An In-depth Analysis of Mohammad ‘Amara’s View on the Divine Caliphate of Man and the Political Legitimacy of Rulers

@ Seyed Abol-ghasem Kazemi Sheikh Shabani / PhD Student in Islamic Theology, IKI   ikazemi219@gmail.com

Safdar Elahi-rad / Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy of Religion, IKI                          Elahi@iki.ac.ir

Received: 2020/02/08 - Accepted: 2020/05/04

Abstract

“Divine caliphate” is one of the theological foundations of political legitimacy as well as the method of appointing a ruler that has been the basis of various views - both those who consider the appointment of the Imam as the right of God and those who consider it as the right of the people. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this paper studies the analyzes the relationship between the legitimacy and the divine caliphate of man from the perspective of Mohammad ‘Amara. He considered the divine caliphate of man as one of the foundations of the theory that considers the appointment of the Imam to be the right of the people. According to the view he adopts in monotheism in legislation, he considers God as the source of the legitimacy of ruler, but due to his erroneous idea about the divine caliphate of man, he chooses the method that considers the appointment of the Imam to be the right of the people. Aside from the inconsistency of this view with his view on Khatamit, Finality of Prophethood, Prophethood and legislative lordship, his theory is in conflict with conclusive rational and narrative arguments.

Keywords: divine caliphate, Mohammad ‘Amara, legitimacy, method of appointing a ruler.