Reason, Faith & Authority: a Shiite Perspective

Principle Six: Delegation of the authority of Imams to the jurists

During the time of the occultation of the Imam Mahdi (A), in which they have no direct access to the Imam, the Shi'a fuqaha (jurists) inherit the authority which was originally given by God to the Prophet and then to the Imams. In what follows, I will first describe the concept of faqih and then refer to the extent of the authority that a Shi'a faqih has. Of course, a proper review of the topic needs a thorough discussion about the institution of marji'iyya and that ofwilayat al-faqih (mandate of the jurist), including their requirements and responsibilities.