The Bases of Legitimacy

The question of defining the bases of legitimacy has for long been the special concern of thinkers and perhaps it is one of oldest subjects in the social and political fields. Some consider such questions like "who should be a ruler? " or "why should people obey the ruler? " as the primary questions raised in explaining social issues. This is because building a society and establishing relations between people will not be possible without having an authority which organizes and manages social relations. Some consider the necessity of forming a government as a selfevident truth, so today no thinker dubts that it is a necessity. دBut, concerning the question: what things are required for having the right of being a ruler, different views have been exchanged by differet schools of thought and certain bases for the legitimacy of ruler have been put forward by each of these schools. The author seeks to prove that the source of legitimacy of ruler – as the Shiah believe – is only God and holds that any kind of government which opposes this principle is considered illegal.