Criticism of the Views of the Opponents of Ahl al-Bayt’s Political Governance

One of the basic issues concerning Ahl al-Bayt’s life-style is the relationship between these holy entities and politics. In a general classification, two theories have been proposed in this case. The first one is the theory of the opponents of Ahl al-Bayt’s political governance. The second one is the theory of supporters of Ahl al-Bayt’s political governance. Drawing upon the historical-analytical method, this article levels criticism at the first theory expressed by some Wahhabi scholars, religious intellectuals and Zaydi religious scholars. It also  explains the evidence of the second theory expressed by some contemporary Shiʿa scholars.
Misunderstanding the purpose of forming a government in Islam, confusion between not being forced to accept the religion of Islam with not being obliged to implement the rules of Islam, inattention to the scope of the concept of the authority of the Ahl al-Bayt and restricting political activity to armed uprising, lack of understanding all aspects of political activities, partial view of Ahl al-Bayt’s history and the lack of a holistic approach to the history and life-style of Ahl al-Bayt are the most important influencing factors in denying the responsibility of Ahl al-Bayt’s political governance.