
entitled Asrar al-salat or Mi'raj al-salikin and Risalat al-talab wa
al-'iradah.
The Imam's first major work of
immediate social and political relevance was Kas'hf al-'asrar, 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, Asrar
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 junúd al-'aql wal-jahl, a commentary on a hadith
of al-Kafi He also wrote adab al-salat, a mystical-philosophical ('irfani)
work about Muslim prayers.
The Imam's major fiqhi
works are al-Rasa'il and Tahrir al-Wasilah. The Rasa'il, in two
volumes, as evident from the very title, comprises treatises on a number of fiqhi
issues like ijtihad 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 Kitab 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 Kitab al-taharah, in three volumes,
on issues of ritual purity, comprises .the Imam's lectures at Qumm. Hukúmat-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 'ulama' and fuqaha'
should confine themselves to their schools and zawiyahs, 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 ulama' 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 Dhú al-Qa'dah and Dhú 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 Shah
and Saddam 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, Hukúmat-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-'asrar,
although written about three decades before the Hukúmat-e Islami, 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 ahadith to prove his point, like the ayah,
'Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and the rulers from among you.'[15] The Imam says that the
Qur'anic verses concerned with the issues of society are many times more than the verses
about ibadat. '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 halal is halal 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 qisas 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 taghút. 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
taghúts 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 taghút, 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 zakat 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 khilafat 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-kubra) 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-sughra)? 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 zakat or khums may be withheld, or that the penal code of
Islam may be suspended, or qisas 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]
'Wilayah means government,
administration and leadership of the country.... Wilayat 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 wilayat al-faqih
is not an innovation of Imam Khumayni. He cites that the fatwa of Mirza Shirazi
outlawing tobacco, and the fatwa of Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi ordering jihad
and the defense of the country were based on their understanding of the idea of wilayat
al-faqih. He also asserts that the Shaykhs Naraqi and Na'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 fuqaha' 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-Sadiq
that 'whoever seeks justice from the unjust rulers is, in fact, seeking justice from taqhút,'
the Imam says that this statement was a political ruling ordering Muslims to shun unjust
authorities.[31] He also cites the instances of the fuqaha' 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, hudúd?
-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 fuqaha' are not discharging these responsibilities.[34]
Quoting Imam Ali's saying that 'the fuqaha' 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-Kafi[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
wilayah, 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]
Back to
Index of Articles
Footnotes:
1. Early works on the various aspects of Islamic
political thought include: Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276/889), al-'Imamah wa al-siyasah; Al-Farabi
(d. 339/950), al-Siyasah al-madaniyyah; Al-Mawardi (d. 450/1058), al-'Ahkam al-sultaniyyah
wa al-wilayat al-diniyyah; Abu Ya'la al-Farra' al-Hanbali (d. 488/l066), al-'ahkam al-sultaniyyah;
Ibn al-Tiqtiqa (d. 709/1309), al-'ahkam al-Sultaniyyah; Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/l328),
al-Siyasah al-shar'iyyah; Sayy'id Muhammad Isma'il Shahid (d. 1246/1831), Mansab-e Imamat;
Siddiq Hasan Khan al-Qannawji (d. 1307/1890), Iklil al-karamah fi tibyan maqasid al-'Imamah.
Some recent works include:
'Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf, al-Siyasat al-shar'iyyah
(Cairo 1931); Abú al-'A'la Mawdúdi, Khilafat wa mulúkiyyat and Islami riyasat (Lahore
1962); Sayyid Qutub, Ma'alim fi al-tariq (translated into English as Milestones); 'Abd
al-Hamid Mutawalli, Mabadi' nizam al-hukm fi al-'Islam (Alexandria 1964); Muhammad 'Abd
Allah al-'A'rabi, Nizam al-hukm fi al-' Islam (Beirut 1968); Mahmúd Hilmi, Nizam al-hukm
a'l-' Islami (Cairo 1973); Muhammad Salim al-'Awwa, Fi al-nizam al-'Islami li al-dawlat
al-'Islamiyyah (Cairo 1975); 'Abd Allah Fahd al-Nafisi, 'Indama yahkumu al-' Islam
(London, n.d.). Muhammad Yúsuf Músa, Nizam al-hukm fi al-Islam (Cairn).
2. In the compilation of this list and relevant
details, I have benefitted from the Imam's son Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Khumayni's articles,
"Mu'allafat al-'Imam", "Shakl al-Hukúmat al-'lslamiyyah," "Qira'at
fi Kashf al-'asrar", and "'Nazrah fi Kitab al-Hukúmat al-'Islamiyyah,"
published in the Tehran Arabic weekly, Liwa" al-Sadr, in seven instalments during 2
Rajab-13 Ramadan 1404.
3. The edition of al-Hukúmat al-'Islamiyyah I
have used is published by Mu'assasat al-' A'lami lil-Matbú'at, Beirut (n.d.). 4.
Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Khumayni, "Qira'ah fi Kashf al-'asrar" (2), "Liwa'
al-Sadr" (Tehran, 6 Ramadan 140476 June 1984), p. 8.
5. Al-Hukúmat al-'Islamiyyah, 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-Hukúmat al-'Islamiyyah, 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 Imam is obligatory for the Muslim society.
18. Al-Hukúmat al-'Islamiyyah, 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-Kafi by Muhammad ibn Ya'qúb al-Kulayni (d. 329/941), which is
one of the most authoritative Shi'i collection of ahadith 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-Hukúmat al-Islamiyyah, 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.
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