Verse of Ulu l-Amr
The Verse of Ulu l-Amr (Arabic: آیه اولیالامر) is verse 59 of Surah An-Nisa', which commands believers to obey God, the Messenger of God (s), and the "Ulu l-Amr" (those vested with authority). Imam Khomeini has paid attention to the Verse of Ulu l-Amr in his works and addressed the meaning of Ulu l-Amr, its position, characteristics, and instances in this regard.
Importance and Position of the Verse of Ulu l-Amr
The Verse of Ulu l-Amr is verse 59 of Surah An-Nisa', which commands believers to obey God, the Messenger of God (s), and the Ulu l-Amr.[1] The Verse of Ulu l-Amr concerns one of the most important issues of Islamic society, namely leadership and determining the true reference of Muslims in resolving various religious and social issues. In the Verse of Ulu l-Amr, obedience to the words, actions, and tacit approval of the Prophet (s) is placed along the line of obedience to God, and subsequently, obedience to the Ulu l-Amr is placed, and this very subject has caused disputes and discussions among Shi'i and Sunni exegetes; therefore, in this regard, Islamic exegetes in their works have addressed the meaning of Ulu l-Amr, its instances, and the position and characteristics of the Verse of Ulu l-Amr.[2]
Imam Khomeini has also paid attention to the Verse of Ulu l-Amr in his works and addressed the meaning of Ulu l-Amr, its position, characteristics, and instances in this regard.[3]
Meaning of Ulu l-Amr
Islamic exegetes have differences of opinion in interpreting the verse "O you who have believed, obey God and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority among you."[4] Some Sunnis are of the belief that the intended meaning of Ulu l-Amr is the ruler and amir or the people of loosening and binding (ahl al-hall wa-l-aqd), while some emphasize that the Ulu l-Amr are the scholars of the ummah.[5] Shi'i scholars consider the intended meaning of Ulu l-Amr to be the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (s), namely the infallible Imams; because the absolute nature of the verse in the necessity of obeying the ruler of the affair in matters like the Messenger of God indicates the infallibility of the ruler of the affair.[6]
Imam Khomeini also, regarding the verse "obey God and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority among you,"[7] in explaining the meaning of Ulu l-Amr, believes that by the decree of reason it is impossible for God to command obedience to rulers and kings, while He knows what oppressions and corruptions these kings commit, and combining the obedience of Ulu l-Amr with God and His Messenger (s) shows that the Ulu l-Amr must be someone who, in all the decrees he issues, does not say a decree contrary to the religion of God and does not act contrary to it; rather, the necessity of the obedience of Ulu l-Amr from God upon all nations shows that the Islamic government must only be one government so that chaos does not become necessary. According to Imam Khomeini, only someone can be the Ulu l-Amr who is infallible in his actions and speech; therefore, Ulu l-Amr applies to Commander of the Faithful (a) whom the Prophet (s) appointed as the wali at Ghadir Khumm, and also applies to the Imams of guidance (a) whom following is obligatory, and this obedience is obligatory and effective in all affairs.[8]
Exclusive Wilaya of God
God has true guardianship over the creatures and is the owner of everything; therefore, according to Imam Khomeini, by the decree of reason, government and guardianship is the exclusive right of God; He is the true owner and absolute ruler of this universe, and except for God or someone whom God has appointed as a ruler, no one has the right to govern and rule, and his sovereignty will not be legitimate; therefore, in relations between humans with each other, no one has the right of succession and guardianship over others without God's permission, and only the Holy Prophet (s) and the infallible Imams (a) are excluded from this rule according to the verse "obey God and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority among you."[9]
Notes
- ↑ Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq, p. 203; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 391.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 100; Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 10, pp. 113-114; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 391; Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq, p. 203; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 3, pp. 434-435; Mullāʾīpūr, Tafsīr-i tatbīqī-yi āyāt-i mawaddat wa ulu l-amr, p. 97.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Kashf-i asrār, pp. 109-112; Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 561; Wilāyat-i faqīh, pp. 87-88; al-Makāsib al-muḥarrama, pp. 159-160.
- ↑ Qur'an 4:59.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 92; Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 4, p. 311; Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 2, p. 400, vol. 4, p. 113; Qarāmalikī, Qurʾān wa ʿilm-i kalām, p. 140.
- ↑ Ḥillī, al-Alfayn, p. 399; Āmulī, Tafsīr al-Muḥīṭ al-aʿẓam, vol. 1, p. 432; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 399.
- ↑ Qur'an 4:59.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Kashf-i asrār, pp. 109-112 and 284-285; Wilāyat-i faqīh, pp. 78-88; Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 561.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, al-Makāsib al-muḥarrama, vol. 2, pp. 159-160; Kashf-i asrār, pp. 181-182.
References
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1385 Sh.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Kashf-i asrār, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, n.d.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, al-Makāsib al-muḥarrama, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1379 Sh.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Wilāyat-i faqīh, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1385 Sh.
- Āmulī, Sayyid Ḥaydar, Tafsīr al-Muḥīṭ al-aʿẓam wa-l-baḥr al-khaḍim, edited by Sayyid Muḥsin Mūsawī, Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Farhang wa Nashr-i Nūr ʿAlī Nūr, 1422 AH.
- Bayhaqī, Aḥmad, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1408 AH.
- Ḥillī, Yūsuf b. Ḥasan, Nahj al-ḥaqq wa-kashf al-ṣidq, Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1982.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Tafsīr al-Mīzān, Qom, Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Ḥasan, Majmaʿ al-bayān, Beirut, Dār al-ʿUlūm, 1379 Sh.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr, Jāmiʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Beirut, Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1412 AH.
- ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf, al-Alfayn, Qom, al-Muʾassasa al-Islāmiyya, 1423 AH.
- Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (al-Tafsīr al-kabīr), Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Qarāmalikī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Qurʾān wa ʿilm-i kalām, Tehran, Farhang wa Andīsha, 1402 Sh.
- Mullāʾīpūr, Sāra, Tafsīr-i taṭbīqī-yi āyāt-i mawaddat wa ulu l-amr az dīdghāh-i ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī wa Fakhr Rāzī wa Ālūsī, Faṣlnāma-yi Mutālaʿāt-i Taṭbīqī-yi Qurʾānpazhūhī, 1400 Sh.