Strategy

Strategy

Methodology and Method of Understanding the "System of Thought and Idea " of the Vali-e Faqih

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Seyed Javad Amini 1
vahid safi esfahani 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Strategic Management, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Strategic Management, Strategic Management Research Institute, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/rahbord.2025.525699.1815
Abstract
With the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the ideal of establishing an Islamic civilization, one of the most persistent challenges has been to articulate a comprehensive theory and model of Islamic governance encompassing all its dimensions—from economy, politics, and culture to the management of societal affairs and the fulfillment of individual needs. Among the primary concerns of humanities scholars is the theoretical explanation and extraction of essential scientific models, as well as the study of the intellectual foundations of the leaders of the Islamic Revolution within the framework of velayat-e-faqih (guardianship of the jurist). The central issue is that, in order to understand the statements and evolution of the Vali-e Faqih’s thought—whether as a text or as an idea—one must determine whether it should be approached through conventional interpretive methods, similar to other texts and ideas, or whether, given its sacred position in Islamic thought, a distinct methodology is required to extract a theoretical model from the Vali’s thought and its esoteric dimensions. Methodological and inferential reductionism, therefore, is not appropriate in this context. This study is grounded in Islamic philosophy in terms of its fundamental purpose. In terms of data collection, it employs both library research and fieldwork, with in-depth interviews as the primary tools. Data Analysis Strategy: Thematic analysis was employed in three stages. From a total of 188 statements collected through expert interviews, 198 basic themes, 17 organizing themes, and 7 overarching themes were extracted. The findings, through an innovative and established approach, propose an exploratory methodological framework for understanding and discovering the intellectual and cognitive system of the Vali. This framework—termed the “Uns Method”—is based on four main pillars: (1) the general principles of jurisprudence and inference derived from the familiarity with the Vali-e Faqih; (2) historical and character study and analysis; (3) discourse analysis of the Vali-e Faqih’s thought; and (4) Qur’anic research and data quantification of the topic under discussion.
Keywords
System of Thought and Idea " of the Vali-e Faqih, Islamic Revolution, Methodology, Uns method

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 23 May 2025
  • Revise Date 21 August 2025
  • Accept Date 25 August 2025