Reason, Faith & Authority: a Shiite Perspective

Principle Four: Authority of the Prophet

As we saw above, the authority or the right to be obeyed originally belongs to God, but God Himself may have given this authority in a limited or unlimited way to others. Above all, the Prophets were given this authority. Among the Prophets, some had more authorities including the authority to rule. The Holy Qur'an is very clear in this regard and we can find many verses about the Prophets who have had this position, e.g. the Prophet Abraham and the Prophet David.

The Prophet Muhammad was not just asked by God to recite and teach the Holy Qur'an; he was also asked to rule, that is, to implement the Qur'anic rulings in the socio-political life of the nation. The following verses indicate the necessity of obedience to the Holy Prophet:

'O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you!' (4:59)

'The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves.' (33:6) 29

To have a better idea, we should note that there were three areas in which the Prophet exercised his authority: