velyat

Velayat, written ولایت in Persian, is a term meaning guardianship, jurisdiction, or rule. It derives from the Arabic wali, guardian, with the Persian suffix -yat. In general usage, velayat can denote protection or authority over a person, community, or territory, and has historically referred to provincial or regional sovereignty within Persianate states.

In Iran, the phrase velayat-e faqih (guardian jurisprudence) is a central political doctrine of the modern Islamic Republic. The concept asserts that a leading Islamic jurist has supreme political authority, supervising the elected branches of government and interpreting the constitution and Islamic law. The doctrine was articulated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and became a founding element of the 1979 constitution; the Supreme Leader, as the guardian jurist, embodies this guardianship. Proponents argue it ensures governance by Islamic principles, while critics view it as concentrating power in the clergy.

Outside formal theory, velayat appears in historical and administrative language to denote a province or realm under a ruler, and in Shia religious thought to describe the guardianship of the Imams. The term continues to appear in place names, titles, and literature across Persian-speaking regions.

See also: Guardian Jurist; Supreme Leader; Iranian Revolution; Velayat-e faqih.