The Relationship Between Politics and Religion
God’s religion is complete and comprehensive.
The message of our Master Muhammad — peace and blessings be upon him and his family — encompassed both the intellectual (theoretical and jurisprudential) dimension and the practical, applied, and field-based dimension.
The intellectual aspect is what forms and grounds the soul, establishes its creed, affirms its faith, and paves the way for its salvation and attainment of God’s pleasure.
The practical, field-based aspect — which is represented by political leadership (Imamate) — is the application of that intellectual system in both its principles and its branches.
The doctrines of the Qur’an — such as enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, repelling injustice, establishing justice, obeying those in authority, and others — all make the practical, applied aspect (the Imamate) an essential and original component of our Islamic faith, not a marginal one.
Indeed, there are authentic and well-attested texts and verses that clearly indicate its obligation.
Among them is the saying of God Almighty:
“Let there arise from among you a community inviting to goodness, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong — and those are the successful.”
(Āl ‘Imrān 3:104)
If Imamate were not an essential principle, nor had any legal foundation in religion, then how would this command of “enjoining right and forbidding wrong” in the verse be carried out?
Would everyone be authorized to do that? The entire Muslim community agreed that this is not the case.
And would a tyrannical ruler be the one enjoining right — when he is himself the perpetrator of wrong and the one refraining from right? Of course not.
Rather, that is among the duties of the just Imam.
And I have only this to say:
If Islam — as a Qur’anic or prophetic legislation — has prescribed a path to that (i.e., establishing rightful leadership), then so be it. But if it has not provided such a path, then the matter and the command in the verse would fall into meaninglessness.
And if there is such a path, then that is precisely the position of the Zaydis.
Furthermore, when we consider God’s saying:
“O you who believe, obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.”
(An-Nisā’ 4:59)
our faith increases that the foundation of such a political-legal structure exists within the verses of the Noble Book.
Also, the Imamate succeeds the Prophethood.
The Messenger — peace and blessings be upon him — was both a guide fulfilling the intellectual dimension in principle and detail, and a leader carrying out the practical dimension: politics, jihad, the implementation of legal punishments, leading congregational prayers and Friday gatherings, and collecting alms (zakāt).
All of that could not exist without a just political Imam — a legitimate ruler.
To summarize: the Islamic system cannot stand upon a separation between religion and politics (governance).
After that, the discussion moves to the theory of Imamate — and which among the Islamic views is correct.
Some have said: it must be within Quraysh;
some said: it may be established by force to prevent disorder;
some said: it may exist among any group of the ummah;
others said: it is limited to twelve Imams;
while the Zaydis said: it belongs to the descendants of al-Hasan and al-Husayn until the Day of Resurrection — in accordance with the Hadith of the Two Weighty Things (al-Thaqalayn) and other narrations preserved by the Zaydis — since they are the best of the ummah and their righteous ones will never cease to exist until the end of time.
The first among them was a Prophet, and the last of them is the Imam al-Mahdi Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah.
And this fulfills God’s promise to Abraham (Ibrāhīm) that the Imamate would remain among his descendants — and the descendants of Fāṭimah are the remaining lineage of Abraham.
God also promised Abraham that guidance and faith would continue within his progeny:
“And He made it a lasting word among his descendants, so that they might return [to the truth].”
(Az-Zukhruf 43:28)
When the Imamis (Twelvers) restricted the Imamate to twelve individuals without definitive proof establishing knowledge, contrary to the mutawātir (mass-transmitted) Hadith of al-Thaqalayn, that limitation is not valid.
In general, the detailed discussion of this belongs in the Chapter on Imamate.
The essence of the question, however, pertains to the political theory (Imamate) — its connection to religion or its separation from it.
And the answer has already been given above.
We encourage the questioner to research the foundations of what we have mentioned — which are preserved in the books of the Prophet’s family (peace be upon them) and in contemporary experience.
To summarize our conclusion:
Can religion stand without its implementation — without the enforcement of its laws, and without carrying out its commands and prohibitions, including enjoining good and forbidding wrong?
The answer lies within that question itself.
May God grant you success.
O God, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.