Islamic Government

  Socio-political aspect is one of the dimensions of human life. An important issue is the view of Islam towards the formation of government at the age of occultation. Concerning the certain traditions, any kind of uprising and revolution before the emergence of Hazrat Qaem (a.j.) will be unlawful and add, "Any flag which raised before the emergence of the Imam of the Age (a.j.), its leader will be Taqut." The present study aimed at criticizing the narrative bases of the revolution opponents and the formation of government from the viewpoints of documents and contexts. Based on the results, only one, and with tolerance, two traditions ban the uprising and describe the rebels as Taqut, legends from Malek Jahani, and Abi basir. Both narratives have some flaws from the viewpoint of documents and rejected contextually. They are not in agreement with the Quran, necessities of religion, the Shia idea of fighting against oppression, and the practical life of the religious leaders. These traditions, in the event of the correctness of their reference to infallible Imams (a.s.), provide for uprisings whose leaders instead of Sovereignty of Allah and Ahl al- Bayt [The household of the Prophet (P.B.U.H)] introduce themselves as the promised Mahdi (a.j.).

The description and pursuit of human happiness and eudaimonia has been the claim of various schools and one of the conflicts between them. Considering the position of Martyr Motahhari in presenting and explaining the intellectual foundations of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, this article examines the idea of happiness in the foundations of the political philosophy of Mortaza Motahhari, or in other words, the philosophical politics of happiness in his view. Philosophical politics of happiness are fundamental questions that arise from existing schools and ideologies and have themselves developed under larger intellectual and cultural regimes. This policy, which is closely linked to the determination of the nature of happiness, is a reflective consideration of the questions of freedom, well-being, cohesion, and integration. It shows how individual and collective happiness are taken into account in any ideology, and whether government allowed to support any idea of happiness. This article reviews the ideas of Motahhari in this regard and by assuming an account of the relationship between individual, collective and otherworldly happiness, examines the place of justice, freedom and perfectionistic government in his view.

Imam Khomeini is the first jurist who put forth the necessity of establishment Islamic government in the Occultation era and significantly attempts to prove the need for administrative power to implement Islamic decrees. He invoked to the Holy Prophet method in establishing an Islamic state and the fact that the nature of Islamic laws that are universal and eternal by the aim of managing the society to achieve welfare, happiness, and perfection. He claimed that these divine laws are not restricted to the Holy Prophet’s era and they are not executable without an Islamic government with appropriate Islamic institutions and organizations to implement the divine laws in the Muslim society, which will be examined in the first part of this research. Finally, the questions, what are the features of Islamic government in comparison with other forms of government such as secular, liberal democracy, tyrannical, monarchy, and communist according to Imam Khomeini’s point of view will be investigated in the second section. One of the important features that distinguishes Islamic government from other forms of governments is the leadership that Imam Khomeini strongly attempts to prove its divine legitimacy and popular acceptance. He believes that the person, who wishes to be as the successor of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and infallible Imams (AS), should appointed by Allah Almighty through the Holy Prophet and Imams (AS) and has to possess at least two qualifications, the knowledge of Islamic sciences, and the justice. Besides, he must have the general competencies of intelligence and administrative capability to govern the Islamic community. In Imam Khomeini’s opinion, if a person is the most knowledgeable in Religion Science, but fails to recognize the expedient of society or generally lacks in insight the social and political context and in decision-making power, this person is not Mujtahid in social and governance issues and cannot take the reigns of the community.

The analysis of the relationship between the people and the government and their roles and positions in governance is an age-old issue, with each school of thought and consequently each thinker presenting a framework for it. The people's political approach to governance in the context of the theory of religious democracy is both a product of the discourse of the Islamic Revolution and the lived experience of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Considering the governance experience of these two main theories in Iran, comparing their perspectives is key to solving many problems. By employing a selected theoretical approach and using a descriptive-analytical method, the authors have concluded that while there is a common discourse and approach between Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, the theoretical development of this concept and the elaboration of its operational details are distinctive features of the Ayatollah Khamenei 's perspective on Imam Khomeini.