Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

The Extension of the Principle of Delegation to the Infallible in Mitigating Punishments during the Occultation Era: A Comparison with Other Grounds for Punishment Mitigation in Imāmī Jurisprudence and the Sunni Schools of Law

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyyed Mohammadreza Sebtosheikh 1
Mohammad hasan Haeri 2
Seyyed Mohammahadi Ghabooli Dorafshan 3
1 PhD Student, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22096/rc.2026.2078968.1293
Abstract
The “enforcement of ḥudūd and taʿzīrāt in the era of occultation” is a long-standing problem in Imāmī jurisprudence. Textual sources explicitly restrict the authority to legislate and apply such punishments to the Maʿṣūm Imams, while direct access to them is absent in this period. Using a descriptive–analytical method and a close reading of the Qur’an, ḥadīths of the Ahl al-Bayt, and rational theories of the “delegation of religion” to the Imams, this article examines major arguments for and against allowing fully qualified jurists (fuqahāʾ) to enforce ḥudūd during occultation. The findings indicate that most Imāmī jurists, based on “legislative delegation” and selected traditions, accept both the permissibility of enforcement and the need for systematic mitigation in light of the possible pardon of the Hidden Imam. A minority position limits implementation strictly to the Imam or his specific deputy, focusing on political conditions and the requirement that juristic authority be demonstrably justice-oriented. The study further compares the grounds for penal mitigation in Ḥanbalī, Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Imāmī fiqh and highlights their doctrinal implications. It concludes by proposing a fiqh-legal framework for the limited and conditional application of criminal penalties in the era of occultation that preserves both the continuity of Islamic justice and the potential for the Imam’s intended leniency.
Keywords
The implementation of Hudud during the period of Occultation
Jurisprudential reasoning foundations
mitigation of punishment
divine delegation to the Maʿṣūm
comparative study
Islamic jurisprudence
era of Occultation
Subjects
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Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 July 2026