A Genealogy of Shaykh Fazlullah Nouri’s Political Thought of in the Constitutional Movement: From Justice-Seeking to the Sharia-Centered Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, College of Foreign Literature and Languages, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Politics, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Qom, Iran

3 PhD Student, Educational Management, Qo.C., Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

The political thought of Shaykh Fazlullah Nouri regarding the Constitutional Revolution of Iran can be analyzed as a resilient ijtihad aimed at the Islamization of the new governmental structure. This study, by tracing his political and intellectual roots in the fundamental principles and rules of Shia jurisprudence, demonstrates that Shaykh Fazlullah Nouri's transformative stance stemmed from the requirements of jurisprudential inference and the safeguarding of Sharia. The theoretical framework of this research rests on three key pillars: first, an emphasis on the exclusive sovereignty of Sharia and the prohibition of human legislation; second, insistence on the oversight of the jurists over the legislative process as a constructive solution to ensure the Sharia compliance of enacted laws; and third, reliance on the principle of nafy al-sabīl (denial of non-Muslim dominion) as a central tenet of resistance against colonial domination. Despite his profound understanding of the oppression of despotism and his initial support for justice-seeking, upon witnessing the infiltration of Western secular concepts into the constitutional drafting and legislative process, Nouri redirected his position toward advocating for the Sharia-centered Constitutionalism. He viewed legislation without Sharia oversight as a clear violation of the prohibition against unlawful legislation, a duty stemming from the jurist’s responsibility to protect the faith. This jurisprudential insistence ultimately led to the establishment of the second article of the supplementary constitutional law. In conclusion, Shaykh Nouri’s position against the Constitutional Revolution was an active, courageous, and ijtihad-based effort to preserve the sovereignty of Sharia and the religious authenticity of the political system in the face of the fundamental challenges of modernity and colonialism, providing the foundation for contemporary Shia political thought in relation to the establishment of new political systems.

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References

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Islamic Political Studies
Volume 7, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 93-118

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