Quranic Authority and Political Participation: An Approach to the Ideal Theory of Political Participation in the Quran

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant professor, Department of Political Science, Research Institute of Hawzeh and University, Qom, Iran

10.22081/jgq.2025.77429

Abstract

The central question of this article is whether the Quranic perspective on political participation aligns with the existing approach or an ideal one. The research hypothesis is that in a religious state, political participation and competition within the political regime are neither opposed to nor merely in service of the regime. Among the approaches to political participation—delegative and agentive—the Quran's ideal approach appears closer to what can be termed a "quasi-agentive and conditionally maximal" model, which is a prerequisite for the emergence and persistence of a religious state. This form of participation holds intrinsic value as a partial cause but remains contingent upon certain preconditions. In this study, beyond the verses on consultation (shūrā) and allegiance (bayʿa), other Quranic verses—such as those on fulfilling covenants, enjoining good and forbidding evil, general Quranic addresses, vicegerency (khilāfa), and trust (amāna)—are analyzed in relation to agentive political participation. Accordingly, the essential components of the "conditionally maximal" (quasi-agentive) model of political participation include: the binding authority of the political covenant between the ruler and the people, the obligation of the consultative institution in public affairs, active political participation as a form of enjoining good and forbidding evil and involvement in self-determination, the people's right to electoral choice and public selection, the graded universal vicegerency from God as the foundation for the right to participate, and the entrustment of governance to the most qualified as a form of trust.

Keywords

References

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