Transference of The Imām’s Authority to Jurists in the Occultation Period According to 5th Century Shī？ī-U？ūli Scholars

Imāmiyya holds that the theory of imāmate must rely on scriptural evidence and designation and that the Imām, the successor to Mu？ammad, is in charge of all political and religious issues. The authority of the Imām includes some religious and social duties such as executing the legal punishments, collecting almsgiving, sustaining social order and declaring holy war. The fulfillment of these duties requires actual leadership of the Imām or his deputy. With the beginning of the great occultation in 329/941, there was an uncertainty among the Imāmiyya followers about who would uphold these responsibilities. In this period, Shī？ī ？ulamā began to undertake the duties of the Imām in order to overcome this uncertainty and to avoid the possible schism. In the beginning, this delegation of authority was limited to the religious sphere; but, later, its scope gradually became wider. This process of delegation of power, which covers a long process, needs to be examined in its various periods. In this study, this subject will be considered with special reference to the scholars of the fifth century of hijra (hijrī). An effort is made in this article to reveal how the issues of the Imām’s powers are discussed in the context of the problem of expanding or narrowing the authority of the scholars who played significant roles in systemization of U？ūlī (rationalist) thought in the period after Shaykh al-Mufīd. Summary: In the issues of Imām/Caliphate which led to political division among Muslims after the Prophet Mu？ammad, Imāmī Shī？a opines that the Imāmate theory relies on scriptural evidence and designation. According to this theory, apart from scriptural evidence and designation, personal qualities such as immaculacy, knowledge, bravery, and vantage are found in Ali, ？asan, ？usayn and nine people from the lineage of ？usayn. The Imām as a successor to the Prophet Mu？ammad is a person who has both religious and political power which includes implementation of punishments, collecting alms, ensuring justice, declaring holy war. For the Imāmī Shī？a, there is a need for imām or his deputy who has absolute power to fulfill these duties. Imāmī Shī？a, who held that the disappeared twelfth Imām would return back to restore justice in the world, had to confront various problems in finding solutions to some issues related to the existence of Imām himself, as well as theological issues during the period of great occultation. Particularly, the period of great occultation (329/941), in which the link with the Imām was severed completely, the Shī？ī community were uncertain on how to