Ma`rifat

The discussion about government and its origin and legitimacy is one of the topics raised in the political thought of Islam, which divides government into two types: divine and Taghut government. According to the political thought of Islam, a divine government is a government which is established by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and after the Prophet by his successors, the infallible Imams, and the source and legitimacy of this kind of government is God. But, another question is raised in the political thought of Islam, and that is: when the infallible Imam is not present among people, will the formation of government and enforcement of Islamic laws stop? There is a consensus of opinion among Shiite scholars that no government at the time of occultation is considered legitimate except which is ruled by a religious jurist. Since the Safavid period, in particular, many scholars have theorized and responded to the supposition that there is no discussion about government in the political thought of Islam. Among the scholars who advanced a theory in this regard is the late Ayatollah Seyed MirAbdolfattah Husseini Maraghei, one of the early scholars of the Qajar era. He believes that Islam is a religion of politics, there is a divine relationship between politics and Sharia, religious precepts cannot be dispensed with and government is one of the requisites of religion. He also mentions that government was first established by the Prophet and after the Prophet the responsibility was entrusted to the infallible Imams and that during the occultation of the infallible Imam, it is the religious jurist who has the right to form government and such a government has divine legitimacy. Using a descriptive-analytical method and gathering library and documentary data, this research develops the discussion about this subject.