The realization of a society’s political, social, and civilizational aspirations depends largely on its capacity to establish and preserve sustainable security. This issue assumes particular importance in the Islamic Republic of Iran because of the value-oriented character of the Islamic Revolution, its civilizational objectives, and the persistence of multilayered internal and external threats. National security cannot therefore be understood merely as a static condition or as the result of military capability alone. It should instead be regarded as a continuous, multidimensional, and governance-dependent process. Broader understandings of security also show that its provision requires both formal institutions and the conscious participation of social actors. Accordingly, the present study examines the role of believers in the governance of national security and defense in the Islamic Republic of Iran through an analysis of the Qur’anic addresses beginning with “O you who have believed” (Yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū).
The central question is: What position do believers, as the direct addressees of these verses, occupy in providing, preserving, and promoting national security and defense? The main hypothesis is that the Qur’anic addresses do not define believers as passive elements. Rather, they portray them as responsible and influential actors whose role begins with preparedness and preventive vigilance and extends to resistance, participation in defense, countering infiltration, protecting confidential information, and confronting psychological and cognitive warfare. Sustainable security is therefore understood as the outcome of interaction among state guidance, institutional capacity, and the responsible participation of the believing community.
The epistemological foundation of the study is the Qur’an as a source of individual and social guidance. The repeated address “O you who have believed” indicates that faith in Qur’anic logic is not merely an inward condition, but also a social and responsibility-generating identity. Several such verses concern preparedness, border vigilance, enemy recognition, secrecy, resistance, steadfastness, and rejection of hostile domination, thereby providing a basis for analyzing believers’ role in security and defense governance.
Previous studies have examined either governance and national security or the jurisprudential, exegetical, and educational dimensions of these Qur’anic addresses. None has systematically analyzed believers’ role in national security and defense governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This research integrates governance, national security and defense, and Qur’anic discourse.
The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach. Data were collected through library research using the Qur’an, recognized commentaries, lexical sources, books, and scholarly articles. Attride-Stirling’s thematic network analysis was employed at three levels: basic, organizing, and global themes. All verses containing the address “O you who have believed” were extracted, and concepts related to national security and defense were coded. Thirteen directly relevant verses were selected and organized into a thematic network. The themes were then interpreted through the model of “movement” derived from the philosophy of Allameh Tabataba’i.
The theoretical framework is structured around six components: origin, destination, mover, motive force, time, and place. The origin is the worldly sphere in which human beings fulfill individual and collective obligations. The destination is the attainment of a good and pure life and proximity to God. The mover is the community of believers, whose will and social action advance the security-building process. The motive force consists of piety, remembrance of God, hope for salvation, and belief in divine assistance. The temporal context is the glorious era of the Islamic Republic, while the spatial context is Islamic Iran as the arena of religious state-building and governance based on Islamic values.
The findings indicate that the role of believers can be analyzed at three levels. The first concerns the prewar stage and includes preparedness, vigilance, and prevention. At this level, the Qur’anic verses emphasize readiness, deterrence, border protection, and avoidance of negligence. The command to “be patient, outdo others in patience, and remain stationed” connects individual endurance with collective cohesion. The concept of murābaṭah refers not only to guarding frontiers but also to coordinating social and defensive capacities. Likewise, the command to “take your precautions” highlights continuous vigilance and preventive action.
Another major finding is the necessity of protecting secrets and blocking channels of enemy infiltration. The verses prohibiting the disclosure of confidential matters to outsiders, intimate friendship with enemies, and hostile domination show that information security is a fundamental component of defense governance. Unregulated relations with hostile actors may lead to information leakage, weakened deterrence, and increased vulnerability. The Qur’anic warning concerning possible threats through family relations indicates that public responsibility and collective security must prevail over personal attachment in sensitive circumstances.
The second level concerns direct confrontation and war. Perseverance, steadfastness, and collective resistance are central at this stage. The command to “be patient” refers to enduring hardship, while “outdo others in patience” indicates surpassing the enemy in resilience. The prohibition against turning one’s back on the enemy and the command to “stand firm” stress operational cohesion, psychological stability, and continuity of resistance. Resistance is therefore not an emotional reaction, but an organized practice based on discipline, will, and collective responsibility.
Threat prioritization also emerges as an important principle. The command to confront the nearest hostile forces indicates the necessity of addressing immediate threats and avoiding the dispersion of resources. Similarly, the instruction to advance in separate groups or collectively demonstrates flexibility in force organization. Depending on the threat, the believing community may employ limited operational units or comprehensive public mobilization. Defensive structures must therefore correspond to the type of threat and the strategic environment.
The third level concerns the multidimensional nature of hostility. Hostile action is not confined to the military sphere, but operates through belief, conduct, and language. The denial of truth, practical pressure and expulsion, and verbal hostility constitute a multilayered pattern of confrontation. National security and defense governance must therefore encompass military, media, cognitive, cultural, informational, and ideological dimensions. The Qur’anic warning that only part of hostility appears in speech while more remains concealed points to the need to avoid superficial assessments and examine hidden strategies and intentions.
Spiritual and moral factors are also decisive. Remembering divine blessings and assistance strengthens morale under difficult conditions. Freedom from fear of blame protects believers against psychological pressure, propaganda, and induced doubt. Piety is not merely an individual virtue; it is a mechanism for regulating power. It prevents defensive capability from departing from justice and becoming a means of domination or aggression. Remembrance of God likewise reinforces determination and psychological resilience.
In conclusion, the Qur’anic addresses “O you who have believed” present a comprehensive model of the role of believers in national security and defense governance. This role begins with preparedness and preventive vigilance, includes secrecy and counter-infiltration, develops into organized resistance during conflict, and extends to enemy recognition and confrontation with psychological and cognitive warfare. Believers in the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran should therefore be regarded as part of the social structure through which security is produced and sustained, while their participation complements formal institutions. Security and defense governance becomes more sustainable and effective when the participation of the believing community is integrated with state guidance, institutional organization, piety, justice, and social responsibility. Such a framework can reduce vulnerability, strengthen deterrence, preserve independence, and advance Islamic Iran, in the glorious era of the Islamic Republic, toward a good and pure life and proximity to God.