Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

The Archaeology of Theological and Jurisprudential Ideas Concerning the General Deputyship (Niābat al-ʿĀmmah) of the Imam and Marjaʿiyyah in Shi'a Islam

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
seyed reza sajjadi nejad 1
mehrab sadeq niya 2
hamid reza shariatmadari 3
1 Ph.D. candidate, Shiʿite Studies, University of Religions and Beliefs, Qom, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Abrahamic Religions, University of Religions and Beliefs, Qom, Iran(Full member of the Scientific Association of Religions and Sects)
3 Associate Professor, Department of Shiʿite Studies, University of Religions and Beliefs, Qom, Iran(Full member of the Scientific Association of Religions and Sects)
10.22034/jis.2025.404670.1901
Abstract
After the onset of the Occultation (Ghaybah), due to the prohibition on appointing a specific successor, Shi'a scholars, while systematizing the sources of knowledge and thought by addressing theological and jurisprudential issues, also resolved for future generations the matter of the general deputyship (niyābat al-ʿāmmah) and succession to the Imams. This issue cannot be uncovered through historical studies alone. Accordingly, this study adopts an archaeological approach to examine the thought of Shi'a scholars in their engagement with religious texts (nuṣūṣ). The Shi'a faced the same limitations in utilizing these texts that the Ahl al-Sunnah had experienced earlier. Thus, in the absence of the authoritative guidance of the texts and while seeking an independent identity vis-à-vis the Ahl al-Sunnah, they were compelled to determine their position concerning the issue of the Imam's deputyship.By describing and analyzing the rulings and propositions of influential scholars from the early period following the Occultation, this research demonstrates how Shi'a scholars in the post-Occultation era, through a rupture and distancing from the Ahl al-Sunnah, were able to confer an identity upon their position in the eyes of the Shi'a—an identity rooted in theological and jurisprudential knowledge and thought—which, during the Occultation, came to be interpreted as precisely the role of general deputyship and succession.
Keywords
Archaeology
General Deputyship (Niābat al-ʿĀmmah)
Intellect (ʿAql)
Principle of Grace (Qāʿidat al-Luṭf)
Hadith
Consensus (Ijmāʿ)
Ijtihād
Subjects
The Holy Qur’an.
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