Ayatollah Khomeini and the Foundation of Legitimacy of Power and Government/Ayatollah Khomeini Et la Fondement de la Legitimite Du Pouvoir Et Du Gouvernement (Report‪)‬

Since the time of the holy prophet's demise, the most controversial issue in Islamic community was dispute over general characters and qualifications of his successors and mode of succession of power. Islamic scholars with different theological, juridical, philosophical and political perspective attempts were concentrated on finding response to three fundamental questions: 1- Who should govern? 2- How should be governed? And 3- What are the mutual rights and duties of people and holders of power? Shi'a believes in two principles of imamate and occultation of infallible Imam and the postulation that leader of Islamic community as successor of holy prophet must be infallible, caused undeniable result in the process of formation and development of Shi'a political thought. This belief that absolute power belong to God and successor of holy prophet should receive the right of guardianship and leadership from God, and the Prophet notified the issue of Caliphate after himself to Muslim, is foundation of Shi' a political thought. Therefore, the issue of legitimacy and illegitimacy of power and government from Shi'a jurists' point of view should be deliberated from this perspective. Like other Shi'a jurists, Ayatollah Khomeini believes that the absolute power belongs to Almighty God and He is the owner of government and leadership and has the intrinsic guardianship for everything and everybody. This sovereignty and guardianship has not been appointed by someone else to God (Khomeini 1995, 160). Therefore the origin and the source of authority is God, the creature of the world. In his ever first political book, Kashf al Asrar, he indicates that: