Divine sovereignty and clerical authority in early Shi'i Islamism: Baqir al-Sadr (1935–80) and Taqı al-Mudarrisı (b. 1945) on the Islamic State

Abstract

Divine sovereignty (hakimiyya)—as conceived by Abu al-A'la Mawdud ı (1903–79) and popularised by Sayyid Qutb (1906–66) - has been a central component of Islamist thought. This article investigates the reception of the concept within Shi'i Islam. As case studies, the article choses two prominent actors in the formative period of Shi'i Islamism in Iraq: Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (1935–80) and Muhammad Taqı al-Mudarrisı (b. 1945). By discussing their reflections on the nature of an Islamic state, the article pursues three objectives: first, it overcomes a trend in academic scholarship that disregards Sunni influences on the development of Shi'i Islamism. Second, the article highlights the role that the Iraqi Shi'i intellectual milieu played in incorporating key Islamist concepts into Shi'i political thought. Finally, the article demonstrates the different receptions of hakimiyya . Baqir al-Sadr uses the ideological repertoire of Islamism to explore in pragmatic terms the parameters that define the state as Islamically legitimate. In contrast, Taqı al-Mudarrisı uses hakimiyya to redefine the sovereignty of the state in Islamic terms. He operationalises the concept in a Shi'i context by arguing that the state must be led by a just jurisconsult (al-faqıh al-‘adil) who becomes the sole agent of divine sovereignty in the state.