Archaeology of the Concept of General Deputyship in the Interaction of Usulis and Akhbaris with Safavid Rulers

The primary aim of this study is to provide a historical-analytical examination of the concept of "general deputyship" (niyāba ʿāmma) during the Safavid era, tracing its evolution from the establishment of the Safavid state to its decline. The research seeks to demonstrate how this concept played a significant role in legitimizing the monarchical structure and how it gradually waned and became disrupted within the Akhbari discourse. Rather than identifying the origin of the general deputyship concept in the Safavid period, this article focuses on analyzing its transformation and discontinuation through the interactions between Usuli and Akhbari scholars with the Safavid monarchy. The primary research question is based on the premise of whether "general deputyship," initially employed by Usuli scholars as a tool for religious legitimation of the Safavid state, was entirely disrupted during the transition to the Akhbari discourse. If so, what theoretical, social, and political factors contributed to this transformation, and how did the differing approaches of Usuli and Akhbari scholars in their relationship with the monarchy influence this process? The research methodology adopted in this article is historical-theological analysis based on documentary study and discourse analysis, conducted through an examination of Safavid historical, jurisprudential, and theological sources, as well as an analysis of the propositions of Usuli and Akhbari scholars. Within this framework, the research relies on primary sources, including jurisprudential texts, treatises, and historical reports, to explore the discursive transformations within the Imami jurisprudential tradition during the Safavid era. Furthermore, through a comparative analysis of the positions of Usuli scholars such as al-Muḥaqqiq Karakī (Karakī, 1989), al-Shahīd al-Thānī (Shahīd
al-Thānī, n.d.), Muqaddas Ardabīlī (Ardabīlī, 1983), and others, alongside Akhbari scholars such as Muḥammad Amīn Astarābādī (Astarābādī, 2005), Fayḍ Kāshānī (n.d./a; n.d./b), and Muḥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (Majlisī, n.d.), the study seeks to elucidate the points of divergence and convergence between the two approaches regarding the concept of general deputyship (Gleave, 2018; Jafarian, 2000). The research findings indicate that at the outset of the Safavid dynasty, Usuli scholars, leveraging the capacities of general deputyship, played a prominent role in the governance structure. Al-Muḥaqqiq Karakī, recognized as the general deputy of the Imam by Shah Tahmasp, exemplifies this theoretical and practical linkage. During this period, general deputyship extended beyond issuing fatwas to encompass judicial matters, leading Friday prayers, and overseeing other social affairs. However, with the gradual dominance of the Akhbari approach, this concept was theoretically undermined. Akhbaris, by rejecting ijtihad and taqlīd as innovations derived from Sunni practices, reduced the role of religious scholars to mere transmitters of hadiths and denied the concept of general deputyship. They maintained that religious rulings are fully contained within hadiths, eliminating the need for juristic inference or the intervention of a general deputy. This transformation in the concept of general deputyship directly impacted the interaction between religious scholars and the Safavid monarchy. Although both Usuli and Akhbari scholars collaborated with the state, Usulis grounded this cooperation in the theory of general deputyship, whereas Akhbaris viewed it merely as a practical partnership, rather than arising from religious legitimacy. This dynamic led to a situation in the late Safavid period where prominent scholars, such as ʿAllāma Majlisī, assumed political roles like mullābāshī and shaykh al-Islām without relying on the theoretical framework of general deputyship, thereby redefining the structure of religious authority from within the power system. In conclusion, the article emphasizes that the concept of general deputyship, once utilized as a tool to establish religious order in the Safavid state, was marginalized during the dominance of the Akhbari discourse. This disruption stemmed not only from theoretical shifts within the Imami jurisprudential tradition but also from the complex interplay of scholars with political power, changes in theoretical priorities, and the transition of authoritative discourses within the Shia domain. Consequently, general deputyship, which once symbolized the scholarly authority and religious legitimacy of jurists, was reduced to a theoretically insignificant concept by the end of the Safavid era, without necessarily eliminating the presence of scholars in political power structures.