Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Shia Political Thought

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

• Introduction
• Islam and Politics
• What is a “Religious Government”?
• Rejection of Islamic Government
• The First Argument
• Second Argument
• The Third Argument
• Categorizing Social Alterations
• Flexibility of the Islamic Legal System
• Rational Management versus Juristic Management
• Objectives of an Islamic State
• Implementation of the Shari’ah
• To Enjoin the Good and Forbid the Evil
• To Protect True Freedom of Human Beings
• Spheres of Islamic Political Thought
• i) Political Theology
• ii) Political Philosophy
• iii) Political Ethics
• iv) Political Jurisprudence
• Notes
• What is Wilayat al-Faqih?
• The Concept of Imamate
• Imam as “Wali”
• The Theory of Caliphate
• The Meaning of Wilayat al-Faqih
• 1. Wilayat al-Qaraba
• 2. Wilayat al-qada’
• 3. Wilayat al-Hakim
• 4. Wilayat al-Mutlaqa (The Absolute Authority)
• 5. Wilayat al-Usuba
• i) Making a Decree (Al-Ifta)
• ii) To Judge (Al-Qada)
• Hisbiya Affairs (Al-Umur al-Hisbiya)
• 1- Political- Devotional (Ibady) Orders and Prayers
• 2-Legal Punishment (Hudud)
• 3 - Islamic Taxes
• 4 - Jihad (Holy War) and Defense
• Some Misconceptions
• The Historical Background
• Multiplicity in Wilayat
• The Dominion of the Wali al-Faqih
• Al-Wilayat al-Mutlaqa
• i) Divine Laws (Al-Hukm as-Shari’)
• ii) The Judge's Command (Al-Hukm al-Qadi)
• iii) Governmental Orders (Al-Hukm al-Wilai)
• iv) Al-Hukm al-Awaly and al-Hukm al-Sanavy
• Wilayat al-Faqih and other Ideas of Guardianship
• Notes
• Why Wilayat al-Faqih?
• Traditional Evidences for Wilayat al-Faqih
• A Signet Letter (Tuqih)63 from the Absent Imam
• Maqbula of Umar ibn Hanzala
• The Tradition of Abu Khadija
• The First Tradition: The Sound Transmission of Qadah
• The Third Tradition: The Fuqaha are the Trustees of the Prophets
• The Fourth Tradition: The Ulema are the Rulers
• The Fifth Tradition: Imam Hussain’s Sermon
• The Sixth Hadith: The Fuqaha are the Fortress of Islam
• Wilayat al-amma as Hisbah
• The Rational Argument
• The Characteristics of Wali al-Faqih and the Problem of ‘A‘lamiya’
• Ijtihad (Proficiency in Islamic Jurisprudence)
• Justice
• Prudence, Trustworthiness, Administrative Facilities, and Courage
• Knowledge
• The External Justification
• Criticism of Guardianship
• Notes
• Islam and Democracy
• What is Democracy?
• Democracy and Liberalism
• Benefits of Democracy
• Foundations of Democracy
• Intrinsic Equality
• Priority of the Will of the Majority over Rightness
• General Freedom
• Limited Democracy versus Pure Democracy
• What is the Conception of a ‘Religious Democracy’?
• Smoothing the Path to Religious Democracy
• Religious Democracy is Paradoxical
• Usurpation of God's Sovereignty
• The Problem of Legal Equality
• Reconciling Islam and Liberal Democracy
• Notes
• Final Word
• Notes
• Bibliography