Allegiance to guardianship

The practical manifestation and realization of the acceptance of divine guardianship is allegiance to the guardian of God. A confession of allegiance to the guardian of God has a great position in Islamic culture and indicates the religiosity and God's satisfaction; especially when it happens at the time of hardships and intrigue; like the allegiance of Muslims to the Holy Prophet in Treaty of Hudaybiyyah” that considered Quran as allegiance to God.
The first practical step regarding the centrality of guardianship is a confession of allegiance to the spiritual leader and those who are allowed and responsible for the guardianship affairs; a kind of allegiance which is the factor of authority and capability of judicial regime and influence of the words of the leader and weakness of the enemies.
E) Practical commitment to the supreme leader (following and obeying the leader)
The biggest right of the leader by the people of Ummah is that after the allegiance is that they pay attention to his orders and follow his commands and make their behavior and actions compatible to his inclination in their personal and social life and obey God by obeying him completely.
Imam Ali after criticizing the Kufi people for failing to obedience to their leader, states one of his rights for them to fulfill their oath of allegiance, obedience to commands and responding to the invitation:
''As for my right over you, it is fulfilment of (the obligation of) allegiance, well-wishing in presence or in absence, response when I call you and obedience when I order you''.
The highest point of guardianship-centeredness for every guardianship-centered person is complete obedience to guardianship and does not ask about everything. As although Malik Ashtar at the Battle of Siffin had reached by Mu'awiya's tent had and could have killed him with a movement, but by the order of Imam Ali returned that it represents the spirit of his guardianship-centeredness.
Imam Khamenei in response to questions about the meaning of practical commitment to velayat-e faqih said:
The guardianship of the Islamic jurist means the of domination of the qualified jurist in the absence period the rule of velayat-e faqih means and a branch of pure infallible Imams guardianship which is the Holy Prophet's guardianship and obeying the leader's commands regarding the government demonstrates full commitment to it.
So it is completely true to say that the most important and greatest condition of guardianship-centeredness is complete obedience without any justification and no excuse and to achieve the positions considered by leadership, and also the desires and his affairs, especially in difficult situations and battle scenes.
C) Concomitance to guardianship (keeping up with it)
One of the most important signs of guardianship acceptance is concomitance by it and not overtaking on him and also avoiding the delay in understanding and acting towards his stances. According to what Imam Ali said, taking precedence over the guardianship leads to the misleading and dropping behind it will result in destruction; while concomitance by the guardianship step by step will lead to guidance. In Battle of Khaibar when the Prophet wanted to move he appointed one of the companions as his successor in Medina. In the meantime, one of the companions, suggested someone else and asked the Messenger of God to believe that the person he suggested is more qualified for being the successor of the Prophet in Medina. Meanwhile Allah sent down a verse in the form of a general rule addressing the believers:
O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing” Surah Al-Hujurat [49:1-18]. In Salawat Shabaniyah regarding Ahlul Bayt we say:
''Whosoever steps in front of them misses the aim and goes astray, whosoever lags behind wanders in wilderness. Whosoever holds fast to them reaches the destination''.
Thus any excess and negligence, even about the status of the guardianship, is evidence of a lack of commitment to guardianship.
Therefore, one of the behavioral requirements of guardianship-centeredness is that man should not take precedence over the guardianship or dropping behind it; because both of them is deviation from the right path and excess and negligence. The guardianship-oriented individual and community, must in all aspects, be away from the excess and negligence and completely accompany the leader and God's guardian.
G) Stability in guardianship-centeredness
Moving in the straight path despite the enemies in ambush, is faced with obstacles and problems and we will not go anywhere without stability and robustness. There have been many people who have been successful in identifying the right path and guardianship-centeredness; but later have been caught in insecurity intellectually or practically and even entered the enemies' front and have become the obstacles and problems of the right path. Some of them in conditions of intrigue and suspicion, were unable to survive and experienced the ideological deviation and scientific dubiosity.
The guardianship-centeredness and complete company of the God's guardian both needs deep insight and understanding and the tireless and resistance against problems. This is the fact that Imam Ali considered it necessary at war with the people of Mecca and on the necessary internal distortions:
''The door of war has been opened between you and the other Muslims. And this banner will be borne only by him who is a man of sight, of endurance and of knowledge of the position of rightfulness. Therefore, you should go ahead with what you are ordered and desist from what you are refrained. Do not make haste in any matter till you have clarified it''.
C) Maintaining the sanctity of the guardianship
The spirit and essence of religion, is its sanctity and the heart status of belief in God in the hearts of believers. The sanctity of religion, makes human humble before God. In Islamic culture the inherent and true sanctity is for the creator of the world and the guide for men and everything like the Quran, Kaaba and mosques and everyone like the Holy Prophet or the Infallibles will be sacred if it is especially related to God. The Infallible Imams and followed by them the just jurisprudent, whereby is the manifestation of the divine guardianship, and because of their role in guiding and human prosperity, have sanctity and dignity. It is in light of this sanctity they govern the hearts of the believers and find the power of saying and that power of implementing the divine laws and the establishment of the God's governing. The Holy Quran have reminded the politeness and respect and the sanctity of the Prophet by Muslims repeatedly and wants them not to greet with the Holy Prophet as they greet with others but must appreciate and honor him.
The Holy Quran, even introduces the negligence of these affairs as the factor of the destruction of someone's good deeds:
O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not” Surat Al-Hujurat [verse 2].
To prepare the grounds for influence and domination the enemies try to desacralize leadership, and reduce its impact and loose the centrality of guardianship. Therefore, one of the important requirements to maintain the sanctity and privacy of the guardianship and making effort to consolidate and strengthen the influence of the word and his special place in the Islamic system.
I) defending the guardianship and the spiritual leader
The enemies of the judicial system know well that the pillar of this system is leadership and guardianship; a kind of guardianship that helps the survival of the revolution that is the Islamic and religious nature of it and helps the continuation of the people’s participation and company and guarantees the developmental movement of the system; Therefore, their highest investment is spent for hard and soft war against the guardianship and the leader and use any attempt to weaken and undermine the principle of guardianship; therefore whenever they don't achieve anything in personal terror of the leadership and physical elimination of it, they try to weaken the effectiveness and management of leadership by trying to character assassination, challenging positions, induction of doubt, spreading rumors and the like. In contrast, guardian-centered believers, defend the guardianship and neutralize the conspiracy of enemies and the strengthening of Guardian front because they consider defending the guardianship and leadership as defending the God's religion and the most important measure to maintain and continuation of the revolution and they defend the leader's thoughts, approach of thinking and stances in the best way they can.
Regarding the Holy Prophet, Quran enjoins the believers:
It was not [proper] for the people of Madinah and those surrounding them of the bedouins that they remain behind after [the departure of] the Messenger of Allah or that they prefer themselves over his self” Surat At-Tawbah [verse 120].
As it has been mentioned in the interpretations, in the above verse the emphasis on Madinah and those surrounding them is because at that time Islam was focused there; otherwise, this commandment is not allocated to the city and its surroundings nor is limited to the Prophet. It is the duty of all Muslims in all the centuries that honor their leaders as their lives and maybe more than that and try to defend them and do not leave them alone in hardships. Because the danger for them is the danger for the Ummah. One of the features of the believers is that instead of using guardianship for their goals use themselves for the goals of leadership which are the goals of the religion and defend it in the best way and always try to increase its status, management and influence and protect it against any damage.
D) Helping the supreme leader
Quran ask the believers to help God all the time: “O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah” Surah al-Saff verse 14. The most important example of supporting the independent and able God is helping those who give his religion to men and are his governor and guardian. The Holy Quran have mentioned supporting the prophet along with supporting God and has introduced it as a sign of honesty and truthfulness in faith. “And helping Allah and His Messenger. They are the truthful” Surat Al-Hashr [verse 8]. God's will is that the implementation of the guiding laws and sovereignty and his exclusive guardianship is realized through the acceptance and helping the direct and indirect successors. One of the most obvious characteristics of the guardianship-centered people and society is that they consider the goals and ideals of the supreme leader as their own ones and they try their hardest to realize these goals; but whenever the Ummah fails to support the supreme leader and do not accept his requests even a figure like Imam Ali cannot continue the religious ruling and the judicial regime and guarantee the people’s guidance; as far as the Holy Quran criticizes them: I am faced with men who do not obey when I order and do not respond when I call them. May you have no father! (Woe to you!) What are you waiting for to rise for the cause of Allah? Does not faith join you together, or sense of shame rouse you? I stand among you shouting and I am calling you for help, but you do not listen to my word, and do not obey my orders, till circumstances show out their bad consequences.
No blood can be avenged through you and no purpose can be achieved with you. I called you for help of your brethren but made noises like the camel having pain in stomach, and became loose like the camel of thin back. Then a wavering weak contingent came to me from amongst you “as if they are being led to death and they are only watching.”1 (Qur’an, 8:6).
K) Compassion and goodwill toward the supreme leader and the Islamic system
One of rights of the leadership over the believers is compassion and benevolence to him that has been interpreted as “Any kind of benevolence, suggestion or constructive criticism”. This important duty of the revolutionary believer is in addition to the tasks that all people are responsible. In the abovementioned phrase, counseling means the compassion, not just advising as is used in the Qur'an with the same sense of benevolence, for example, Koran about those who cannot be in the field of struggle and war because of illness or weakness said: Provided that they are sincere to God and do not fail to do any benevolent action regarding God and the Messenger of Allah, they are allowed to attend in the war:
There is not upon the weak or upon the ill or upon those who do not find anything to spend any discomfort when they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger” Surat At-Tawbah [verse 91]. It has been narrated from the Prophet that if anyone guarantee five things for me, I will guarantee Paradise for him: sincerity to God the Almighty, His Prophet, The Holy Quran, the God's religion and the Muslim community.
Imam Khamenei regarding this topic says to the commanders and managers of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution as:
You've found an additional responsibility and that is the responsibility of sincerity towards the revolution. You have to be ready for any kind of protection. This of course is not necessary for every military unit developed in the revolution. The historical condition has made it in this way, we expect a lot from the army and the truth is that; it means you can be indifferent to the value issues of the society and the revolution.
The jihadi-revolutionary believer must be sincere to the supreme leader in any condition regarding faith and action and do not fail to do any kind of action in this regard; The rights of the supreme leader over the Ummah are as follows: sincerity in words such as praying for the leader and in necessary cases polite criticism by the purpose of more success in managing the religious community; and practical sincerity such reporting the correct information to the leader.