Examining the Role of Faqih in the System Building According to Imam Khomeini; from Supervision to Velayat Regarding the Qur'an Teachings and Etrat

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 ۱۳۲۰s SH and "Velayat-e Faqih" introduced in the late ۱۳۴۰s 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

Keywords:

Spragens , Imam Khomeini , Crisis , Kashf al-Asrar , Velayat-e Faqih , Quran , Etrat