Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist

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The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Persian: ولایت فقیه, romanized: Velâyat-e Faqih, also Velayat-e Faghih; Arabic: وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, romanized: Wilāyat al-Faqīh) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), at least some of the religious and social affairs of the Muslim world should be administered by righteous Shi'i jurists (Faqīh).^[1] The nature of these affairs are disputed.^[2]

Wilāyat al-Faqīh is associated in particular with Ruhollah Khomeini^[3] and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a series of lectures in 1970, Khomeini advanced the idea of guardianship in its "absolute" form as rule of the state and society. This version of guardianship now forms the basis of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which calls for a Guardian Jurist (Vali-ye Faqih, Arabic: وَلِيُّةُ فَقِيهٌ, romanized: Waliy Faqīh), to serve as the Supreme Leader of that country.^[4][5] Currently, this role is held by Ayatollah Khamenei.

Under the "absolute authority of the jurist" (Velayat-e Motlaqaye Faqih), the jurist/faqih has control over all public matters including governance of states, all religious affairs including the temporary suspension of religious obligations such as the salat prayer or hajj pilgrimage.^[6][3] Obedience to him is more important (according to proponents) than performing those religious obligations.^[7] Other Shi'i Islamic scholars disagree, with some limiting guardianship to a much narrower scope^[2]—things like mediating disputes,^[8] and providing guardianship for orphaned children, the mentally incapable, and others lacking someone to protect their interests.^[9]

There is disagreement over how widely supported Khomeini's doctrine is; that is, whether "the absolute authority and guardianship" of a high-ranking Islamic jurist is "universally accepted amongst all Shi’a theories of governance" and forms "a central pillar of Imami [Shi'i] political thought" (Ahmed Vaezi and Taqi Yazdi),^[10] or whether there is no consensus in favor of the model of the Islamic Republic of Iran, neither among the public in Iran (Alireza Nader, David E Thaler, and S. R. Bohandy),^[11] nor among most religious leaders in the leading centers of Shia thought,^[12] such as Qom and Najaf (Ali Mamouri).^[13]