Velayat-e faqih

The views and thoughts of Imam Khomeini indicated that his political thought is undoubtedly inspired by Shia faith and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), i.e., the school of the Qur'an and Etrat. However, we should not ignore the impact of socio-political conditions and developments in society on their formation because using the teachings of the Qur'an and Etrat as well as Ijtihad, Shia jurisprudence can be flexible following various events and conditions of the community. The present study aimed to explain the reasons for the change and evolution of Imam Khomeini's views over time by comparing his views on the political system and the role of fuqahā (Islamic jurists) in the system building. To this aim, two important works of Imam have been studied, namely "Kashf al-Asrar," written in the early 1320s SH and "Velayat-e Faqih" introduced in the late 1340s SH. Based on the theoretical framework of Spragens’ crisis, the hypothesis of the study says that although Imam Khomeini has faced a similar crisis in each period, in his view, the severity of the crisis and, most importantly, the causes of the crisis are completely different and have led to different solutions. Consequently, Imam Khomeini considers the inefficiency of the rulers as the cause of the situation in Kashf al-Asrar, and the key is the supervision of fuqahā. But in Velayat-e-Faqih, the cause of the problem is recognized as the political system's inefficiency. The answer is to overthrow the existing system and establish an Islamic government based on Velayat-e Faqih

Confrontation and contrast between tradition and modernity brings the intellectuals of Muslim communities into different intellectual, social, and political conflicts. Some of those believe that the only way to rescue from the status quo is sinking in the Western culture and its slavish imitation. Some others insist on the traditions of the past, which are mingled with a lot of superstition, and impurities in the path of events and historical developments and need for refinement and revision. Among these attitudes, Imam Khomeini as a prominent scholar and Islamic thinker has a remarkable view that can support both traditional and modern views. He, on the one hand, insists on the original, valuable, and divine teachings like Qur’anic decrees and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) methods through the theory of Velayat-e Faqih and, on the other hand, in encounter with the Western civilization, chooses some parts being in accord with the divine Shari’ah, people’s interests and development of the society and rejected some immoral parts leading to corruption. In this research, my attempt is to answer the questions, what strategy did Imam Khomeini propose to solve the problem? How Imam Khomeini could combine between the tradition and modernity? Which one will be in order of priority in his list, tradition, or modernity? A qualitative research is perfomed to achieve the aim of this research and answer the research questions.