Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: In cases where there is no access to a just ruler, one should refer to the Ruler of Sharia

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh al-Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Tuesday, the fifth of Dhu Qa’dah. In this session, like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudence issues.

Regarding the limits and powers of the faqih and his guardianship in various matters, Grand Ayatollah Shirazi said: If we consider the hasbiya affairs as faqih having the power of guardianship, there is a consensus on this issue and all jurists agree on it as the guardianship of the jurists. But, “ifta (giving fatwa)” and “qadha (giving judgment)” are different from the guardianship, because in the ifta, the religious ruling is stated, but in the qadha, the subject is articulated, for example, that this house belongs to Zayd or Amr.

His Eminence further said: “Wilayah (guardianship)” means the right of tenure and the right of guardianship. For example, let’s assume that a father has passed away and he has minor children. Here, the jurist only becomes the proxy-executor and guardian of this property for the minor. But, qadha is applied to disputes and religious subjects.

On the duty of the mukallafin regarding the government when there is no just ruler, the Marja said: A tyrannical ruler does not have the right to rule, and the duty of the mukallafin is subject to the permission of the taqlid authority, and they must follow whatever the jurist and the qualified taqlid authority allowed. Because, the tyrannical ruler does not have guardianship, and the money that the tyrant ruler gives does not belong to him, nor does he hold authority of possession over it. So, under these circumstances, the guardianship lies with the Ruler of Shariah and the mukallafin must seek permission from him, and whatever he rules is valid.