• THE BASIS OF LEADERSHIP: KHUMAYNÏ'S CLAIMS AND THE CLASSICAL TRADITION Hamid Mavani A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fuifillment oftherequirements for the degree of Master of Arts Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University Montreal © Hamid Mavani, 1992 • ABSTRACT • Author: Hamid Mavani Tit1e: The Basis of Leadership: Khumayni's Claims and the Classical Tradition Degree: Master of Arts Department: Instltutc of Islamic Studics, McGill University The central and pivotaI doctrine of the Imamatc in the Twelver Shïci creed maintains that the Imams are endowcd with the exclusive prerogative to assume the authority and functions of the Prophet In both the temporal and religious domains. This is 50 by virtue of explicit dcsignation (l1aç~) received by each lmam from his predecessor to aet as custodian, protector and expositor of divine teachings. Unfavourable political circumstances during the LU mayyad and LAbb1isld dynasties forced the Imams to adopt a quietist attItude and to opt for accommodation with the illegitimate au thorites. The lllaccessibility of the Imams and tpeir inabIiltv to guide their followers in distant places resulted in delegation of certain functions of the the Imams to the culamiP to guide the community. The prolonged occultation of the twelfth ShiLï Imam led the Jurists to arrogate ta themselves the right to act as his indilcct deputies (nlPlb 'll-lmlim). Establishment of Imamï ShiCjsm as the state religIon by the Safavids in the early sixteenth century, the victory of the U$ü1i school over the Akhbarïs and the formulat.lOn of the institutions of marjaCïya and aClamïya paved the way for Ayatullah Khumaynï to Iay the grounds for the Jurist's assumption of a11- comprehensive authol ity (al-wihTya aJ-rl1l1{lélq;l) by extrapolating arguments from tradition reports. Tht' combinat ion of the marp.ttJYél and leadership (rahbar) of the Islamic State in the prrson of AyatuIIah Khumaynî had the potential of ITIdrshal1ing the Shïci culama~ and masses to :-.upport fOI a political cause. However, bifurcation of these two roles in the 1989 revised Constitution of Iran forebodes the separation of the secular and the religious • spheres. i i • RÉSUMÉ Autenr: ' '\~wani Tine: Le f01,1\ l'''nt du le .. lership: la prétention de Khumaynï et la tradition classique Diplt' me: MaÎtd' '! ( ",rts Départ\~men~: instit· ' ,des Islami( J,\'c:-:, Université McGill , • l ~ , de l'Imamat dans le Shïcisme duodécimain. les Imams ont la prérogative eXLt( ilve ..:('r l'autorité et les fonctions du Prophète. à la foi" dans les domaines temporel et religieux. Et cela en vertu de la déo.,lgnatioll (I1a~~) rxplicite que rt"çoit chaque Imam de son prédécesseur afin d'agir comme gardien. pIOtectcur et intelprl'te des enseignements divins. Les circonstances politil~lIes défavorable" SOli ... le!'> dynasties CUmayyade et cAbbaside forcèrent les Imams à adopter UIlC attitudc qlllétiste ct à s'accommoder de l'autorité illégitime. L'maccc!'>sibilité des Imams et lem IIlcapacité à gouverner leurs partisans en région éloignée mnenèrent la d~légation de: certaines fonctions de:: Tmams aux Culam~P afin qu'ils dirigent la commulllté. L'occultatIOn pnJlongéc du douzième Imam a amené les juristes à s'arroger le droit d'agir COllilllC rcpré!'>cntants cie l'Imam (nlPlbaJ-Imiim). L'établissement du Shïcisme lmamitc en tant quc religion d'état par les Safavides au début du seizième s!èclc, la vlctvirc dc l'éccle lJ~lIlïe sur l'école Akhbârïc et la fonnulatlon des institutions m;rrjaqya et aClamïya ont ouvert la vOie a l'Ayatullah Khumaynï pour sa fondation de la prétention des Juristes à unc uutOl I11~ ah"olue (l/J-wJliïyll al-mu{laqa) par l'extrapolation d'arguments tirés des sources traditionnellc" La clImllJatÎon en la personne de l'AyatulHïh Khumayn"i des fonctions du fné/flél CJya et du leadcf!'>hlP (rahbar) de l'État Islamique a disposé les Culam~P ShïLites et le~ ma\\c<; à appuyel une cau~e politique. Cependant, la bifurcation de ces rôles dan<; la COn'itltutlon révi~ée de ] 9X9 • annonce ta séparation des sphères religieuse et ~éculière. 111 • TA8L~ OF CONTENTS . Acknowledgements .......... ~ .. ~ ..................................................................................................IV Note on Transliteration and Dates ................................................................................... vi INTROI)UCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Evolution of the Concept of al-Wilaya al-Mupaqa and its Critique ................................................................................................ 5 (i) Imamate ................................................................................................ 6 (ii) cUlama's Indirect Deputyship (Niyliba) ............................................. 13 (iii) Critique on WiliiyataJ-Faqïh ............................................................ 25 Chapter Two: Analysis of Ayatulliih Khumayni's Proofs for al-Wilaya al-Mutlaqa ............................................................................................... 42 1. First Proof ........................................................................................... 42 (i) Chain of Transmission (Sanad) ..................................................... 45 (ii) Text (Matn) of the Ifadïth .............................................................48 (iii) EtYlnology .................................................................................... 50 II. Second Proof ...................................................................................... 54 (i) Chain of Transmission (Sanad) ..................................................... 54 (ii) Text (Matn) of the Ifadïth. ............................................................. 58 III. Third Proof ....................................................................................... 60 (i) Chain of Transmission (Sanad) ..................................................... 60 (ii) Text (Matn) of the Ifadlth .............................................................62 IV. Fourth Proof ..................................................................................... 64 (i) Chain of Transmission (Sanad) ..................................................... 64 (ii) Text (Matn) of the Ifadîth .............................................................65 V. Fifth Proof ....................................................................................... 66 VI. Other Proofs .................................................................................... 68 Chapter Three: Revisions to the Concept of Wilayat al-Faqïh .............................. 72 Ci) Âyatullah SaIi1)ï Nu]af-Abadï ............................................................. 82 (ii) Ayatullâh Baqir al-~adr ..................................................................... 85 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 91 BffiLIOGRAPH ................................................................................................................... 96 • iv • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 am infinitely indebted to 111y advIsor, Prof. Challl's J Adam:-., who agreed to meticulously reVlew the drafb of thi-. th~?"b with speed despite his hectir sLheduk and time-constraints. His pertinent u:ld invaluable :-.uggestions for ImplOv mg 11, lm kindness and compassion will fOlCVt'f l'l'main ctched III Illy me11l1lly 1 am also gl:tteful ,ta Prof. Paul E. \Valker for his gUld,l\ll.:e in ciJaftmg the thesls pwposal and ln PlOt Abdulaziz A. Sachedina for hls comments on the same. Also, PlOC Mehdi Mohaglll'gh offered valuable suggestions, and his hospitality and kindness made my :-.tay in Ir an a pleasant one. r am very grateful to the Institute of Islamic Studies, ML(;llI lJll1YeISlty fOI providing me tinancial assistance during the academic ycars 19X7-XX and !9XX-X<J, during which penod, Prof. Donald P. Little was the Dlfct:tor of the In:-.tltute; and to thc Student Aïd Office for a summer grant in 19XX. 1 am deeply grateful ta Ayatullah Sayyid A~mad Madadï a!-Müsawï and 1.1l11lat al-lsHïm Ahmed Amini-NaJafi for their cnormous assistance in rcading ~he AI ahlc source materials relevant ta this thesis. Special thanks me also due 10 Illy LOlkagul's and friends fortheir help and encouragement: Muhammad Arnim-N'lIafl, Ail AI-Oralbl, Dr. Ahmad Kazemi-Moussavi, Mostafa Rokh:-.cfat, Mohammad (Jha"<;~Il1I-ZavJ(.:h, Riadh Ahmad, Muhammad Ra'isi, Muhammad Wazlri and Ali Khalaee-far My sincere ap\)reciation to Fran'roi" Gagnon for tran:-.lallng the Ah<;tract inlo French and to Shams NanJI for Il1Itiatlllg me into the lIltncaue<; of a Maunlo:-.h computer and patiently guiding me through cvery ... tage. 1 al<;() wi ... h to aLkllowlcdge my gratitude to the library staff of the Institutc of l"ilamic Studic:-., parucularly Salwa • Ferahian and Steve Miller. v 1 am grateful for having been blessed with wonderful parents, brothers and a • sistcr who have been a constant source of encouragement and solace during difficult times. To aIl of them, my profound gratitude . • vi • NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND DATES The system of transliteration of Arabie and Persian tcnns (\11(i phrases follows the style adopted by the Institute of Islamic Studies, MCGlll University \Vith the following exceptions: The transliteration of the fcmini ne ending tii maI hlÎ la ("-) 0 ) is rendered as [a] when it is not