nasafi 2020-07-22
[The Caliphate and Imamate]

 

ثُمَّ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ الإِمَامُ ظَاهِراً ، لَا مُخْتَفِياً وَلَا مُنْتَظِراً ، وَيَكُونَ مِنْ قُرَيشٍ وَلَا يَجُوزُ مِنْ غَيْرِهِمْ ، وَلَا يَخْتَصُّ بِبَني هَاشِم وَأَوْلَادِ عَلِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ . وَلَا يُشْتَرَطُ فِي الإمَامِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَعْصُوماً ، وَلَا أَنْ يَكُونَ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ أَهْلِ زَمَانِهِ ، وَيُشّتَرَطُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْوِلَايَةِ المُطْلَقَةِ الْكامِلَةِ، سَائِساً قادِراً عَلَى تَنْفِيذِ الأَحْكامِ وَحِفْظِ حُدُودِ دَارِ الإِسْلَامِ وَاْسْتِخْلَاصِ حَقِّ المَظْلُومِ مِنَ الظَّالِمِ . وَلَا يَنْعَزِلُ الإِمَامُ بِالْفِسْقِ وَالجَوْرِ .

 

038- Then the Imam must be present (ẓāhir), neither absent (ghāʾib) nor awaited (muntaẓar), and he must be [a descendent] of Quraysh and is not allowed to be of any other [descendent]. He is not restricted to the Banī Hāshim1 or to the children of ʿAlī (may God be pleased with them all). It is not a stipulation that he should be infallible (maʿṣūm), or that he should be the most eminent of the people of his time. It is a stipulation that he should be one of those people who have complete authority, able to administrator, able to execute decisions and perserve the borders (ḥudūd) of Islamic lands (dār al-Islām) and to give the oppressed impartiality against the oppressor. The Imam is not to be overthrown for corruption or tyranny (jawr).2

  1. Here a distinction is being made in contrast to the Shiʿiā who insist that he not only be a descendent of Quraysh, but of Banī Hāshim and not just any descendent of Banī Hāshim but a descendent of Fāṭimah al‑Zahrā’ (d. 11/632) bt. Muḥammad’s children with ʿAlī b. Abū Ṭālib (d. 40/661) namely al-Ḥasan (d. 49/669) or al-Ḥussaīn (d. 61/680). They also make allowance for a hidden and expected Imam, namely the 12th descendent who supposedly went into occulation in 260/874 after the death of the 11th Imam al-ʿAskarī al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad.
  2. This follows the principle that chaos that ensues is worst for society than the overthrow of the unjust ruler. However, if there is no possibility of the society descending into chaos and a peacefull transfer of power is the most possible outcome then the Imam can be removed from power or relived from authority.