The concept of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent (Wilayat al-Faqih/Guardianship of the Jurisprudent) is studying the sphere of authority of the guardian-jurisprudent (wali al-faqih). In this article, we try to study this concept in the political thought of Ayatollah Khamenei and elaborate on the boundaries of the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent based on the views of Ayatollah Khamenei. In 1988, following some events and comments, Ayatollah Khamenei, who at that time was the Friday prayer leader and the president, talked about the issue of the absolute authority of the guardian-jurisprudent in the Friday prayer sermons and said: “The action of the Islamic government to change some of the rules does not mean violating the accepted Islamic laws and rulings...” Imam Khomeini said that the government can impose any conditions on the employers; but, this does not mean any condition, it is a condition that is accepted within the framework of Islamic laws. The questioner asks: “Given your remarks, some people may think that it is possible to violate the laws regarding renting, profit-sharing and other Islamic ordinances and that the government can impose some conditions against the Islamic laws. In response, Imam Khomeini says: it is not true. The matter is so obvious” (1988/01/01).
These remarks caused Imam Khomeini to raise the theory of “the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent (Wilayat al-Faqih)” by writing a historic letter. Imam Khomeini’s historical letter to Ayatollah Khamenei was published in the media after his speech in Friday prayer in 1988 and illustrated the concept of “Wilayat al-Faqih.”
After that, Ayatollah Khamenei, by writing a letter, endorsed Imam Khomeini’s point of view and expressed his belief in the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent. In that letter, Ayatollah Khamenei stated: according to the jurisprudential principles which I have been learned from you and accepted them, what you have mentioned in your letter are all true and I accept them all. The meaning of the Islamic boundaries which I mentioned in the Friday prayer sermons will be explained later.” In response, Imam Khomeini praised him and acknowledged his view. However, one can see the explanation of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent according to his statements and lectures made on different occasions.
He considers the sphere of authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent to be as vast as the scope of the authority of jurisprudence believing that the guardian-jurisprudent (wali al-faqih) has full authority regarding the issues which are related to the interests of the community. According to his views and opinions, the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent within the framework of the concept of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent can be categorized as follows.
The Boundaries of the Authority of the Jurisprudent
In Ayatollah Khamenei’s political thought, the authority of the jurisprudent according to the theory of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent is as vast as the sphere of influence of jurisprudence within the personal and social life of people.
Because he said: “The scope of the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent is as the same as the jurisprudence. The authority of the guardian-jurisprudent is the same as the sphere of influence of the Islamic jurisprudence regarding human life. Because we know that the Islamic jurisprudence covers all the affairs of human life such that all the political, economic, individual, and social matters are subject to divine decree; hence, the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent includes all personal, social, political, economic, military, and international affairs, and in sum, everything that is within the jurisdiction of Islamic and religious laws. Also, in his view, the ideas of the Islamic government and the authority of the jurisprudent introduced by Imam Khomeini, mean the rule of Islam, the rule of religion and the rule of the shari’ah.”
The Islamic Ruler Has Authority Over the Properties and this is Based on the Fulfilment of Expediency
In the view of Ayatollah Khamenei, the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent is so broad that enables him to use personal and public resources for the benefit of the public.
He says: “The Islamic ruler can do whatever he thinks is right; he can use whatever he considers necessary from the people’s properties to serve the public interest. Islam has specified so many conditions for the ruler including observing the ethical codes and the rites, being just, being efficient, being an Islamist, being a servant of God, not committing sins; likewise, this religion has given him the authority, the Islamic ruler has a wide range of powers through which he may use the personal and public resources and facilities for serving the public interest” (1984/12/28).
Determining and Implementing the Islamic Ordinances if a Conflict Occurs Between Them
Paying attention to the issue of the conflict between two rulings of Islam and recognizing which one has to take precedence is something over which the guardian-jurisprudent (wali al-faqih) has authority. He is the only one who can realize such a situation and hence issue a governmental ordinance if necessary. In his view, the matter of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent does not mean that the Islamic precepts will be changed. Therefore, he says: “Wherever two rulings come into conflict with each other, the guardian-jurisprudent would take the more important one. However, distinguishing the most important ordinance in such a case is not something everyone can do. One must be familiar with the scope of jurisprudence, be an expert in Islamic jurisprudence; have enough knowledge regarding the experience; therefore, just having knowledge about jurisprudence and being a jurisprudent is not enough.”
A jurisprudent who is unaware of the issues of the time, does not have enough knowledge and expertise, and cannot give priority to one precept in case of the conflicts which occur between different precepts, is not eligible to resolve such conflicts. But in Islamic society, the one who is wali (guardian) of the ummah and the leader of the society and is a jurisprudent, wise and just, would not follow the egos and only consider the interests of the Muslims. In cases when there are two obligations, or one obligation and one forbidden act, or one obligatory and one permissible act, the guardian-jurisprudent may change that permissible act or even that obligation or to a forbidden one or vice versa because of the public interest whereas in Islamic laws even the permissible acts should remain permissible and one cannot change them; this is in fact, preferring one religious law to another because it is more important. These are the governmental ordinances. Therefore, you notice that governmental ordinances and the rulings issued by the guardian-jurisprudent based on the expedient, actually mean a revival of jurisprudence. Jurisprudence is not abolished; it is revived because the ruling that is preferred and enforced is itself jurisprudential (1988/02/26).
Implementing the Principle of “Important and More Important”
In Ayatollah Khamenei’s political thought, in addition to identifying the cases in which a conflict is occurred between the precepts and issuing the governmental ordinances, deciding when and how the principle of “important and more important” should be implemented is also at the discretion of the guardian-jurisprudent. Therefore, in his statements he emphasizes that; the governmental ordinance is not out of the scope of Islamic jurisprudence. It is a mistake for us to imagine that one who studies the books of practical laws of Islam can recognize the importance of precepts in cases of the conflicts among them; rather, one who is a jurisprudent knows the Islamic precepts and recognizes which precept is more important, he can evaluate and recognize the precept that is more important than the other, and this is exclusively the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent (1988/02/26).
Determining the Interest of the Country
Like Imam Khomeini, recognizing and paying attention to the interests of the system and society is at the discretion of the guardian-jurisprudent in Ayatollah Khamenei’s political thought. In his view, it is the guardian-jurisprudent or his appointee who can recognize the interest of the community; hence, others cannot say that I think this precept should be ignored and instead the other should be implemented and consider it a divine decree; because no one has such authority except the guardian-jurisprudent and the one he appoints to do so (1988/02/26).
Exactly Implementing the Rules
The exact and detailed implementation of the rules; rejecting selfishness and despotism, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasizes that the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent follows the laws. In other words, in his view, the absoluteness of the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent means that he has full authority in completely implementing the laws. Some people think that such an absolute authority, which is acknowledged by the constitution, means that a leader is free to do whatever he wants; this is not the meaning of Wilayat al-Faqih. The Leader must respect the rules and abide by them. However, in some cases, abiding by the laws may cause a conflict. This is the nature of the law made by humans. This problem is being solved by the constitution based on which if the officials in the administration of the tax law or foreign policy, commerce, industry and academia face an obstacle and cannot resolve the issue – and even the parliament cannot do so, since finding a solution through the process of passing a law in the parliament takes time – the Leader is the one to whom all would refer. He analyzes the situation and evaluates the case and when he finds out a solution it should be acted upon. When the case is a major national problem, it will be referred to the Commission for the Determination of the Interests of the Islamic Order to make the final decision. This is the meaning of absolute guardianship; the Supreme Leader, the president, the ministers and the prime ministers, all submit to the law and must submit (2003/12/17).
Divine Guardianship
As far as the importance of the authority of the guardian-jurisprudent is concerned, Ayatollah Khamenei says: “In fact, the authority and the sovereignty of the guardian-jurisprudent (wali al-faqih) is the authority and sovereignty of Islamic jurisprudence and the authority and sovereignty of standards and values, not the sovereignty of an individual; this means that even the guardian-jurisprudent, along with other members of the community, should follow the rulings issued by the guardian-jurisprudent. The guardian-jurisprudent has such a vast scope of authority which leads to the divine authority, meaning that since the authority of the jurisprudent is divine and is rooted in the authority which Prophet, and after him, the infallible Imams and those appointed by them have, the guardian-jurisprudent enjoys such absolute authority” (1988/02/01).
Accordingly, it seems that for Ayatollah Khamenei, the guardian-jurisprudent has the same authority as the Prophet (s) and infallible Imams. Also, he considers the authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent (Wilayat al-Faqih) as a legal entity and that even a person who is placed in this position must follow that authority.
The Contrast Between Wilayat al-Faqih With Autocracy
Ayatollah Khamenei, in response to those who believe that the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent is the same as autocracy, refers to the justness of the guardian-jurisprudent which contradicts autocracy. In addition, while referring to the absoluteness of such an authority, he states: “Of course, the enemies interpret ‘Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih’ as a kind of autocracy which is based on the whims of a just faqih. But this interpretation has a contradiction in it: if a person is just, he cannot be autocratic and if a person is autocratic and acts on the basis of his whims, then he is not just. The enemies do not understand this. They do not understand the concept. In Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih, a just faqih does not do whatever he wants. It is not the case that he simply does whatever comes to his mind. Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih provides the head of government with a kind of flexibility and enables him to correct the path and make improvements whenever necessary. There is still a threat in this regard that should be avoided. The threat is to think that this flexibility should be influenced by foreign pressure and change in the direction of western frameworks. They criticize and pressure us regarding the issue of qisas (just punishment) and different other things. But if we gave in to pressure, that would not be flexible. It would be deviation, not flexibility. We should be careful. We must not revise our position on a certain ruling or principle simply because foreign radio stations and the enemy’s propaganda machines and think tanks are protesting and making an uproar about it. No, this is wrong. This is deviation and we must not fall into this pitfall (2001/09/08).
Macro-Management of the Country’s Affairs Based on Values and Without Interfering into the Responsibilities of Other Officials
Among the things over which Wilayat al-Faqih has authority in the view of Ayatollah Khamenei, is the macro-management of the affairs of the country not in an executive way but through outlining the general guidelines and orientations. In this sense, Wilayat al-Faqih, while determining the general orientations which the country should pursue, supervises the actions of different Powers in the country. Of course, this does not mean interfering in the affairs of those Powers and other officials; but it means that absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent takes the position of leadership.
He says: “Another issue is the issue of leadership, which is not common in the world, unlike the Islamic Republic. The kind of Wilayat al-Faqih which was introduced, defined and implemented by our magnanimous Imam is a kind of dynamic, flourishing and progressive management. Imam Khomeini was a perfect manifestation of this Wilayat al-Faqih and over time his outstanding characteristics became clearer to whoever knew him well. Imam Khomeini promoted the idea of Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih. Some people resorted to fallacious reasoning and tried to distort the issue in one way or another. They tried to impose the wrong meaning and interpretation of the concept. They said that Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih means that in the Islamic Republic, the Leader is above all the laws. They said that Absolute Wilayat al-Faqih would give leaders of the Islamic Republic unlimited power to do whatever they wanted. This is not the case. Our magnanimous leader, Imam Khomeini, was more committed than everybody else to observing the laws, the principles and the details of divine commands and this is the duty of the Leader. In the Islamic Republic, it is not the case that a certain person decides to remove the Leader from his position because he has lost the necessary qualifications: if the Leader does not have the necessary qualifications, he is automatically removed. This is a very important point” (2011/10/16).
leadership is a kind of management – of course, not executive management, which is a mistaken idea that has been promoted in certain propaganda campaigns since the beginning of the revolution. It is wrong to think that leader is responsible for executive management. No, executive management has been specified. Executive management in the executive branch of government has specific regulations and specific officials are in charge of it. The same is true of the judiciary branch, whose responsibility involves executive management. The case of the legislative branch is also clear. The Leader supervises them. In what sense? In the sense that the Leader is responsible for safeguarding the general orientation of the Islamic Republic (2011/10/16).
In fact, the leadership of the Islamic Republic is a kind of value-based macro-management. As I pointed out, sometimes pressures, shortcomings and necessities force the management into certain unnecessary and unlawful deviations. The Leader must be cautious. He must not let such a thing happen. This is a very heavy responsibility. This responsibility is not an executive responsibility. It does not involve interference in other affairs either. Some people might want to keep repeating that certain decisions are not made without consulting the Leader. No, this is not the case. The officials who work for different sectors have specific responsibilities. The officials in charge of economic, political and diplomatic affairs have specific responsibilities and the same is true of members of the Majles and our judiciary officials (2011/10/16).
The leader cannot interfere in any of these areas. Neither does he have the right nor is he able to interfere in such matters: basically, this is impossible. For example, the Leader may be opposed to many economic decisions, but he does not interfere. Certain other officials should take care of such issues. Of course, wherever the adoption of a particular policy would lead to a deviation in the path of the revolution, the Leader would become responsible to step in. In the decisions and actions of the Leader, rationality must be at the service of the principles and realism must be at the service of idealism. Different organizations – including the judiciary, the executive branch and the legislative branch – are doing their legal responsibilities with full authority within the framework of the Constitution, as is the case with the rest of the world. But the Islamic Republic must not deviate from the path towards those ideals, otherwise, the leadership will be held responsible. The leader is the one who must answer for such deviations. The leader has to prevent such deviations (2011/10/16).
With these statements, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasizes the independence and non-interference of the guardian-jurisprudent in the affairs of the authorities of the country considering them independent in their actions and works; in other words, the guardian-jurisprudent would decide and act in accordance with the requirements of the law with respect to the details of the actions and decisions for which other officials have responsibility. However, monitoring the overall movement of the organizations and officials in the country and preventing them from deviation is the discretion of the absolute authority of the Shi’ah jurisprudent.
Other Discretions
According to his definitions of wali, it can be said that in his statements, he has referred to the guardian-jurisprudent as the leader; in other words, by the word “leader,” he means the guardian-jurisprudent. Because in defining the word leader he used the same definitions of “wali” and stated:
Leadership is a title and a personality and a truth derived from people’s faith, affection and is a sense of honour (2000/07/09).
Therefore, in Ayatollah Khamenei’s statements, some other discretions of the guardian-jurisprudent can be found, some of which will be mentioned: maintaining and defending the system of governance and the revolution; outlining the general policies for the country; clarifying the truth for people and exposing the conspiracy of the enemy when they lose their trust in the government because of the propaganda of the enemy; encouraging people to become united and avoid division when the enemies try to make divisions between people and having the right to express his opinion regarding the issues related to the revolution.
Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei
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