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The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism

Author: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2016-03-22

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0791494799

The Imam, the Divine Guide, is the central point around which the Shi'ite religion turns. The power of Shi'ism comes from the actions of the Imam. This title is reserved exclusively for the sucessors of the prophets in their mission. The author shows that from the beginning of Shi'ite Islam until the tenth century, the Imam was primarily a master of knowledge with supernatural powers, not a jurist theologian. The Imam is the threshold through which God and the creatures communicate. He is thus a cosmic necessity, the key and the center of the universal economy of the sacred. The author presents Shi'ism as a religion founded on double dimensions where the role of the leader remains constantly central: perpetual initiation into divine secrets and continued confrontation with anti-initiation forces. Without esotericism, exotericism loses its meaning. Early Imamism is an esoteric doctrine. Historically, then, at the beginning of esotericism in Islam, we find an initiatory, mystical, and occultist doctrine. This is the first book to systematically explore the immense literature attributed to the Imams themselves in order to recover the authentic original vision. It restores an essential source of esotericism in the world of Islam.

Shi'i Islam

Author: Najam Haider

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-08-11

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1107031435

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This book examines the development of Shi'i Islam through the lenses of belief, narrative, and memory.

Islamic Messianism

Author: Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1981-01-01

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9780873954426

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The first comprehensive study of the idea of the Mahdi, or divinely guided messianic leader.

The Silent Qur'an and the Speaking Qur'an

Author: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2015-12-08

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0231540655

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Two major events occurred in the early centuries of Islam that determined its historical and spiritual development in the centuries that followed: the formation of the sacred scriptures, namely the Qur'an and the Hadith, and the chronic violence that surrounded the succession of the Prophet, manifesting in repression, revolution, massacre, and civil war. This is the first book to evaluate the writing of Islam's major scriptural sources within the context of these bloody, brutal conflicts. Conducting a philological and historical study of little-known though significant ancient texts, Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi rebuilds a Shi'ite understanding of Islam's early history and the genesis of its holy scriptures. At the same time, he proposes a fresh interpretative framework and a new data set for theorizing the early history of Islam, isolating the contradictions between Shi'ite and Sunni sources and their contribution to the tensions that rile these groups today.

The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam

Author: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-01-31

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 0857719653

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The second largest branch of Islam, with between 130 and 190 million adherents across the globe, Shi'i Islam is becoming an increasingly significant force in contemporary politics, especially in the Middle East. This makes an informed understanding of its fundamental spiritual beliefs and practices both necessary and timely. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi is one of the most distinguished scholars of Shi'i history and theology, and in this volume he offers a wide-ranging and engaging survey of the core texts of Shi'i Islam. Examining in turn the origins and later developments of Shi'i spirituality, the author reveals the profoundly esoteric nature of the beliefs which accrued to the figures of the early Imams, and which became associated with their interaction between the material and spiritual worlds. Many of these beliefs have remained much misunderstood even within the wider Muslim world. Furthermore, Western scholarship has tended to follow the lead of the earlier orientalists and critics, viewing Shi'i teachings as marginal. In this study the author shows, by contrast, how central and creative the very nature of spirituality was to the development of Shi'i Islam, as well as to classical Muslim civilisation as a whole. In this comprehensive treatment, the esoteric nature of Shi'i spirituality emerges as an essential phenomenon for understanding Shi'i Islam.

After the Prophet

Author: Lesley Hazleton

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2010-09-07

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0385523947

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In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against his son-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split.

The Proof of God

Author: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0755651901

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This book is an English translation of the award-winning book by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi on the Book of the Proof (Kitab al-Hujja) part of the Sufficient Book (Kitab al-Kafi), authored by one of the most celebrated religious authorities and a foundational figure of Shi'i Islam, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. ca. 940 CE). The significance of this source for the formation and development of Shi'i beliefs and doctrines cannot be overestimated. Whilst the field of Shi'i studies is still dominated by works focused on legal, political, or theological aspects of Sh'i Islam, Amir-Moezzi's approach to the study of the early Shi'i traditions in this work is characterised by a keen interest in its esoteric, mystical aspects. Complemented by detailed analytical comments, Amir-Moezzi's book demonstrates how al-Kulayni was able to set out an extraordinarily wide-ranging and coherent set of doctrinal and legal traditions derived from the Imams, thus playing a leading role in the unification and, consequently, the consolidation of the Imami faith. More specifically, by elaborating on the nature of the 'Proof', which in Shi'i terminology identifies the central figure, i.e., the guide (imam) of mystical spirituality, Amir-Moezzi's study portrays Shi'i Islam as multifaceted, not merely as the politico-religious ideology of its 'clergy', but above all as an inspirational religion. As Amir-Moezzi himself puts it, 'enriching Muslim thought and spirituality, sometimes with unusual finesse and sophistication'.

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism

Author: Abbas Amanat

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2009-02-19

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0857710443

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Interest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.

Medieval Islamic Civilization

Author: Josef W. Meri

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 980

ISBN-13: 0415966906

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Examines the socio-cultural history of the regions where Islam took hold between the 7th and 16th century. This two-volume work contains 700 alphabetically arranged entries, and provides a portrait of Islamic civilization. It is of use in understanding the roots of Islamic society as well to explore the culture of medieval civilization.

The Making of Martyrdom in Modern Twelver Shi’ism

Author: Adel Hashemi

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-02-24

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0755633970

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In Twelver Shi'a Islam, the wait for the return of the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Mahdi, at the end of time, overshadowed the value of actively seeking martyrdom. However, what is the place of martyrdom in Twelver Shi'ism today? This book shows that the Islamic revolution in Iran resulted in the marriage of Shi'i messianism and extreme political activism, changing the mindset of the Shi'a worldwide. Suddenly, each drop of martyrs' blood brought the return of al-Mahdi one step closer, and the Islamic Republic of Iran supposedly became the prelude to the foretold world revolution of al-Mahdi. Adel Hashemi traces the unexplored area of Shi'i discourse on martyrdom from the 1979 revolution-when the Islamic Republic's leaders cultivated the culture of martyrdom to topple the Shah's regime-to the dramatic shift in the understanding of martyrdom today. Also included are the reaction to the Syrian crisis, the region's war with ISIS and other Salafi groups, and the renewed commitment to the defense of shrines. This book shows the striking shifts in the meaning of martyrdom in Shi'ism, revealing the real relevance of the concept to the present-day Muslim world.