Authors

• Hassan Bagheriyeh Yazdi ¹
• Ali farsimadan ²
• Ahmad Moballeghi ³
• Taha Samiei ⁴

¹ Researcher and Lecturer of Advanced Level of Khorasan Seminary, Mashhad, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Law Department, Faculty of Islamic Denominations, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor, Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Law Department, Faculty of Islamic Denominations, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

⁴ PhD Graduate, Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Law Department, Faculty of Islamic Denominations, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

The Shia Marja‘iyyah (religious authority) as a religious institution, with its ancient political and social power and significant economic resources, has always been a reliable and promising force in anti-colonial and anti-imperial movements, symbolizing the unity of the Islamic community in defense of Shia identity. Although the Shia Marja‘iyyah originally rested on a simple relationship between the public and religious scholars, today the scope of general religious authority extends beyond purely jurisprudential matters to embrace new concepts such as council-based or consultative Marja‘iyyah in accord with notions of religious governance. According to the theory of council-based Marja‘iyyah, the fundamental component in its realization is the hypothesis of collective superiority (a‘lamiyyat)—that is, the concept of a collectively superior jurist or group of jurists. While there is relative consensus among jurists regarding the identity of the “most learned” who possesses superior interpretative abilities, there remains disagreement concerning which specific characteristics qualify a jurist for superior understanding. In other words, what attributes must the most learned jurist have to derive better religious rulings, and how should these attributes be applied in collective jurisprudential inference under a council-based authority? In essence, this article explores the necessity or non-necessity of superiority (a‘lamiyyat) and its manifestations within collective ijtihad, in the context of council-based Marja‘iyyah. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and synthesizing theoretical foundations, it identifies characteristics essential for superiority, including jurisprudential, principled, biographical, and topical understanding, memory capacity, and scientific and practical skills. Subsequently, it examines the hypothesis of the non-necessity of superiority within the framework of council-based religious authority

Keywords

• Council-based Marja‘iyyah (Religious Authority)
• Collective Ijtihad
• Fatwa (Legal Ruling) Council
• Istinbāt (Islamic Legal Inference)
• Most Learned Jurist
• Collective Superiority

Main Subjects

• Ibadah Figh