The Conceptualization of Guardianship in Iranian Intellectual History (1800–1989) Reading Ibn ͑Arabī's Theory of Wilāya in the Shī͑a World by Leila Chamankhah (review)

Who would have thought that the Iranian clergy, that once stood in defence of the monarchy, and which they even called 'corrupt' and a 'half-government', would one day not only throw out the latter but also establish a form of government based upon the guardianship of jurists, which had never been implemented before? The 1979 Iranian Revolution had replaced the method of governance and authority in Iran and brought forward concepts such as wilāyat al-faqīḥ as a means to rule. It's interesting in a sense that the idea of wilāyah, which was initially associated with prophets, imams and awliyāʾ, was eventually applied to jurists and clergy. From this perspective, the Iranian Revolution broke away from the traditional conceptualisation of wilāyah and its applicability. Leila Chamankhah brilliantly covers this particular theme in her book, titled The Conceptualization of Guardianship in Iranian Intellectual History (1800–1989). The book explores the concept of wilāyah and its development and evolution from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries in the Iranian intellectual tradition.

The book comprises six chapters. The author undertakes the present scholarship by devising an interesting methodology, which is a mix of Quentin Skinner's conventionalism and Mark Bevir's critique of Skinner's conventionalism. The author finds Bevir's 'plurality of traditions' helpful, which maintains that there exist inherited traditions in every epoch, and she applies this theory to scholars from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries in order to observe their interaction with 'the intellectual traditions of their time and [how they] stepped beyond them to develop arguments for the conceptualization of wilāyah' (14). Therefore, the author suggests that by using the scholarship of both Skinner and Bevir, the study will investigate the 'importance of agency over structure, authoritative claim and emotional force of concepts and beliefs, evolution of themes over time, and the role of individuals in adopting their webs of beliefs against an inherited tradition and changing them to their liking' (14).

The first chapter, which also serves as an introduction, starts with definitions of wilāyah, such as 'absolute submission to the will of God as well as the necessity of closeness and affinity to Him' (2). The author provides an overview of different forms of wilāyah, i.e., wilāyat al-ilāhīya (Divine wilāyah) and wilāyat al-takwīnīyah, and explores wilāyah through the Qurʾanic, Hadith and Sufiphilosophical traditions before moving on to wilāyah in Shiʻi thought. The chapter also discusses the concept of the walī and briefly introduces the schools and terms she is going to discuss throughout the book.

The second chapter presents a critical analysis of the conceptualisation of wilāyah, nubuwwah and the khalīfah, and looks into the writings of Ibn ͑Arabī (d. 1240), particularly his idea of the Perfect Man (al-insān al-kāmil). She provides the biography of Ibn ͑Arabī, discusses his works, such as Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (The Bezels of Wisdom), Anqāʾ Mughrib (The Phoenix) and Risālat al-Anwār (Apostleship of Lights). The author explores Ibn ͑Arabī's concept of the Perfect Man and wilāyah, then opens some critical discussion on the notions of risālah, nubuwwah and the walī. She provides an interesting discussion on Ibn ͑Arabī's take on wilāyah. Ibn ͑Arabī regards wilāyah as supreme because it is 'everlasting and uninterrupted', which makes it more comprehensive and universal 'than nubuwwa and risāla' (36). The author then goes on to explore Ibn ͑Arabī's reception in the Shiʻi world and how Shiʻi Sufis, such as the Ni͑matullāhı̄s, integrated – or rather interpreted – Akbarian mysticism according to the Shiʻi creed (42).

The third chapter examines...