Reason, Faith & Authority: a Shiite Perspective

The role of jurists in the time of minor occultation

The period of the presence of the Imams ended in the year 260AH, when Imam Askari was martyred. This period is called 'asr al-zuhur (the age of the presence), in contrast to*'asr al-ghaybah* (the age of the occultation).

In the time of the presence of the Imams, the role of Shi'a jurists was not very complicated since most of the time there was more or less the possibility of referring to the Imams personally and asking them for guidance.34 Of course this was not always easy and free from risks. Therefore, during the time of the Imams, they trained a group of the companions to start ijtihad, to start deriving specific rules from general rules. In a clear and very well known hadith (narration), Imam Sadiq said to one of his companions:

”Our task is to give you the principles and your task is to derive the implications”.

There are also cases in which the Imams have asked some of their companions, e.g. Aban ibn Taghlib to issue fatwa for the Muslims.

After the martyrdom of Imam Askari, the Shi'a started to experience a new age in which they could not visit their Imam (i.e. the 12th Imam). This was the period of the minor occultation. The 12th Imam personally appointed four individuals (one after the other) to act as representatives for himself to the Shi'a community. These deputies of the Imam were called thenuwwab al-arbi'ah (the Four Deputies) including Uthman ibn Sa'id, his son, Muhammad ibn Uthman, Husayn b. Ruh and Ali b. Muhammad al-Saymuri respectively. When the Shi'a had questions for the Imam they referred to these deputies who then acted as a means of communication between the Shi'a and Imam Mahdi.

One reason for having this state was to prepare the Shi'a for the next age, which is known as ghaybat al-kubra (the major occultation). Before Ali ibn Muhammad died, Imam Mahdi gave him a message. This message was a condolence to the Shi'a for losing him (in advance) as he was the last means of communication to the Imam and a command to Ali b. Muhammad not to introduce anyone as the deputy after himself. So with the passing away of Ali b. Muhammad, the major occultation started. In this period no particular person was appointed as deputy and the age of generally appointed deputies (al-na'ib al-'amm ) started.

The scope of the authority or deputyship of faqih is one of the most essential elements of the Shi'a political doctrine. In what follows I will try to briefly point out the main areas of this authority:

Authority in presenting Islamic rulings and issuing fatwa

A Faqih is the one who has the authority in presenting Islamic views on practical issues including moral and legal ones e.g. abortion, euthanasia, banking, insurance and marriage. With respect to the beliefs, everyone is responsible to investigate and inquire about the principles of the faith by himself and cannot rely on anyone. Of course, having proved the truth of the religion for himself, one can refer in details to the experts. Expertise needed for doctrinal issues include great knowledge of both intellectual and revealed theology and it is obvious that to be able to understand the revealed

theology one needs to master the methodology of understanding the Qur'an and the Sunnah which is provided in fiqh and its principles.

It has to be noted that a faqih or any other scholar has no authority to legislate or alter the laws. His role is just to do his best to understand the religious position by scholarly consulting the Scriptures and reason.

This type of authority is unanimously accepted.

Authority in judging

This is also unanimously accepted.

Authority in administering hisbah affairs

It is unanimously accepted that a Faqih is responsible for administering hisbah affairs i.e. those things that we know for sure the Legislator is not pleased with them being ignored or unattended, even though they are not as such or primarily obligatory. For example, if there is an orphan who possesses some money but he has no guardian to look after his money to his best interest all Shi'a faqihs say that this is responsibility of the just faqih to undertake such task. Or if there are properties whose owners are unknown it would be again the responsibility of faqih to protect them from being wasted. Any social affair with whose negligence the Legislator is not pleased, thus, must be undertaken and supervised by the just faqih.

Authority in ruling the society

As we saw above, there is no doubt among the Shi'a scholars that the faqih has responsibility and authority for getting somehow involved in socio-political spheres. Islam is to bring happiness by offering a comprehensive plan of life and it is job of the faqih to understand, present and implement this plan. No one can remain indifferent in respect to what happens in the society and the knowledgeable people have greater responsibility.

Unlike some faqihs who had the idea that the authority of faqih in socio-political affairs is limited to hisbah affairs, some have had the idea that the Faqhi has all the power needed to rule the society. The Ayatollah Khomeini has said:

'By authority we mean governance, the administration of the country and the implementation of the sacred laws of the Shari'ah. This constitutes a serious and difficult duty but does not earn anyone an extraordinary status or raise him above the level of common humanity. In other words, authority here has the meaning of a government, administration and execution of law. Contrary to what many people believe, it is not a privilege but a grave responsibility.35

This is echoed in the constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran as follows:

'The powers of government in the Islamic Republic of Iran are vested in the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive powers, functioning under the supervision of the absolute religious leader and the leadership of the Ummah.' (Article 57)

Thus, it becomes clear that in Shi'i Islam the authority primarily belongs to God and then to the people with whom God is pleased. After the Prophets and Imams, just faqihs are granted such authority. The main requirement for

having such authority is justice and deep acquaintance with the religious sources, i.e. the Qur'an, the Sunnah and reason. Reason is one source and at the same time reason helps us to define the proper method for understanding the first two (the Qur'an & Sunnah). Once again it becomes clear how important reason, justice and piety are for Shi'i Islam.