نشریه حکومت اسلامی
سال بیست و یکم شماره 4 (پیاپی 82، زمستان 1395)

ZakÁt, khums (one-fifth Islamic levy), spoils of war, kharÁj (land-tax), muqÁsamah (an annuity or rent charge payable on farmland whether cultivated or left idle, in contradistinction to that was based on yield of the farmland) , jizyah (tribute), luqaÔeh (found article), spoils and booty, recommended charity, endowments, financial atonement, settlement of certain unknown debts by sadaqah, cash fines, blood-money as compensate for the crimes committed by an individual who has no guardian (wali), and tithes are among the financial resources which can draw up the budget for an Islamic society. In addition, the legal arguments provide the guardian jurist of the Muslims an authority to impose new taxes as time and place requires. From the view point of some great religious scholars like Imam Khomeini, the wide scope of financial resources of the Islamic country (Islamic taxes) as well as the necessity of fair and due distribution and rational management of them provide a sound ground for the establishment of Islamic government. In other words, these conditions pave the ground for the authority of a competent Muslim guardian jurist who crystalizes the doctrine of the absolute authority of a guardian jurist. There are some reasons for this: first, the management of all these mentioned financial resources requires the establishment of an Islamic state and grants the competent Muslim guardian jurist to expand the scope of his jurisdiction in the occultation period and run the affairs of the Muslim community. Second, to guarantee financial security of certain taxes in an Islamic society in such a way that is favored by the Divine Legislator cannot be fulfilled unless .

Having accepted the necessity of the establishment of an Islamic government and thus the idea of total jurisdiction of a religious authority for issuing governmental rulings, one should examine whether these rulings are recognized as primary rulings or secondary ones or they are rulings of a third kind alongside the other two kinds. This study is required on the ground that if a governmental ruling is considered as being of a nature independent of primary and secondary rulings, this will serve as an index either to determine whether people should be hold responsible to act on it or to specify the framework for drawing up a governmental ruling and the extent to which it has to be exercised. This question is also raised: If there is a conflict between a governmental ruling and the other two rulings, what should we do and which one takes precedence over the other?
Drawing upon a descriptive-analytic and library research methods, this inquiry seeks to provide an answer to the above question. The findings of the research show that a governmental ruling is neither of a primary nor a secondary kind, but a particular kind having an independent nature. In case there is a conflict between these kinds of rulings, and given the fact that the element of expediency has an outstanding role in formulating a governmental ruling and that this ruling serves the public interests maintaining the ruling system, the governmental ruling necessarily takes precedence over the other ones. Thus all people (whether the religiously obligated or the religious jurists) are obliged to accept it and act upon it.

Research into the history of political jurisprudence (fiqh) can be conducted with different approaches. The selected approach to the issue in question is to bring the political and social developments in the history of political jurisprudence into sharp focus in this research work. According to this approach, the history of the political jurisprudence in its evolutionary course are divided into four periods: ‘formation’, ‘formulation’, ‘establishment’, and ‘fulfilment’. In the first period the jurisprudential principles regarding the Prophetic Jurisprudence (figh al-Nabi), the Caliphate Jurisprudence (fiqh al-Khilafah), and the Imamate Jurisprudence (fiqh al-ImÁmah) have been formed. The most important feature of the formation period was the measures taken to identify the Shi‘Ð scholars who have embarked on formulating ideas and doctrines into books and preserving the cultural heritage of Shi‘ism. Their strategy regarding the political jurisprudence was mainly to provide ‘political statements’. The ‘establishment period’ can be said to be the active presence of Shi‘Ð jurisprudence which was once marginalized. The introduction of Shi‘Ð jurisprudence into the contemporary real life, its social influence as well as its conflict with the model which lends support to monarchy as a system of government transforms the strategy of the political jurisprudence from political statement into a ‘political theory’. In the fourth period, political jurisprudence leaves its theoretical realm and enters the realm of ‘political system’. In this model, through a series of political processes and developments, the Muslim jurist, faqih, acquire merits to be put on the top of the political power hierarchy.

In the last two decades, as the concept of power having been multiplied, the soft kind of power along with the hard kind of power have attracted the attention of Muslin scholars. Yet the issue of soft power as a historical fact has been the center of attention in Islam and has expressed itself in different ways. ‘Uniting the hearts’ has been one of the means used to arouse sympathy among Muslims and to expand the scope of Islam by giving zakÁt. Having carefully considered the Qur’anic principles and Prophetic hadiths, one can say that the issue of ‘uniting the hearts’ is not relevant only to the question of zakÁt. Rather, it has been used as a universal principle to strengthen security and spread Islam. However, due to the massive changes in the international order and interactions, the functions and applications of the principle of ‘uniting the hearts’ have undergone serious changes and expanded to cover various domains. This article deals with the analysis of the ways in which the principle of ‘uniting the hearts’ is used in cultural, economic, and political areas for the sake of promoting the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Right of people (haqq al-nÁs) is an important concept referred to in the Qur’Án and traditions as a strong support for preserving the rights of all individuals in a society. It was of such a broad scope in Islamic jurisprudence that extends beyond the boundaries of political jurisprudence to cover ‘election’. The introduction of the doctrine of right of people into the question of election represents the fulfilment of dynamic ‘independent judgment’ (ijtihÁd) in relation to government. The main question of this article looked at in an analytic way is the role of ‘right of people’ in the process of right to vote (suffrage) and the right to be a representative. For the question of right of people in the process of election covers several cases the most important of which can be referred to as the right to vote and the right to be a representative. To be free in voting and the idea of voting open to all people (without any form of restriction) referred to as ‘universal suffrage’ constitute the most important issues relevant to the right of people and the right to vote. To be free in voting consists of the processes before, during and after the election. Vetting the candidates, approving or rejecting a particular candidate as disqualified and people’s vote for their own representatives are instances of right of people. There are two approaches in this regard. One insists on the necessity of qualifying electoral candidates and the other puts emphasis on the necessity of disqualifying electoral candidates. The principle of the ‘rejection of one’s authority over the other(s), and the ‘precautionary principle’ are subjects of discussion in the Science of Principles. The abovementioned principles are appealed to by the first approach and the principle of qualifying electoral candidates is addressed by the second approach. Given the necessity of commitment and expertise on the part of representatives for the good administration of the affairs, the first approach is preferable to the second one.

The ‘Discretionary Sphere of the Law’ is one of the theories proposed by Shahid BÁqir Ñadr in order to explain how the Divine Law or Shari‘ah coordinates itself with the changes in time and place. In this article the writer tries to study the theory in question as a legal system or legislative system introducing it as a solution to the Islamization of legislation. One of the most important issues raised in connection with this theory is the rules and patterns of legislation in terms of the Discretionary Spheres of the law which was dealt with in the works of Shahid BÁqir Ñadr in brief and which is addressed by the writers of the present article in detail.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has made use of a particular method in forming its economic system. This has resulted in the emergence of a certain kind of economy that is considered not so distinct from the capitalist system of economy, while the principles of the economic system of Islam with its relevant objectives are radically different from the capitalist system. Since the establishment of such an economic system in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet succeeded in uprooting poverty and achieving nationwide economic justice. A sort of economic or financial corruption is prevailing. This paves the ground for the opponents of the Islamic Republic to cast doubt on the achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, we are encountered with the question why the economic system of the Islamic Republic of Iran has undergone such problems. In answering the question, though one should not ignore the fact that the Islamic Republic is under pressure by its enemies, the hypothesis in this research work is this: the method and mechanism by which the economic system was formed in the Islamic Republic of Iran is the root cause of this miserable economic condition. This clearly shows that there is a need to sweeping reforms in the method of discovery and planning of the economic system of Islam. The research work seeks to find answers to the aforementioned question and establish the hypothesis raised in the research by having recourse to the text analysis method, descriptive-analytic method as well as library method in collecting information. The rational method is also made use of in this regard.