Sadraian anthropology and its impact on the authentication of Willayat-e Faqih

Mulla Sadra is a philosopher having a strong faith in the principles of Shiism which in many occasions he tried to explain and prove. One such belief is accepting the existence of an imam or wali as God’s Hojjat [proof] on the earth. According to him, Imamate and Willayat, unlike Nabovvat [prophethood] are always effective and politics is dependent on divine Sharia. To prove the existence of Imam as God’s proof on earth and, as a result, his right to govern, Mulla Sadra benefits from a rule called “the possibility of the best [Emakan-e Ashraf].” He uses his specific philosophical approach and refers to the Quran and traditions about man to complete and reaffirm the idea, coming to the conclusion that imams and Walis are the best among human beings and are the goal of creation. He also claims that the relationship between Wali and other humans is like the relationship between human beings and animals. As man is the best of creatures and the goal of creation and if man disappeared from the earth no other creatures would remain, in the same way, if God’s proof were not on the earth, other men would not have the possibility of living. As a result, if imam were not governing the society _ though others still would benefit from him _, social affairs would not be settled down. This paper is to depict the rate of Mulla Sadra’s anthropology on the authentication of Willayat-e Faqih and, as a result, his right to govern.