A Mujtahid has 3 roles 

1.Iftah –to give fatwas

2.Kazawat- rulings in court matters

3.Wilayat- control/tassaruf over people/things subgroups of which are:-

                3a.Very wide-Complete control like our Imams (taqveene)

                3b Less wide powers-As much control as required to run the system(nizam)

                    3bi)Broad-All orders /control as required to run the islamic system

3bii)Narrow-Only those actions/control where there is no wali (eg orphan/mad person ,waqf     property etc where the normal system would get disturbed/left incomplete  if control not exercised)

 There is no difference of opinions amongst Marjas on 1,2,3 roles

3a is not envisaged by ANY Marja including Ayat Khomeini whose view incorporates the widest role.(ref?)

 The only difference of opinion that exisits amongst Marjas,(like in other fiqh issues) is; whether the Mujtahid has control /powers as wide as in 3bi OR narrow as in  3bii,

 Each one has to check with his Marjas rulings on the powers of Wali e Faqih.In addition he may have to see the ruling of his Marja about “hukum” isssued by other Mujtahids & his responsibility to abide by it.

In some cases  the orders of wali e faqih may be applicable(even to his followers) only in a particular teritory where he is head of state or under certain circumstances.

 The criteria for choice of Marja remains “Most Knowledgeable” & is not affected  by the mujtahid being a head of a particular state ,control/power over territory etc.

 As per ALL Marjas,if an individual follows the rulings of another marja & these are different as in the wali e faqih issue, there is no problem in that at all. Propogating a change in the taqlid is not ok

 The issue has very little practical value/applicablity in ones life & its discussion is not productive...Any discussion on this topic should be only amongst those that believe in Taqleed & follow a Mujtahid/Marja

These are 2 different issues .Taqleed has to be of a person who is most knowledgeable. One can do taqleed of  a Mujtahid & yet consider another person as Rahbar .The Rahbar in current context is mainly for political & national issues.

 The Rahbar can be a mujtahid himself & can have people who do his Taqleed.He can communicate in different ways:

a) Lectures which are in the nature of advice not *mandatory* to follow for anyone  b)Fatwa which only his mukallids have to follow c)Hukum-There are 2 types of Hukum one for the particular country one for the whole world ,so when a hukum comes ,one will have to check its applicability.

QUESTIONS?? Some issues that need elaboration and various questions that come up. For example: -

If the Rahbar is not the most knowledeable or doesn’t have to be a mujtahid, does he also do taqlid?
What if the rahbar's opinion is different from the marja 'alam's opinion?
If my marja tells me it’s not wajib to go for jihad but the rahbar tells me it’s wajib, who do I listen to? 

A marja taqlid is not appointed by the people. He issues his risala and those who consider him the most learned, follow him.
Who appoints a rahbar?
If a rahbar has been appointed by the people of Iran through their shura, etc., can he give hukm to the whole world?
For the rest of the world, the maraji who represent the rest of the world have to declare the rahbar's right.  
The article talks about wali faqih and about rahbar. Are these titles synonymous and referring to the same person?  

All the marjas agree on the concept of wilayat al-faqih but do they have agreement on who is the wali faqih today and how he should be elected?
It used to be said that Iran is the only Shia govt so the wali faqih can only be from there.
But now we have Iran and Iraq.

If Ayatullah Seestani is more learned, would Iran accept him as the world's wali faqih?
Can there be more than one wali faqih?