Mutual Guardianship of Believers in the Qur’an: An Analysis of the Concept of “Some of Them Are Guardians of Others” and an Examination of the Objections

Zarchipour, Aliakbar; Mahdavi, Asgharagha

doi:10.30497/sj.2026.248908.1512

Mutual Guardianship of Believers in the Qur’an: An Analysis of the Concept of “Some of Them Are Guardians of Others” and an Examination of the Objections

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Aliakbar Zarchipour ¹

Asgharagha Mahdavi ²

¹ Level Three Seminary Student and Ph.D. Candidate in Jurisprudence and the Foundations of Islamic Law, Department of Jurisprudence and the Foundations of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Islamic Studies and Guidance, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author).

² Associate Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and the Foundations of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Islamic Studies and Guidance, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran.

10.30497/sj.2026.248908.1512

Abstract

1. Introduction and Objective
The mutual guardianship of believers is a significant topic in Islamic social and political jurisprudence, playing an important role in explaining public responsibility, social participation, and the distribution of power within the Islamic community. Despite the emphasis of Imami jurisprudence on vertical guardianship, the Qur’anic indication of a form of general guardianship among believers has received relatively little independent attention. This study aims to examine the possibility of deriving the mutual guardianship of believers from Qur’anic verses containing the expression “Some of them are guardians of others” and to explain it within the framework of horizontal guardianship.
2. Methods and Materials
This study adopts an analytical–deductive method and is based on the verses of the Holy Qur’an. First, the concept of guardianship and the distinction between vertical and horizontal guardianship are clarified. The implications of the relevant verses are then examined from exegetical and jurisprudential perspectives, drawing on the principles of Islamic legal theory and the views of Imami jurists. Major objections to the interpretation and legal inference from these verses are also identified and analyzed.
3. Research Findings
The study concludes that the verses under discussion affirm the existence of mutual guardianship among believers, which can be explained within the framework of horizontal guardianship. This form of guardianship concerns social responsibility, enjoining good, forbidding evil, and the active participation of believers in the reform of the Islamic community. At the same time, it functions as an executive and supervisory extension of vertical guardianship.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
A foundational analysis indicates that the concept of waiver of respect not only provides a theoretical framework for explaining the dissolution of non-contractual liability, but also offers a basis for reexamining analogous doctrines in Islamic jurisprudence and civil law, thereby paving the way for redefining the relationship between freedom of will and the limits of non contractual liability in Imami jurisprudence.

Keywords

Horizontal Guardianship

Vertical Guardianship

MutualGuardianship of Believers

Social Responsibility

Jurisprudential Implications of the Term &‌‌‌‌‌ldquo

Guardians&‌‌‌‌‌rdquo

Social Jurisprudence

Guardianship of the Jurist