Mutual Guardianship of Believers in the Qur’an: A Jurisprudential Analysis of the Concept of “Ba‘ḍuhum Awliyā’u Ba‘ḍ” and an Examination of the Objections

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Aliakbar Zarchipour 1
Asgharagha Mahdavi 2
1 Imam Sadegh University
2 Imam Sadegh University (PBUH)
10.30497/sj.2026.248908.1512
Abstract
1. Introduction and Objective

The issue of the mutual guardianship of believers is a key topic in Islamic social and political jurisprudence, as it relates to public responsibility, social participation, and the distribution of power in Islamic society. While Imami jurisprudence has largely emphasized hierarchical (vertical) guardianship, the Qur’anic indication of a form of mutual guardianship among believers has received limited independent analysis. This study aims to examine the possibility of deriving the concept of mutual guardianship from Qur’anic verses containing the expression “ba‘ḍuhum awliyā’u ba‘ḍ” and to explain it within the framework of horizontal guardianship.

2. Materials and Methods

This research adopts an analytical–inferential approach based on the Qur’an. It clarifies the concept of wilāyah and the distinction between vertical and horizontal guardianship, and then examines the relevant verses from exegetical and jurisprudential perspectives, drawing on principles of uṣūl al-fiqh and the views of Imami jurists. Major interpretive objections are also identified and analyzed.

3. Findings

The findings show that the term “awliyā’” in these verses does not merely denote friendship or mutual assistance, but implies a form of mutual legal and social responsibility among believers.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

The study concludes that the verses under discussion support the existence of a form of mutual guardianship among believers that can be conceptualized as horizontal guardianship. This form of guardianship relates to social responsibility, enjoining good, forbidding evil, and active participation in the reform of Islamic society, while also functioning as a complementary supervisory mechanism alongside vertical guardianship.
Keywords
Horizontal Authority (Wilāyah ʿArḍīyah)
Vertical authority (wilāyah ṭūlī)
Mutual Authority of Believers
Social Responsibility
Juristic Implications of the Term Awliyāʾ
Social Jurisprudence
Wilāyat al-Faqīh
Research Letter of Social Jurisprudence (Interdisciplinary Researches in Jurisprudence/ Researches In Jurisprudence)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 28 May 2026

  • Receive Date 23 September 2025
  • Revise Date 23 May 2026
  • Accept Date 28 May 2026