The Conception of the Sahaba's Ultimate Decency and the Political Authority in Islam

Part 3 — Chapter 1 — Signification of Authority

It has been conspicuous that the entire Sahaba's ultimate decency conception did create a factual authority that installed seeable effects on jurisprudential and political life of Islam. This authority occupied the position of the doctrinal one defined by God and explicated by the Prophet of God, owing to ordinary transmission and imitation. The doctrinal authority, because of policy of oversight and propounding the surrogate one, became unfamiliar to the degree that some people conjectured his illegality. They saw the surrogate one as the legitimate.

For providing a distinct exhibition of legal facts of the legitimate doctrinal authority, we are to allocate a specific title for this purpose.

Authority is that body whose mission is explicating judgments, as well as rulings, of the divine Islamic doctrine. Such an explication must not be attained by supposition and conjecture. It must be attained by such a way of certitude and conviction that it must be identical to the divine intendment. Applying so, the believers will be accepting this explication of the doctrinal authority as an intellectual or invariable fact that can be taken as a conceptional base or a path upon which ideas are structured or march is commenced. In his lifetime, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is the authority of the Muslims to whom they refer in the doctrinal affairs, and whose words are the decisive judgment since he is believed as the most knowledgeable of the doctrinal rulings. After the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), the head of his household — the Imam — is the authority regarding his most knowledgeability of the doctrinal affairs. This is the Shias' conception. The Prophet's companions, individually and congregationally, are representing the reference of explicating the divine doctrine after the Prophet's decease. They are entirely decent. Each individual of them is decent. They are the eternal occupants of the Paradise. They are the witnesses who conveyed this religion to us.[1] For all of these qualifications, the Sahaba are the legitimate authority. Hence, it is a matter of fact that pursuing any of such individuals shall inevitably lead to the right


[1] bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani's Al­Isabetu Fi Tamyizis­Sahaba, page5 and on.

path. The ruler is the legitimate authority in the absence of the Sahaba. He is having the right of scrutinizing the various ideas and conclusions to opt for what he tends. These ideas and conclusions are the previous questions provided in the time of the Sahaba. The ruler, whoever he was, is the legitimate authority since the Muslims should stand in the line of the prevailing in any case.[2] This opinion is familiarly ascribed to Abdullah­bn­Omar, the famous Sahabi. Sunnis adopted this opinion. The dominant, hence, is the authority who has the right to elicit verdicts even if he is not qualified enough to derive rulings. He also has the license of opting for any opinion of any mujtahid — having the talent of inferring verdicts and rulings from the defined sources of legislation, lacking or having the authority of legislation.

Coherence of Authority and Doctrine

There is a correlative relation and cohesion between the authority and the doctrine. The authority infers the rulings from the doctrine. No doctrine exists without an authority, and no authority exists without a doctrine. The essential chore of the authority is demonstrating the divine belief. The prophet, followed by the authority, substantiates the very intendment of Allah, the Exalted. The divine doctrine determined the boundaries of the words, deeds, goals and means of attaining these goals. Also, the divine doctrine constituted the relationship between the believers and their doctrine in all levels. Thus, the role of the authority is restricted in elucidating the doctrine thoroughly and typifying it with the novel eventualities.

The authority is the only responsible of transferring the texts, rulings and purposes of the doctrine from hypothesis into application. In other words, the authority is the one in charge of applying words on levels of solicitation and administration. In this regard, the Prophet's presentation of the divine doctrine is a part of that doctrine and reckoned with the numerous contents of it. While the presentation of Ali, Al­Hassan, Al­Hussein, Zainul­Aabidin, Ja'far As­Sadiq or any other Imam is seen as one of the constitutional precedents that are necessary for those who propose to make their deeds coincide with the divine intendment. Hence, the presentation of the authorities succeeding the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is not reckoned as a part of the doctrine. However, such a presentation is


[2] Al­Qasimi's Nidhamul­Hukm, page244­5.

obligatory upon the individual believing in the legitimacy of that individual's authority. Doctrinally, it is illicit to contravene the legitimate Imam who represents the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Thus, compliance to this authority is accounted as same as compliance to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

Authority is A Matter of Specialization and A Technique of Thorough Experience

The like of doctrine is a ship the captain of which is the authority. It is essential charts of divine proposition of salvation. The authority is the engineer in charge of managing, explaining, interpreting and materializing the process of planning this proposition objectively and ideologically. The authority, however, is the instructor of establishment. Logically, it is insane to prepare the raw materials of that institution before seeking the advisory of the instructor and the engineer. Regarding the Islamic doctrine, the authority must be the most knowledgeable of this doctrine, the most reliable, the most confident of Allah, the most honorable and the fittest for leadership and authority. The authority is the arbiter and the spokesman of the divine judgment. It is inevitable that the authority is the adopter of judgments identical to the divine intendment.

Variety of Authorities

In a single divine doctrine, there is always a single authority. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), hence, is the most regardable authority of Islam. In his time, Moses, the prophet, was the most regardable authority. In case Moses is absent, Aaron becomes the authority related and following Moses. When both are attendant, Moses is the authority. The same thing is said about Jesus. He is the authority in affairs appertained to Christianity. In reality, variety of authorities results in disintegration of the doctrine, dissipation of its disciples and extricating of false authorities.

In Islam, the authority is one and only. It is a matter of specialization and one of the most significant exigencies. In the absence of the doctrinal legitimate authority, every individual or group of Muslims take their own way believing their only rightfulness. This occurs because of frequent practices of erroneous matters. This will certainly be leading to engagement

in discrepancies and a dispersal too diffusive to be re accumulated except when there is a single authority whose word is regarded as a conventional and intellectual reality accepted collectively with full satisfaction. This is the solitary method of uniting the Muslims.

Difference Between Doctrine and Authority

It is the same difference between solicitation and its crier. Mohammedan solicitation is relying upon two things; the Quran and the Prophet's traditions; words, deeds and signature. This is a property of Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family). The doctrine is the Holy Quran and its explication; the Prophet's words, deeds and signature. This is by the consideration that the explicator — the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) — is a coherent part of the doctrine. Similarly, confiding and committing to the Prophet, and submitting to the authenticity of his understanding the religion, is a coherent part of the doctrine. On this account, the Prophet's words are decisive in all manners, since he is the most knowledgeable and familiar with this doctrine. In addition, he is the most favorable and the fittest to leadership.

Thereafter, the religion was perfected and the divine grace was consummate. The Quran left no single thing without explanation before the Prophet was transmitted to His Lord's neighbor. The doctrine, represented by the Holy Quran and the Prophet's words, deeds and signature, was left among us. The authority is a matter of another concern. That authority’s mission is explicating the divine doctrine and harmonizing it with the current mundane circumstances.

Manifesting this idea, we say: the doctrine is a ship the captain of which is the authority. It is the general and detailed charts of a scheme the engineer of which is the authority who is completely familiar with such charts. It is the raw materials needed for constructing the anticipated edifice, and the authority is that expert of construction. It is an ideational structure or, in other words, an idiosyncratic virtual entity, while the authority is the expresser of the attitudes of that virtual entity towards objective issues. It is not unacceptable to say that the doctrine is that large pharmacy containing remedy of every ailment. The authority is the physician whose mission is diagnosing the malady and prescribing the curative treatment positively found at that large pharmacy; the doctrine.

Wisdom of Effecting the Authority

Granting that God compulsorily reveals doing good to a human or designates a special angel for directing to the good, a human shall not be meriting the rewards of conducting good since he has been coerced on doing. There is only one matter becoming the divine abstraction of testing. This matter is God's granting mankind the capability of discerning right from wrong, as well as the capability of conducting the right and the wrong after these two things are shown manifestly to him. Next to discriminating the good from the bad and revealing what is licit or permissible, God awards mankind the freedom of doing good or evil fully satisfactorily and optionally. Only after that, mandatory individuals deserve the reward or the penalty of opting for good or evil.

The previous is the ground upon which the idea of messaging divine epistles to mankind is based. Regarding it as one of the essences of explicating the divine epistles, the idea of finding an authority was also originated on the same ground.

The idea of the divine epistles is going around two main pivots:

  1. A messenger having the qualifications of conveying the divine message. This messenger is surmised as the earthy authority of that message.

  2. A message with episodes too impracticable to be conveyed apart from a messenger or an authority. This message is set by Allah to be taken as the proposal of the divine guidance. Allah, the Exalted, is the supreme source to Whom messengers refer in matters appertained to the message.

1st step of revealing a divine missive to mankind is selecting a messenger or an authority.

2nd step is teaching the elected messenger the contents of that divine message; that is to mean the doctrine.

3rd step is the messenger's efforts of conveying and explicating the message adequately to people involved, and surveying their verbal response. This is for the purpose that that messenger will be the witness on such people. As being considered as the authority who has full and thorough acquaintance of the divine message, the messenger is referred to in questions appertained. He refers to Allah in questions involved when he

becomes in need of further explication. This is a truth so resolute that except the ignorant, none would dispute about.

All the time, the messenger is the authority whose mission is explaining and divulging the message contents and methods of applying such contents effectively in a way attaining God's acknowledgment.

In case of the messenger's decease, the doctrine is endurable as long as there are followers. Similarly, there must be an authority for playing the role of the explicator and witness. This matter is one of the essences of divine messages. For rehearsing the process of divine testing, it is imperative that there is only one authority for the one doctrine for leading the march of caravan of faith whether it was on the level of preliminary solicitation or government in case the authority could achieve the process of developing a preliminary solicitation into a governmental administration.

The Authority is An Undeniable Fact

In an essay published in Al­Liwa, the Jordanian journal, issue955, dated: 17/Safar /1412A.H., I recorded the following:

It is not unfamiliar for the Arab political parties that the divine epistles addressed at mankind have been ceaseless all over history. We, hereby, are to ask those honorable political parties to show us whether there had ever been a divine epistle sent without a human medium; a messenger? They are to search in the history of the globe as a whole, beginning with Adam and ending with Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family). Proving their lack to provide any evidence, it is the proper time for them to admit the fact that they had been engaged in partisan imitation and it is, also, the proper time for them to shun that imitation and take God in consideration during proceeding any further step concerning their religion, nation as well as mankind as a whole, who attach great expectations to their religion for being the ultimate savior of this globe which is the means of transferring humankind from claws of disgusting materiality into the large phase of divine compatibility of events and rulings.

The Islamic doctrine has an authority; God's Apostle (peace be upon him and his family). This doctrine pointed out the authority succeeding the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). This is for the essential role of authority in the life.

Any family and government have an authority. This is by the reason that the authority is a principal element of any advocacy, association of individuals, doctrine and state. The gist of misfortunes the Muslims have been encountering is their banishing the doctrinal authority assigned by Allah, and clinging to the surrogate one imposed by the prevailing powers and humiliatingly concurred by people owing to their partisan pursuance.