Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Ranging from the time of the infallible Imams to the contemporary era, this
book provides a comprehensive overview of Shii religious and political
authority, focusing on Iran and Lebanon, without limiting the discourse to
Khomeinis version of an Islamic state.
Utilizing untapped Arabic and Persian sources, Hamid Mavani provides a
detailed, nuanced, and diverse theoretical discussion on the doctrine of lea-
dership (Imamate) in Shiism from traditional, theological, philosophical, and
mystical perspectives. This theoretical discussion becomes the foundation for
an analysis of the transmission of the Twelfth Imams religious and political
authority vis--vis the jurists during his Greater Occultation.
Bringing the often overlooked diversity within the Shii tradition into sharp
focus, Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shiism discusses
what constitutes an Islamic state, if there is such a notion as an Islamic state.
Hamid Mavani further explores the possibility of creating a space for secu-
larity, facilitating a separation between religion and state, and ensuring equal
rights for all. This book argues that such a development is only possible if
there is a rehabilitation of ijtihad. If this were to materialize, modern religious,
social, economic, political, and cultural challenges could be addressed more
successfully. This book will be of use to scholars and students with interests
ranging from Politics, to Religion, to Middle East Studies.
5. Democracy in Islam
Sayed Khatab and Gary D. Bouma
Hamid Mavani
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
First issued in paperback 2015
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2013 Hamid Mavani
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The right of Hamid Mavani to be identied as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identication and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mavani, Hamid.
Religious authority and political thought in Twelver Shiism : from Ali to
post-Khomeini / Hamid Mavani.
p. cm. (Routledge studies in political Islam; 9)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Imamate. 2. Shiah Doctrines. I. Title.
BP166.94.M28 2013
297.61 dc23
2012047972
Typeset in Times
by Taylor & Francis Books
Contents
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Acknowledgments viii
Preface x
Introduction 1
Conclusion 240
Bibliography 247
Index 267
Acknowledgments
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Note
1 The Case for Secularity in Islam, Journal of Islamic Law and Culture, 13/1
(April 2011): 3446.
Preface
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Notes
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1 The texts, depending upon the approach, use dierent appellations to refer to the
divine guide. Among them are hujja, ulu al-amr, al-haqiqat al-Muhammadiyya, al-
taayyun al-awwal, al-tajalli al-awwal, al-aql al-awwal, al-ruh al-awwal, al-adam
al-awwal, al-idafa al-ishraqiyya, amr Allah al-wahid, wajh Allah al-wahid, al-rahmat
al-wasia, al-wujud al-munbasit, and al-kalima kun al-wujudiyya.
2 The moral values are the crucial pivot of the entire overall system, and from
them ows the law. The law is therefore the last part in this chain and governs all
the religious, social, political, and economic institutions of the society. Because
law is to be formulated on the basis of the moral values, it will necessarily be
organically related to the latter. Fazlur Rahman, Islam and Modernity (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1982), 156.
3 Ali Abedi Shahrudi, Naser Katouziyan, Sadeq Larijani, Muhammad Mojtahed
Shabestari, and Mostefa Malikiyan, Goft o guha-ye falsafe-ye feqh (Qum: Bostan,
2001); and Afshin Matin-asgari, Abdolkarim Sorush and the Secularization of
Islamic Thought in Iran, Iranian Studies, 30/12 (Winter-Spring 1997): 11213.
4 Tariq Ramadan, Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2009), 3038.
5 Ibid., 31.
6 Such as, Said Arjomand, David Menashri, Hamid Enayat, Nikkie Keddie, Abbas
Amanat, Shahrough Akhavi, Hamid Dabashi, Joseph Eliash, Juan Cole, Farhang
Rajaee, Sami Zubaida, Vanessa Martin, Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Mohsen
Milani, Ervand Abrahamian, Daniel Brumberg, Homa Katouzian, and Amr
G. E. Sabet.
7 Abdullahi A. An-Naim argues that a society can be Islamic but not a state.
Abdullahi A. An-Naim, Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of
Sharia (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008), 2.
8 Wael Hallaq, The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernities Moral
Predicament (Boston: Columbia University Press, 2012), book jacket.
Introduction
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In 632, the Prophet made his rst and only obligatory pilgrimage to Makka,
commonly known as the Farewell Pilgrimage. During it he informed the
public that his ministry had ended and he would soon be returning to His
Lord. Of great signicance for the Shiis is his statement at Ghadir Khumm,
in which he introduced Ali as the wali of the Muslim community. The Shiis
regard this event and the employment of the term wali in reference to Ali as
incontrovertible proof, testament, and explicit evidence that he had desig-
nated Ali as his successor and trustee. It would be inconceivable, according to
them, for God, the possessor of Benecence and Wisdom, to allow the Seal of
the Prophets to pass away without making any provision for a successor to
attend to the young communitys religious and temporal concerns. The Sunnis
do not dispute the veracity of this historical incident; however, they interpret
it as no more than an admonition to the assembled Muslims to show the
proper respect and honor due to Muhammads cousin and son-in-law, espe-
cially since there was some bickering going on regarding the formula of dis-
tribution of the war spoils adopted by Ali after the expedition to Yemen.
With the termination of prophethood and perfection of the Scripture, there
was no need for further divinely appointed persons. Thus, according to the
Sunnis, the Prophet had not designated a successor or provided a set of prin-
ciples or a method for identifying the communitys ideal leader because the
Quran had already invoked shura (consultation) in their aairs. This was
later supplemented with ijma (consensus). These two divergent interpreta-
tions of succession were ultimately crystallized into two major expressions of
Islam: Sunnism and Shiism.
beforehand. Accordingly, he warned the Muslims not to use this format as the
norm when choosing a successor to himself, because any pledge (baya)
oered in such a manner would have no legal validity. Moreover, those parties
who involved themselves in such an undertaking would be sentenced to death:
It has reached me that one of you has said: By God, if Umar b. al-Khattab
were to die, I would swear allegiance to so-and-so [fulan].1 Let no one be
seduced into saying: The oath of allegiance for Abu Bakr was a falta [hasty
aair], yet it succeeded. It was indeed so, but God has warded o its evil
(waqa sharraha).2
The central and pivotal evidence advanced by the Shiis in favor of Alis
succession is the Prophets proclamation at Ghadir Khumm that Ali was the
mawla (patron, master, leader, and friend)3 of the community.4 The Shiis inter-
pret this word as explicit evidence of Alis ocial designation as the Prophets
successor in both the political and religious spheres, and even more so, as
Muhammad was commanded, according to the Shiis, to so designate him by
Q. 5:67. The Sunnis accept this incidents veracity but interpret it as no more
than an attempt to defuse some of the Companions discontent and dis-
pleasure with Alis distribution of the spoils of war after having returned from
an expedition to Yemen. In their opinion, Muhammad was only reminding
them that his cousin and son-in-law was entitled to a certain amount of
respect and honor. Subsequent Sunni scholars argued that it was unimagin-
able that the overwhelming majority of the Companions could disregard such
a clear and explicit statement of succession: How is it conceivable that it was
right for the Companions of the Messenger to agree on something unsound
and fail to act according to the statute which had come down to them?5 The
Shiis have responded that numerical strength cannot become the criterion in
a tribal society, where decisions are made by tribal leaders rather than indi-
vidual Muslims. This is also attested to by the Quran, which deprecates the
majoritys opinion as a legitimizing tool.6 The Sunnis have asserted that
Muhammads directive for Abu Bakr to lead the congregational prayers
during his acute illness toward the end of his life was an implicit appointment
of his successor. The Shiis dispute this on the grounds that he had given
explicit instruction to his Companions, including Abu Bakr and Umar, to set
Introduction 3
out on a military campaign against the Byzantines under the leadership of
Usama b. Zayd.
Dr. Ali Shariati (d. 1979), envisioned the issue of succession as one in
which inheres the entirety of Shiism:
view, so great is the repugnance or revulsion for those who deny the explicit
designation of Alis succession that all Shiis are forbidden to provide funeral
rites to Sunnis. If, however, one is forced to do so on account of precau-
tionary dissimulation (taqiyya), then one should utter a curse (lan) on the
deceased after reciting the fourth glorication (takbir) in the prayer for the
dead (salat al-mayyit).22
The essence of the Imamates embryonic form, along with the leitmotifs of
being the Prophets legatee (wasi) and inheritor (warith) in spiritual and tem-
poral aairs,23 can be gleaned from Husayn b. Alis (the Third Imam) letters.
In response to the Kufans and Basrans persistent appeals, after Yazids
assumption of the caliphate in 680, that he lead and guide them toward the
truth (al-haqq wa-l-huda) and throw o the yoke of Syrian domination, he
writes:
who is an imam (ma al-imam) except one who acts according to the
Book (al-hakim bi-l-Kitab), one who upholds justice (al-qaim bi-l-qist),
one who professes the truth (al-dain bi din al-haqq) and one who dedicates
himself to [the essence of] God (al-habis nafsa-hu ala dhat Allah)?24
We are his family (ahl), those who possess his authority (awliya), those
who have been made his trustees (awsiya) and his inheritors (wuratha);
we are the ones who have more right to his position among the people
(ahaqq al-nas) than anyone else. Yet, our people selshly laid claim to this
exclusive right of ours and we consented [to what they did] since we hated
disunion and desired the well-being [of the community]. However, we
know that we have a greater claim to that right, which was our entitlement
(mustahaqq alay-na), than those who have seized it.25
6 Introduction
Shii doctrine considers the Imam as one endowed with both religious and
political authority. Yet his religious leadership is not contingent upon his
being accepted as the communitys ruler. As such, his wilaya is independent of
his political oce, which means that he is entitled to demand obedience on
the basis of this spiritual authority. This distinction is important to keep in
mind so as not to reduce the Imams role to no more than being the com-
munitys leader, a person whose mandate is primarily political (establishing a
just and an ethical order) or to view his Imamate as dependent upon being
empowered with the capacity to actualize this political vision.
Denition of Imam
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Both Sunnis and Shiis employ the word imam in its common ordinary
meaning: the man who leads the congregational prayer or an eminent scholar
(e.g., Sunnis refer to al-imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Shiis refer to Shaykh
al-Mud as al-imam al-faqih al-muhaqqiq). Among the Shiis, however, this
term has a specic technical meaning that is not found in Sunni Islam, one
that confers an element of divine grace on the leader and considers him to
be designated by a divine decree.26 For example, Allama Hilli proclaims:
Imamate is a universal authority (riyasa) in the things of religion and of
the world belonging to some person and derived from (niyaba) the Pro-
phet.27 Shams al-Din Isfahani (d. 1345) writes: Imamate means deputizing
a certain person on behalf of the Prophet to implement the Islamic legal rul-
ings and to preserve the social order. The entire community must follow this
person.28
Sunni theology, which uses imam and khalifa interchangeably, accords them
only a limited scope of power and authority and no divine designation or any
special characteristics. Instead, its focus remained on the leaders ability to
preserve stability and order, especially from the latter part of the Umayyad
period.29 For example, Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardis (d. 1058) denition claims
the Caliphate is therefore an institution which represents the mission of
Muhammad, and the chief duties of the caliph are the safeguard of religion
and the proper organization of general polity.30 Sad al-Din al-Taftazani
opines: [It is] their vicegerency (niyabatuhum) of the Messenger in maintaining
religion so that it is incumbent on all peoples to follow.31
In summary, there are four major dierences between Shii and Sunni
conceptions of Imamate:
1 Shiis assert that the Imams appointment is like that of the Prophets and
thus rests with God; Sunnis assert that this designation rests with the
people or a select council.32
2 Shiis assert that the Imamate, like prophethood, is one of the religions
fundamentals (usul al-din); Sunnis argue that it is no more than a second-
ary matter of religion (furu al-din). In other words, the latter consider
designating this person to be a matter of collective responsibility (wajib
Introduction 7
kifai). Thus, if a qualied person or a group selects an imam, everyone
else is absolved from this duty.33
3 Shiis assert that the Imam should be infallible, as was the Prophet; Sunnis
say that whosoever proclaims the declaration of faith with certain conditions
can be an imam; therefore, infallibility is not a requirement.34
4 Shiis assert that God designated Ali as the Prophets successor, that he is
to be followed by a chain of 11 Imams from the progeny of Husayn b. Ali,
and that they are all proofs of God; Sunnis claim that God did not expli-
citly designate any successor and that the number of imams is not limited
to 12.35
The Imam, whether accessible to the public and recognized or not, is regar-
ded as the pivot and the pole that sustains the world. If he were to be absent
for even a moment, every other existing being would forfeit the cause of their
existence and perish: The earth would perish without the presence of an
Imam.36 The aim and purpose of his existence is not limited to providing
guidance in the religious and temporal domains such that, if he were inac-
cessible or people were to deny his station, then the purpose would be ren-
dered void, as is the case with the twelfth messianic Imam. Rather, the aim of
his existence is far loftier than mere outward guidance. The Imams are the
aim and purpose for the world of creation and, through the luminosity of
their light (nur), people are guided toward the truth and brought out from
darkness; they are the cause of opening the doors of Gods Mercy.37
In addition, the Proof of God (the Imam) is the custodian and protector of
the Divine Laws and guides the public toward the right path. Consequently,
on the Day of Judgment no one will have an excuse or a reason to complain
to God that He failed to send a guide to them. This is in stark contrast to the
Sunni conception of an imam/caliph, whose primary function is to administer
the polity and implement legal rulings. This person, who does not have a
divine imprimatur, can be deposed if he is found guilty of egregious violations
or neglects his duties as the ruler.38
The Imam is an expression of Gods Grace and Benevolence (lutf). His
presence is mandated, based on rational grounds and scriptural texts,39
because he draws people closer to obedience (taa) of God and distances them
from disobedience (masiya) in an attempt to achieve their perfection.40 God,
who is Wise and Just, commands human beings to do that which is virtuous
and to refrain from vices because God, who is just, does not engage in evil
(qabih). Good and evil are moral/ethical categories that have an objective
existence and can be deduced by human reason at a universal level. They are
not arbitrarily given an ethical value based exclusively on Divine Will, for
reason has prior knowledge of what is good and what is evil at a general level:
Both [good and evil] are rational categories because even in the absence of
revelation, the excellence of magnanimity and the wickedness of oppression
8 Introduction
are known41 and that God is far removed from every evil act and from
being remiss in what is incumbent.42
God does not act arbitrarily and whimsically without a denitive purpose
and, as such, His actions fall under the category of goodness (husn) and are
far removed from evil/abominable (qubh). This is because He acts with
wisdom, is self-sucient, and possesses perfect and comprehensive knowledge
that prevents Him from erring. Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani writes that this
principle of the intellects determination of good and evil/abominable, a cen-
tral problem in moral theology, is an extremely important and vital one
because on it rests the proofs for several necessities: seeking cognizance of
God through reason; God must be above futile and non-purposive acts;
a responsible person must be endowed with religious obligations (takalif);
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Amir-Moezzi employs the earliest extant sources from the divine guides to
sustain his thesis, as did Henry Corbin, that early Shiism, in contrast to the
post-occultation tradition that he terms theological-juridical rational Ima-
mism,45 was essentially an esoteric doctrine from which all other aspects of
Shii doctrine are derived.46 He arrives at this conclusion by selectively
retrieving material from these early sources and translating key Arabic phra-
ses in a way that makes them t his theoretical framework. For instance, he
renders the hadith of the Seventh Imam, Marifat al-ilm bi-l-aql,47 as
recognition of sacred knowledge. In another case, he translates the state-
ment of the Sixth Imam, Al-aql dalil al-mumin,48 as hiero-intelligence is
the guide of the initiated Imamite. The Sixth Imams phrase taken from
al-Ka, Qad walada-na Rasul Allah,49 is translated as The prophetic/
Imamic Light is in me, and in the same hadith the phrase wa ana alamu
Kitab Allah is rendered as I have the ilm, the initiatory Knowledge, of the
Quran.50 Finally, his translation of the passage on humanitys tripartite
division, namely, Yaghdu al-nas ala thalatha sunuf: alim wa mutaallim wa
ghutha fa nahnu al-ulama wa shiatu-na al-mutaallimun wa sair al-nas
al-ghutha is given as follows: People are divided into three categories: the
spiritual initiator, the initiated disciple, and the dross carried o by the waves.
We [the imams] are the spiritual initiators, our supporters are the initiated
disciples, and the others are the dross of the waves.51
In contrast to this overemphasis on Shiisms suprarational esoteric tradi-
tion,52 other scholars have advanced arguments and proofs demonstrating
that the Imamate is primarily political in nature. This obsession with and
excessive emphasis on their political function, as well as the attribution of
political connotations to every aspect of Shiism, reached its climax in the
writings and statements of Khomeini, who regarded divine politics (siyasat-e
khodai) and religion (din) as synonymous with the jurisconsult enjoying a
scope of authority equivalent to that of the infallible divine guides. In many
respects, the jurisconsult became the Imams functional replacement during
the Greater Occultation.
Such statements of political activism are striking and strange coming from
Khomeini, given that his background and emergence to prominence is
10 Introduction
conjoined with his penchant for gnosis and philosophy.53 His students relate
that he made a conscious decision to discontinue his classes on these subjects
for almost ten years so that he would not be targeted or discredited by the
seminary due to his disposition toward mysticism and philosophy. If he
had not focused on juridical subjects, his stature would have been down-
graded and he would have found it much harder to become a marja al-taqlid
(source of exemplary conduct). His works on mysticism were published post-
humously so that his reputation as, rst and foremost, a jurist would not be
tarnished. Contrast the program of action he laid out in his 1970 Najaf lec-
tures on Islamic government with the bewildering assessment made in 1978
by William Sullivan, United States ambassador to Iran during the shahs
reign: Khomeini would be likely to return to Iran as a consequence of a
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Guidance or Governance?
The dispute over the succession and the many subsequent polemical works
may lead one to conclude that the Imamate is conned to governing and
administering the Muslims aairs. In fact, its raison dtre is to provide
authoritative guidance (hidaya), not governance (hukuma), designed to lead
humanity to prosperity, felicity, and perfection in this life and the Afterlife.57
Accordingly, the divine guide is not required to assume a political post to
validate his spiritual station. While one component of his function is related
to administering the divine law as a legitimate ruler, he cannot employ force
or coercion to do so because his status diers from that of a political leader.
Ali refrained from imposing himself and asserted that were it not for the
covenant God made with the scholars to provide guidance, he would never
have entangled himself in politics.58 He exhibited his disdain for political
power and rulership for its own sake, after having objected vociferously to
being passed over in favor of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, because he
worried that the pre-Islamic tribal values had reasserted themselves and
would prevent him from reforming the community. This explains his reluc-
tance to assume the caliphate after Uthman was murdered.59 On a number of
occasions he is reported to have said that there was no merit in expressing an
opinion when it was known that the people would only ignore it: La ray li-man
la yuta.60
Introduction 11
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, however, maintains that the spiritual and poli-
tical domains are organically connected with each other and, as such, cannot
be compartmentalized or considered mutually exclusive:
and the fact that one of the major bodies of hadith literature, that of
Muhammad b. Yaqub al-Kulayni (d. 940), had already been compiled. It
appears that the Shii scholars were anticipating the messianic Imams quick
return from his occultation. However, his prolonged absence and inaccessi-
bility created a vacuum in leadership and authority that the jurists tried to ll
by serving as his indirect deputies. This period may be called the revision/
critique/appraisal period (eleventhsixteenth centuries CE), during which the
scholars focused on providing a rational basis to the Islamic disciplines and a
greater impetus to rely on ijtihad, along with the assertion of the ulamas
authority. The latter occurred when the Safavids proclaimed Shiism the reli-
gion of their empire in 1501. A number of works written in this period deal
with holding the Friday congregational prayer and initiating jihad during the
Twelfth Imams occultation. The majority opinion was that the jurists scope
of power and authority was circumscribed to hisba, which includes such
functions as issuing legal opinions on juridical issues, implementing the penal
code (hudud) and discretionary penalties (tazir), inviting people to right-
eousness and discouraging them from committing abominable acts, instituting
congregational prayers (especially the Friday prayer), supervising endow-
ments and collecting religious dues, and having limited authority over people
and properties (e.g., a discretionary mandate over children, orphans, people
of unsound mind, endowments, and unclaimed property). In the absence of a
qualied jurist who can assume these responsibilities, the relevant authority
devolves upon those Muslims who possess the ethical attribute of justice
(udul al-muminin). The basic principle is that under normal circumstances,
no one has any authority (wilaya) over another person or her property. Such
an attitude toward the role of the clergy in politics by many of the religious
scholars aroused Khomeinis disgust and invective that would characterize
them as supercial, ignorant, and treacherous with a call to the enlightened
clergy to smash in the teeth of this brainless lot with their iron st and
trample upon their heads with courageous strides.77
Muhaqqiq Karaki (d. 1533) and Muhaqqiq Ardebili (d. 1585) were the rst
scholars to ask whether the jurist has a mandate on political issues. Gradu-
ally, the jurists station and prestige reached such a stage that the rulers
Introduction 15
sought their endorsement and approval before assuming the throne or
declaring jihad. Mulla Ahmad Naraqi (d. 1829), the rst systematic articulator
of the jurists guardianship, cited textual proofs and evidence. His views were
contested by various scholars, among them Shaykh Murtada Ansari (d. 1864).
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the rationalists (Usulis) theo-
logical ascendancy was eclipsed by that of the traditionalists (Akhbaris), who
allowed no scope for reason in matters of religion and rejected the laitys
emulation (taqlid) of a jurist. This ended with a triumphal return of the Usulis
toward the end of the eighteenth century.
The next phase, the era of constitutionalism in the twentieth century, was
characterized by the ulamas eorts to limit the rulers powers by way of a
constitution to ensure that the legislation approved conformed to Islamic
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dictates. The jurists assumed only a supervisory role in this model, because
they opined that all forms of government were imperfect (due to the messianic
Imams concealment) and that any form of government may constitute
usurping his exclusive right to govern.
The phase of aspiring to establish an Islamic state began with Khomeini,
who joined the political discourse in 1944 by publishing Kashf al-asrar. In it,
he severely criticized and refuted Ahmad Kasravi, a former clergyman who
had become a vociferous critic of the clerical institution and Islam, not to
mention an ardent supporter of the shah and his arbitrary and despotic mode
of governance. He called for a supervisory role for the jurists, but without any
direct involvement in the state apparatus, to ensure that the country is gov-
erned within the framework of Islam which promotes the maximum public
welfare and benet. This stance is very similar to the one taken by the Con-
stitutionalists, such as Mirza Hosein Naini (d. 1936). With the progression of
time he became a vocal critic of the regime. He berated the shah for granting
immunity to American personnel and their dependents without a reciprocal
arrangement for the Iranians: Even if the Shah himself were to run over a
dog belonging to an American, he would be prosecuted. But if an American
cook runs over the Shah, the head of state, no one will have the right to
interfere with him.78 Khomeini was exiled in 1964, rst to Turkey and after
a few months later to Najaf, Iraq, which had a long tradition of Shii scho-
larship. In 1970, he presented a series of lectures on his view of an Islamic
state in which authority devolves upon the jurisconsult as the Mahdis indirect
deputy, the one entrusted with implementing the Islamic legal rulings and
serving as the publics guardian and custodian.79 In his Najaf lectures of
1970, Khomeini proclaimed: The governance of the faqih is a rational and
extrinsic matter; it exists only as a type of appointment, like the appointment of
a guardian for a minor. With respect to duty and position, there is indeed no
dierence between the guardian of a nation and the guardian of a minor.80
This mindset was reinforced after the revolution by such gures as Ayatollah
Ahmed Jannati, chair of the Guardian Council: The people of Iran are
considered in [view of Islamic] law, as orphans and minors, and Islamic
scholars and clerics are their guardian and parents, who have to see to all of
16 Introduction
their needs.81 Khomeini further expanded that persons scope of power and
authority in 1988 with his theory of the jurisconsults full-edged authority,
according to which the jurist enjoyed the same authority as the infallible
divine guides and had the discretionary authority to temporarily abrogate
such primary Islamic injunctions as the daily prayers and the Ramadan fast.
Thus we observe that the ulamas initial passive and withdrawn attitude
toward politics was followed by one of questioning the monarchys legitimacy
and subsequent attempts to reduce the inevitable illegitimacy by constraining
the rulers power through a constitution. Acceptance of ijtihad82 and taqlid,83
along with the process of deputization available through general deputyship
(al-niyabat al-amma) and special deputyship (al-niyabat al-khassa) of the
Twelfth Imam as a correlate to the process of designating the divine guides,
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It is for these reasons that walayah, and not the profession of monothe-
ism (tawhid) as in Sunni Islam, appears as the principal pillar of Islam
in the classical collections of Shii traditions, both those of the Ithna
Ashariyah, or Twelvers (e.g., al-Kulayni, d. 940), and those of the Fati-
mid Ismailiyah (e.g., Qadi al-Numan, d. 974), who follow a common
line of imams up to Jafar al-Sadiq (d. 765).87
Tabrizi (d. 2006), and other leading jurists. Tabrizi referred to him as one who
has been misled and thus causes people to deviate from the path of truth,
namely, Shiism. Others accused him of being an apostate and a heretic, an
agent of America scheming to create havoc and disarray within the Shii
world. Ayatollah Behjat denounced him for being a bona de Wahhabi pre-
pared to compromise Shiisms integrity in order to accommodate Sunnism.
Supposedly, his ultimate goal was to bring about the Shiisms disintegration
from within through his strong advocacy of ecumenism between the two
schools in the pursuit of mutual tolerance and understanding. Ayatollah Ali
Sistani allegedly questioned Fadlallas scholarly credentials upon his procla-
mation of himself as marja.88 Eminent jurists have also tacitly approved the
publication of several books written to refute Fadlallas views and method-
ology, by remaining silent during the vitriolic discourse and denigration
launched against him.89
A major catalyst leading to this vociferous campaign of ostracism and
excommunication was his call for greater scrutiny and rigor in examining the
historical sources, especially the incident of Fatimas reported miscarriage.
Apparently, Umar acted in this rash manner after his persistent demands
that Ali come outside and pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr were ignored. This
campaign against Fadlalla also had other contributing factors: his stance on
the infallibility of the Prophet and the Imams as well as the practice of self-
agellation during Muharram to commemorate Imam Husayns martyrdom
on the plains of Karbala, Iraq.
He held that the divine guides are infallible and insulated from committing
errors while functioning as guides and leaders in transmitting (tabligh) Islam
or in matters that require reection; however, they may be susceptible to
inadvertent error (khata) or forgetfulness (sahw) in other matters, such as in
their private lives or in performing the ritual prayers. If this were to happen, it
would not bring any discredit upon them.90 Shaykh Saduq (d. 991) argued
that the prophets and Imams were protected from minor and major sins, but
that such protection did not extend to being distracted while praying.
According to him, the sign of the exaggerators (ghulat) of faith is their denial
that the prophets can be distracted during prayer.91 Fadlalla ruled that
18 Introduction
self-agellation is prohibited because self-inicted harm, no matter how
insignicant, is impermissible and, moreover, conveys a negative image of
Islam to the general public. Instead, one ought to keep the Ahl al-Bayts92
message alive by showing ones loyalty and devotion to them by implement-
ing their teachings, way of life and conduct, and virtues in ones personal life.
He wrote of his awareness that many jurists deem self-agellation permissible
and that some even consider it recommended.93 His assertion that the ziyarat-e
Ashura is of questionable and dubious authenticity only aggravated the
crisis further. This ziyara, which is recited on the day of Imam Husayns
martyrdom (Muharram 10), contains curses against the rst three caliphs in a
convoluted manner but does not mention their names. Given that the Sunnis
revere these caliphs, demonizing them is a source of great strife and animos-
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ity. The conservative and traditional circles systematic campaign against him
has been dubbed the sedition prompted by Fadlalla (fetne-ye Fadlalla). He
died in July 2010, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 75.
In reaction to this critical approach to the Imamate, Ayatollah Hasan
Zadeh Amoli, a prominent scholar in Qum, put forth a sentimental, reac-
tionary, and somewhat radical proposal: the testimony of faith that Fatima is
the Prophets daughter and also infallible (masum) should be added to the
call to prayers (adhan) as an expression of ones devotion to her. It would not,
however, be considered an integral part of the adhan, but rather as something
added, just as Alis name was added, in the hope that God would be pleased
(raja and tabarruk) with this act. When it was asserted that doing so
would be an innovation (bida), he responded that such a charge would be
inaccurate because he was not claiming that this new testimony constitutes
part of the adhan. Rather, this insertion would be analogous to people send-
ing benedictions and blessings upon Muhammad when they hear his name
mentioned in the adhan. Furthermore, he argued, such a thing is neither
viewed as unacceptable in all schools of thought nor does it interrupt or
rupture the adhans ow (mawalat). The formula he proposed was ashhadu
anna sayyadita-na Fatima bint rasul Allah, ismat Allah al-kubra wa hujjat
Allah alay hujaj (I bear witness that the revered Lady Fatima is the daughter
of the Messenger of God, infallible, and a proof of God over the other
proofs [i.e., the 12 divine guides]) after the testimony that Ali is the beloved
of God.94
Dr. Abdulaziz A. Sachedina, holder of the IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies at the
Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University
has been the target of a similar systematic propaganda campaign to bar him
from addressing the Muslim community. His books on the concept of the Mahdi
(the awaited savior) and religious pluralism, along with his articles and tran-
scribed speeches, were presented to Sistani in Najaf during August 1998. Sache-
dina attempted to defend his writings and statements; however the Ayatollah,
who was not prepared to engage in any lengthy discourse with him, suggested
that he draft a statement in which he would voluntarily undertake not to write or
give an opinion on Islam. Sachedina declined this request on the grounds
Introduction 19
that working under such constraints would both compromise the integrity of his
conscience and scholarship and prevent him from functioning eectively in the
academy. The Ayatollah was prepared to pay half of Sachedinas salary if he
would resign from the university. As the parties could not reach a satisfactory
compromise, Sistani admonished the community not to provide Sachedina
with a platform from which he could speak on Islam or consult him on such
matters, and made it categorically clear that the professor had been led astray
by his academic research out of love for the material world and his ego.95 The
Shii community, especially the Shii Khojas, interpreted this admonition as a
binding edict or a legal ruling (fatwa) that had to be implemented on the
grounds of emulation (taqlid).96
The translation into Persian and subsequent circulation of Dr. Hossein
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the slightest doubt of this doctrines authenticity and in the presence of the
Twelfth Imam, both of which constitute pillars of the Shii belief system. As
a matter of fact, he believes he has had the honor of feeling this Imams
presence by the Grace of God.104 But he does see a hazard: Shiism might
drift away from the path of moderation if the Imamate discourse becomes
emotional rather than being limited to rational proofs, explicit Quranic texts,
and authentic hadiths.
In the not too distant past, Dr. Ali Shariati realized that his rising fame
and following placed his speeches and writings under the traditionalists close
scrutiny to ensure that they conformed to the orthodox opinion. In parti-
cular, his statements on the Imamate and succession; khums (religious dues),
an important source of revenue for the religious establishment; the concepts
of infallibility, intercession (shafaat), and dissimulation (taqiyya); and the
utility of grieving over the tragedy of Karbala were viewed as problematic.
The ensuing pressure was so great that he produced 22 statements to clarify
his view on the Imamate, stated that he believes wholeheartedly in the suc-
cession and wilaya of Ali and the other 11 Imams, and addressed many other
issues. Remarkably, he made it vividly clear that unconditional obedience to
the infallible divine guides is due to their access to divine grace and revelation.
Thus jurists, who are not infallible, cannot demand that the public follow
them uncritically and unquestioningly; rather, they should be consulted only
on matters related to their expertise. Finally, the societys form of government
and method of choosing its leader rests with the public during the Twelfth
Imams concealment because such matters have not been explicitly vested in
the jurists.105 This position is analogous to that of Lebanons Muhammad
Mahdi Shamsuddin.
SunniShii Strife
Recent are-ups in SunniShii sectarian tension in Kuwait and Bahrain are
due to Shaykh Yasser Habibs derogatory remarks about Ayesha, one of the
Prophets wives, as an enemy of God. In 2003 he was imprisoned in Kuwait
for cursing Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ayesha. Upon his release and pardon by
Introduction 21
the amir in early 2004, he ed to England.106 In this recent encounter, the
Kuwaiti government quickly revoked his citizenship, underlining the great
esteem and reverence in which the Sunnis hold Ayesha. The rector of Egypts
al-Azhar University also expressed his dismay and revulsion. Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei quickly sought to defuse the crisis by ruling: We prohibit insulting
the symbols of our Sunni brothers, as well as accusing the wife of the Prophet
of what aects her dignity and honor. Moreover, it is forbidden to insult any
of the wives of the prophets and especially their master the Great Prophet
[Muhammad].107
Iran has been at the forefront of attempting to minimize the sectarian ani-
mosity in its external (secondary) discourse to consolidate its strength with
the Sunnis in its confrontation with the West. However, its inner (primary)
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[O Prophet], you will not nd people who truly believe in God and the
Last Day giving their loyalty to those who oppose God and His Mes-
senger, even though they may be their fathers, sons, brothers, or other
relations. These are the people in whose hearts God has inscribed faith
and whom He has strengthened with His spirit.
(Q. 58:22)
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accorded the status of muslim, but not mumin,122 in terms of the ladder of
faith. This is how some Shii scholars bridge the sectarian divide for the sake
of Muslim cohesion and unity in an attempt to maintain social relations with
the larger community. As such, both agree that one enters Islam by conrm-
ing ones belief in one God and the messengership of His Prophet, which
legitimize intra-Muslim marriages and the consumption of meat slaughtered
by each other.
provides a basis to include the Shiis among the believers, even though they
disagree with the Sunnis over the succession and Imamate:
Know, however, that error regarding the status of the Caliphate, whether
or not establishing this oce is a (communal) obligation, who qualies
for it, and related matters, cannot serve as grounds for condemning
people as Unbelievers. Indeed, Ibn Kaysan denied that there was any
religious obligation to have a Caliphate at all; but this does not mean that
he must be branded an Unbeliever. Nor do we pay any attention to those
who exaggerate the matter of the Imamate and equate recognition of the
Imam with faith in God and His Messenger. Nor do we pay any attention
to those who oppose these people and brand them Unbelievers simply on
the basis of their doctrine on Imamate. Both of these positions are
extreme. For neither of the doctrines in question entails any claim that
the Prophet perpetrated lies.125
Amir-Moezzi recounts many of the traditions on wilaya from Usul al-ka that
are related on the authority of the Fifth and the Sixth Imams and provides a
systematic and penetrating understanding of this concept, which eventually
became an integral part of the shahada (the triple profession of faith in
Shiism).129 The centrality and expansive scope of walaya/wilaya of the
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Imam, which denes the worldview and ethos of the Shiism, is the subject of
the next chapter.
Notes
1 Most likely referring to Ali.
2 Wilferd Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997), 30.
3 S. Hussain M. Jafri, Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam (London:
Longman Group and Librairie du Liban, 1979), 19.
4 Muhammad Mahdi Shamsuddin (d. 2001) provides a new orientation to this events
signicance by emphasizing the announcements political dimension: Ghadir Khumm
was intended to provide a formula by which the community could establish a just
and equitable government and social order. Muhammad Mahdi Shamsuddin,
Dirasat wa mawaqif -l-din wa-l-siyasa wa-l-mujtama (Beirut: al- Muassasat
al-dawla li-l-dirasat wa-l-nashr, 1999), 2:357.
5 Saa al-Din al-Taftazani, A Commentary on the Creed of Najm al-Din al-Nasa,
trans. Earl Edgar Elder (New York: Columbia University Press, 1950), 143.
6 People are prone to conjecture (Q. 6:116), lacking in profound knowledge (5:103,
7:187, and 49:4), and ungrateful (Q. 7:17; 12:38). al-Hasan b. Mutahhar al-Hilli,
Kashf al-murad sharh al-Tajrid al-itiqad, edited with footnotes by Jafar Sob-
hani (Qum: Muassasat al-Imam al-Sadiq, 2003), 23942. See also Khalid Y.
Blankinship, Imarah, Khilafah, and Imamah: The Origins of the Succession to
the Prophet Muhammad, in Lynda Clarke (ed.), Shiite Heritage: Essays on
Classical and Modern Traditions (New York: Global Publications, 2001), 36.
7 Ali Shariati, Ali: Selection and/or Election (Houston: Free Islamic Literatures,
Inc., n.d.), 1.
8 Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shiism: The Sources of
Esotericism in Islam, trans. David Streight (Albany: SUNY, 1994), 23.
9 On the various denitions and signicance of imam in Sunni Islam and the
ancient schools of Islamic law, see Norman Calder, The Structure of Authority
in Imami Shii Jurisprudence, Ph.D. Dissertation (London: SOAS, 1980), 123
and Muhammad Rai Yunus, The Necessity of Imamah According to Twelver-
Shiism: With Special Reference to Tajrid al-Itiqad of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi,
M.A. Thesis (Montreal: McGill University, 1976), 826.
10 Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi, Allama Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisis father,
regards dissociation (baraa) from the Sunnis as part of usul al-din. See his
Lawami (Qum: Matbuat Ismailiyyan, 1994), 4:400.
26 Introduction
11 For a discussion on the progressive shift and modication in the conception of
the Imamate in Sunni Islam from the time of Shai to Baqillani, see Calder,
The Structure of Authority in Imami Shii Jurisprudence, 3440. The Imams
duties were conned to the executive domain, and the umma was promoted as
Islams custodian, guarantor, and exponent.
12 Muhammad b. Yaqub b. Ishaq al-Kulayni, al-Usul min al-ka (Arabic with Per-
sian commentary and translation), edited and translated by S. Jawad Mustafawi
(Tehran: Daftar-e nashr-e farhang-e ahl-e bayt, n.d.) (4th volume is edited and
translated by Hashem Rasuli, Tehran: Entesharat-e masjed-e chaharda masum,
1966), 2:315 (Kitab al hujja, Bab anna al-aimma muhaddathun mufahhamun).
13 Mahmoud Ayoub, The Speaking Quran and the Silent Quran: A Study of the
Principles and Development of Imami Shii Tafsir, in Andrew Rippin (ed.),
Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Quran (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1988), 18485.
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Legal System (Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 1998), Introduction.
72 Robert Gleave, Scripturalist Islam: The History and Doctrines of the Akhbari Shii
School (Boston: Leiden, 2007), 48. Hasan b. Mutahhar al-Hilli, Allama al-Hilli
on the Imamate and Ijtihad, in S. A. Arjomand (ed.), trans. John Cooper,
Authority and Political Culture in Shiism (Albany: SUNY, 1988), 24049; and
Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi, Religious Authority in Shiite Islam: From the Oce of
Mufti to the Institution of Marja (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1996), 6177.
73 For an interesting discussion on the association of Maktab-e Tafqiq to the Akhbari
School, see Robert Gleave, Continuity and Originality in Shii Thought: The
Relationship between the Akhbariyya and the Maktab-e Tafkik, in Denis
Hermann and Sabrina Mervin (eds.), Shii Trends and Dynamics in Modern Times
(XVIII XX centuries) (Beirut: Ergon Verlag Wrzburg in Kommission, 2010),
7192.
74 Hossein Modarressi, Rationalism and Traditionalism in Shii Jurisprudence: A
Preliminary Survey, Studia Islamica 59 (1984): 14158.
75 Muhammad Mojtahed Shabestari, Religion, Reason, and the New Theology, in
Lynda Clarke (ed.), Shiite Heritage: Essays on Classical and Modern Traditions
(New York: Global Publications, 2001), 253.
76 Ibid., 255. Reminiscent of Poppers assertion that the main question is not who
should rule but how to rule, Shabestari maintains that the Quran and the sunna
actually emphasize the values of government and not necessarily the forms of
government. Mehrzan Boroujerdi, Iranian Intellectuals and the West (New
York: Syracuse University Press, 1996), 16869.
77 Moin, Khomeinis Search for Perfection, 80.
78 Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, Islam and Revolution, trans. Hamid Algar (Berkeley:
Mizan Press, 1981), 182.
79 Farzin Vahdat, God and Juggernaut: Irans Intellectual Encounter with Modernity
(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2002), 164.
80 Khomeini, Islam and Revolution, 63.
81 Akbar Ganji, 30 Million People and Six Individuals, Sobh-e Emruz (Tehran),
27 May 1999. Quoted in Nader Hashemi, Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Demo-
cracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2009), 92.
82 In the Shii context, this means independent scholarly research undertaken by a
qualied jurist (faqih) to derive a new ruling on a legal or theological question
based upon his interpretation and application of the Quran, the sunna, con-
sensus, and reason. See Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islamic Messianism: The Idea of
the Mahdi in Twelver Shiism (Albany: SUNY, 1981), 199.
83 The laitys practice of emulating and following a specic jurists dictates for religious
guidance.
30 Introduction
84 See Abdulaziz Sachedina, The Just Ruler (al-sultan al-adil) in Shiite Islam: The
Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1988). Another work on this issue is Liyakatali Takims
The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Islam (Albany:
SUNY, 2006). For a discussion between medieval-era Sunni and Shii polemicists
on legitimate leadership and its theological underpinnings, see Asma Afsaruddin,
Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leader-
ship (Leiden: Brill, 2002). On the methodological devices in usul al-qh used by
Khomeini to advance his theory of absolute clerical authority, see Hamid
Enayats Iran: Khumaynis Concept of the Guardianship of the Jurisconsult,
in James P. Piscatori (ed.), Islam in the Political Process (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1983), 160 80 and Hamid Dabashi, The Theology of Dis-
content: The Ideological Foundations of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (New York:
New York University Press, 1993), 45455.
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114 Murtada al-Ansari, Kitab al-Makasib, ed. Muhammad Kalantar (Beirut: Muas-
sasat al-Nur li-l-Matbuat, 1990), 40. The reference on backbiting is to Q. 49:12:
Believers, do not indulge many of your suspicionssome suspicions are sinful
and do not spy on one another or speak ill of people behind their backs: would
any of you like to eat the esh of your dead brother?
115 Abu al-Qasim al-Khui, Misbah al-faqaha -l-muamalat, compiled by Muhammad
Ali al-Tawhidi (Najaf: al-Matbaat al-Haydariyya, 1954), 1:32425.
116 Ibid.
117 Kulayni, Ka, 4:22630 (Kitab al-iman wa-l-kufr, Bab al-mustadaf). For a brief
discussion on the usage of mustadafun, aytam, and masakin in Shii texts, see
Etan Kohlberg, Imam and Community in the Pre-Ghayba Period, in Amir
Arjomand (ed.), Authority and Political Culture in Shiism (New York: SUNY,
1988), 4144.
118 Marfu an-hum al-qalam (exonerated from responsibility), Kulayni, Ka,
4:126, hadith no. 1 (Kitab al-iman wa-l-kufr, Bab al-mustadaf).
119 The Sixth Imam reprimands Sahib al-Barid for labeling people as kar and
categorizes this behavior as a Khariji characteristic. Kulayni, Ka, 4:12022,
hadith no. 1 (Kitab al-iman wa-l-kufr, Bab al-dalal).
120 Ibid. The Fifth Imam castigates Zurara for being too eager to categorize
people as unbelievers because they do not endorse the divine guides
wilaya (4:12225, hadith no. 2). Also, see 4:127, hadith no. 4 (Kitab al-iman
wa-l-kufr, Bab al-mustadaf), in which the divine guide reprimands Zurara
for his over exuberance in talking about the Imamate to those who may be
unable to fully understand it and being persistent in pursuing his inquiry of
mustadaf.
121 Ibid., 4:12022, hadith no. 1 (Kitab al-iman wa-l-kufr, Bab al-dalal).
122 The category of mumin is reserved for those who love, accept, and follow the
instructions of the 14 divine guides (viz., the Prophet, Fatima, and the 12 Imams)
and dissociate themselves from those who oppose them.
123 al-Ghazali provides a less popular version, one that is more inclusive and
optimistic: all the sects will go to Paradise, except one: My community
will divide into over seventy sects; all of them will enter Paradise except the
Crypto-indels. See Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, On the Boundaries of Theo-
logical Tolerance in Islam (Faysal al-Tafriqa Bayna al-Islam wa-l-Zandaqa),
trans. Sherman A. Jackson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 111
and 127; Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, trans-
lated by Andras and Ruth Hamori (New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1981), 167.
124 Shahrastani, Kitab al-milal, trans. Kazi, 10.
125 Ghazali, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance, 113.
32 Introduction
126 Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, The Spirituality of Shii Islam: Beliefs and Prac-
tices (New York: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies,
2011), 241.
127 Ibid., 242.
128 Ibid., 242, fn. 32.
129 Ibid., 23175.
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1 The Ethos of Shiism
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It is He who has sent this Scripture down to you [O Prophet]. Some of its
verses are denite (muhkam) in meaningthese are the cornerstone of the
Scriptureand others are ambiguous [or allegorical or symbolic] (muta-
shabih) only God knows the true meaning and those rmly grounded in
knowledge. They say: We believe in it: it is all from our Lord.
(Q. 3:7)
Bakr and the ensuing pro-Alid opposition was based on the Quranic para-
digm of sabiqa and fadl/fadila to establish the legitimacy of the claims of their
respective candidates to leadership of the polity and kinship had little role to
play in this enterprise at this stage, but would acquire growing importance in
the subsequent period.5 However, the Arab society of that time was deeply
anchored in tribal values according to which the kinship and ancient nobi-
lity ascribed to a certain clan or family were the primary marks of identity
and source of authority. Moreover, even the Quraysh invoked kinship at the
Saqifa gathering. During Uthmans reign one observes the large-scale reas-
sertion of the pre-Islamic concept of authority. Afsaruddin, although aware of
the tentativeness of her ndings, is nevertheless condent that the validity of
her thesis can be sustained via the collective weight of the evidence: Admit-
tedly, the evidence garnered from these diverse sources is to a degree circum-
stantial; cumulatively, however, the weight of this evidence is signicant and
cannot be easily discounted.6 Moshe Sharon, who posits a similar theory,
asserts that the kinship factor only became prominent in the middle of the
seventh century, about 80 years before the timing suggested by Afsaruddin.7
Wilferd Madelung and Amir-Moezzi have contested and challenged these
claims.
In this chapter, I intend to underline the centrality of wilaya/walaya in the
formulation of the Shii religious ethos and in dening their worldview. This
concept, which has been part of their nomenclature from the outset, espe-
cially after the Battle of Sin in 657, continues to dominate the Shii ethos.
Its expansive and broad meaning includes both the political and spiritual
domains and denotes an all-encompassing bond of spiritual loyalty that
describes, simultaneously, a Shiite believers allegiance to God, the Prophet,
the Imam and the community of Shiite believers, collectively.8
Two diametrically opposite conceptions of post-Muhammadan authority
existed at this time. Those who supported Abu Bakr, the school of khilafa
(caliph), assumed that the Prophets strictly religious role ended with the
Qurans completion and Islams perfection. Thus, there was no more need for
prophethood and revelation: Today, I have perfected your religion for you,
completed My blessing upon you, and chosen as your religion islam: total
The Ethos of Shiism 35
devotion to God (Q. 5:3). In contrast, the school of the Imamate held that
(a) the role of his successor comprised both a religious and a political aspect,
for this individual would be the authoritative expositor and elucidator of the
Quranic teachings and (b) be entrusted with continuing the Prophets mission
of radically transforming those tribal values and norms that conicted with
the Quranic worldview. Given that the Prophet only had a few years to
initiate major reform in a deeply anchored tribal society with age-old tradi-
tions, such people stated that continued sound leadership was needed to pre-
vent any backsliding. As such, the candidate could only be appointed by the
Prophet based upon divine directive.
Interestingly, Dr. Ali Shariati writes that although both modes of succes-
sion are appropriate and have textual support, the Sunni option would be
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suitable only after the community has attained a degree of maturity that
would allow each member to make an independent evaluation of the candi-
date(s) and to overcome their traditional obedience to tribal leaders. In other
words, the ten years allotted to the Prophet to reform society after his
migration to Madina was grossly insucient to uproot the pre-Islamic and
tribal practices that severely curtailed personal autonomy. He writes that the
elections which were held immediately after the death of the Prophet in
Saqifeh, should have taken place 250 years later.9
The Shiites are those who follow Ali only. They hold that his caliphate
and imamate were based on designation and appointment, either open or
hidden. They maintain also that the imamate must remain in Alis
The Ethos of Shiism 37
family; if it were to go outside of it, this would be either because of a
wrong on the part of another, or because of dissimulation on the part of
the rightful imam. According to them the imamate is not a civil matter,
validly settled by the will of the people appointing an imam of their own
choosing: it is a fundamental matter and a basic element of religion.
Messengers of God may not ignore and disregard it, nor leave it to the
choice of the common people.20
during the Prophets lifetime, showed a close anity for and zealous devotion
to Ali.21 Hasan b. Musa al-Nawbakhti (d. 922) and Abu al-Hasan Ashari
(d. 935) reinforce this point by noting that this term was used to reect Alis
excellence and superiority vis--vis the other Companions.22 In another de-
nition, Ali is viewed as both superior to them and as the Prophets personally
designated successor. This is evident in Shaykh Tusis categorization of the
Zaydis; they are not Shiis because they do not profess Muhammads direct
appointing of Ali, although they consider Ali superior to all other Compa-
nions.23 Aban b. Taghlab replies to a questioner who wanted to know how
many Companions remained loyal to Ali:
Another usage of shia refers to those who believe that Ali and the other
Imams were invested with the Imamate by the Prophets explicit designa-
tion.25 Finally, the same term sometimes refers to those who embraced the
meanings given here and also believed that the Imams were infallible and
entitled to unconditional love and obedience, and that dissociating themselves
from the Imams opponents (regardless of the extent of this opposition) was
necessary. This requirement was relaxed under the principle of taqiyya (dis-
simulation) in situations where displaying these sentiments would result in
persecution and imprisonment.26
In summary, the term shia is used with multiple meanings in an incre-
mental progression: a supporter or helper in a general sense with its lexical
meaning; a follower or supporter of Ali with the belief that he is superior to
all other Companions; a conviction that Ali is also the communitys temporal
and religious leader (Imam) due to his explicit designation by the Prophet;
belief in the Imamate of the other 11 Imams is also based on divine decree;
38 The Ethos of Shiism
belief in the infallibility of all the Imams and befriending and supporting their
followers, and dissociating themselves from the Imams enemies.
The expansive scope of the Imams authority and their glorication, along
with the right to their followers complete obedience and devotion, both of
which inhere in wilaya/walaya, suggest that the early Shiis viewed this posi-
tion as encompassing both the political and religious spheres (with great
emphasis placed on their access to esoteric and hidden knowledge needed to
initiate their disciples into the mysteries of the faith). Amir-Moezzi provides
evidence from various historiographical works where the expression din Ali
(religion of Ali) refers only to Ali, whereas the word sunna refers to such
other role models as Abu Bakr and Umar.28 This claim of prophetic heritage
and exclusive selection by the Prophet is evidenced in the protests made by
Ali, his wife Fatima, and their sons Hasan and Husayn (the Second and the
Third Imams, respectively, according to Twelver Shiis) to the rulers that their
rights had been compromised and their authority usurped. In addition,
some of their companions (e.g., Abdalla b. Jafar, Ammar Yasir, Asbagh
b. Nubata, and Qays b. Sad) vociferously objected to the impromptu meeting
held at the Saqifa and the ensuing selection of Abu Bakr. The emphasis
placed on the successors identity and mode of selection has resulted in sev-
eral discourses concerning the origins of Shiism, all of which are closely tied
to various political events and, over time, assumed a political coloring. The
spectrum of opinions range from a conviction that Shiism was an integral
part of Islamic culture during the Prophets time and is identical with origi-
nal Islam, to it being an innovation designed to sabotage Islam and cause
irreparable damage to it from within.
For instance, past and contemporary Shii polemicists marshal proofs and
evidence from the Prophets hadith, such as the one he related at the begin-
ning of his ministry when inviting his pagan relatives to embrace Islam (dawa
dhu al-ashira). In it, he called Ali his akhi wa warithi wa waziri wa wasiyyi wa
khalifati (my brother, my legatee and minister, my trustee and successor),
after none of his guests responded to his call for assistance. Other famous
hadiths are: Ghadir, manzilat Harun (the position of Aaron), mubahala
(mutual imprecation), and thaqalayn (the two precious weights). Viewing the
The Ethos of Shiism 39
Prophets public promotion of Ali as an exemplary person with noble virtues
and entrusting him with important duties on the basis of kinship and blood
relationship (nasab), marriage (musahara), and the bond of brotherhood
(muakhat),29 made Shiism a natural outcome, one that had its seeds in
Muhammads own words and deeds:
Within the framework of the Islamic Call, Shiism is thus embodied in the
thesis postulated by the Prophetat Gods behestaimed at securing the
future of the Mission. Accordingly, it is not a phenomenon that was for-
eign to this stage of events, but a necessary result. It was natural to the
Calls genesis, exigencies and initial circumstances, which drove Islam to
give birth to Shiism.30
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ity) is attained after the perfection of ones spiritual state by serving God and
humanity.
As a result of having gained close proximity to the Divine, He empowers
the individual with a discretionary authority over human beings and the
cosmos that is to be utilized in conformity with the Divine pleasure.36 An
example of an individual who possessed such authority but was not a divine
guide is the person who told Solomon, when he asked if anyone could bring
the Queen of Shebas throne to him before her arrival: I will bring it to you
in the twinkling of an eye (Q. 27:40). The implication and ramication of
such closeness is given in the following hadith, which depicts a complete
concord between the Divine and the human will:
(i) Mawadda/Mahabba/Hubb/Walaya
The foundation of Gods creation is based on love and, as such, one of His
names is al-Wadud, namely, the one who loves. A disciple once asked the
Sixth Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, whether the religion of Islam had a component
that dealt with love. He responded that the entirety of religion was about
love.38 In a tradition reported on the Fifth Imams authority, Muhammad
Baqir, religion is equated to love and vice versa: fa al-din huwa al-hubb
wa-l-hubb huwa al-din.39 As S. H. Nasr notes, the intense love for the divine
guides permeates the Shii worldview: In the Sunni world Islamic esotericism
manifests itself almost exclusively as Susm, whereas in the Shiite world, in
addition to a Susm similar to that found in the Sunni world, there is an
esoteric element based upon love (mahabba) which colors the whole structure
of the religion.40 One of the meanings of walaya41 in the context of the
The Ethos of Shiism 41
Imams is expressing ones love for them by assisting them and protecting
them from any harm and distress.
There is consensus among the Sunnis and Shiis that love, aection, rever-
ence, and respect for Muhammad and his progeny are mandated by the
Quran and the Prophets sunna.42 However, the love and aection for the
Prophets family permeates the Shii ethos and is one of the criteria used to
determine the integrity and soundness of ones faith and acts. In other words,
it has become a litmus test to enable one to attain salvation. As it was the
norm and practice of all prophets and angels to love the divine guides, this
became a way to attain proximity to God and receive His pleasure.43 Even
inanimate objects express their praise and love for his progeny.44 The degree
of love increases as one obtains a spiritually enlightened understanding
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(marifa) of the infallible leaders. At the same time, ones belief (iman) cannot
attain perfection without dissociating oneself from those who are inimical to
the Imams.
The evidence for this fundamental necessity of loving the divine guides is
sought by way of a proof-text from the Quran: Say [O Prophet]: I ask no
reward from you for this, only the aection due to kin (al-mawadda -l-
qurba) (Q. 42:23). When this verse was revealed, the community asked
Muhammad who these near relatives (qurba) were. He replied that they
were Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn.45 It is further argued that ones love
for them entails unconditional and absolute submission to them in order to
benet from their exoteric and esoteric guidance. This Quranic directive fol-
lows the pattern practiced by previous prophets who sought no reward for
their ministry.46 The dierence between the previous prophets and Muham-
mad is that the former sought their reward exclusively from God and did not
request recompense in the form of love and submission to their near kinship
(qurba). The Prophet, on the other hand, sought this so that a benet would
accrue to his followers for loving and submitting to the divine guides, a gain
that returns to the person concerned (fa-huwa la-kum47) because these gures
are a source of guidance and salvation for the community.
This loves centrality and anity are further underlined in numerous
hadiths found in early Shii works that list it as a criterion of the validity of
ones faith and enmity toward the Imams as a sign of unbelief (hubbu-hu
iman wa bughdu-hu kufr48). Obedience and love for them expresses ones
obedience and love for God and His Messenger (man ataa Ali fa-qad ataani
wa man ataani fa-qad ataa Allah49 and man ahabba-hu fa-qad ahabbani wa
man ahabbani fa-qad ahabb Allah50); it is the best form of worship (hubb
Ali afdal al-ibada51) and a condition for accepting ones righteous deeds
(man ahabba-hu tuqbalu salatu-hu wa siyamu-hu wa qiyamu-hu52); it con-
rms that one is born to a lawfully wedded couple, which is related by Abu
Bakr and known as hadith al-khayma;53 it provides the beneciary with glad
tidings of prosperity in both worlds;54 it is instrumental for conferring ease
and comfort at the time of death, when the soul is removed from the body,
and during the period between death and resurrection (barzakh);55 and it is a
42 The Ethos of Shiism
guarantee that they will be resurrected with the prophets and enjoy the same
stature.56
In essence, love for the divine guides assures that one will experience true
life (yuhya hayat57) in this transient world as well as success and prosperity in
the afterlife:
One who dies while possessing the love of the progeny of Muhammad
dies the death of a martyr (shahid). One who dies while possessing the
love of the progeny of Muhammad dies the death of one who has been
forgiven. One who dies while possessing the love of the progeny of
Muhammad dies the death of one whose repentance has been accepted.
One who dies while possessing the love of the progeny of Muhammad
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dies the death of a believer (mumin) with perfect faith (mustakmil al-iman).
One who dies while possessing the love of the progeny of Muhammad,
the angel of death informs him of his entry to paradise after which he is
questioned by the two angelsMunkar and Nakir.58:
At the same time, harboring hatred or ill-will toward the Imams constitutes a
cardinal sin, one that the hadiths regard as unpardonable and tantamount to
warring against God and His Messenger:
One who dies while hating the progeny of Muhammad dies a death of a
disbeliever (kar). One who dies while hating the progeny of Muhammad
will not even smell the fragrance of paradise. One who dies while hating
the progeny of Muhammad will come on the Day of Judgment with this
stamped between his eyes, hopeless of the Mercy of God.59
(ii) Khilafa
A khalifa is dened, both etymologically and lexically, as one who assumes
the role of deputy and succeeds a person in his role and function. Raghib
Isfahani (d. 1108/09), who attests to such a meaning, says that khilafa is
deputization from someone else.62 In the Quran, its plural forms (viz.,
khalaif and khulafa) carry a very similar connotation: Do you nd it so
strange that a message should come from your Lord, through a man in your
The Ethos of Shiism 43
midst, to warn you? Remember how He made you heirs [khulafa] after Noahs
people, and increased your stature: remember Gods bounties, so that you
may prosper (Q. 7:69). Likewise, the hadith literature has preserved instances
where this term is invoked with a similar signication. The Prophet is repor-
ted to have prayed: O God, have mercy on my successors (khulafai).63
When asked who they are, he replied: They are the ones who will come after
me and relate my traditions and conduct 64
This term, however, acquired a new meaning upon his death: the Muslim
communitys next leader and commander, as expressed in the formula khalifat
al-rasul (successor of the Messenger), which was contracted to khalifa. The
Quran uses khalifat Allah (deputy of God) to designate one whom God has
appointed to carry out a divine mission, whether he be a prophet or his suc-
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Do they know the value of the Imamate and its position in the com-
munity that their selection could be allowable in this matter? Verily, the
Imamate is too sublime among values, too great among ranks, too high
among stations, too impenetrable on all sides, too profound among the
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depths, for people to reach it with their intellects, or to grasp it with their
opinions, or to establish an Imam by their choice. Verily, the Imamate is
that in which Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty, has dis-
tinguished Ibrahim, the Intimate Friend (al-Khalil), after Prophethood
and Intimacy, as a third degree, and an eminence with which he hon-
oured him and by which He raised his renown, and He said: Behold!
I make you an Imam for the people. Then the Intimate Friend said out of
delight in this: And of my seed. Allah, the Blessed, the Sublime, said:
My covenant shall not reach the evil-doers (al-Baqara, 2:124). Thus, this
verse has abolished the leadership (imama) of all evil-doers till the Day of
Resurrection, and it has become for the select ones. Then Allah, the
Sublime, bestowed honours on him, by establishing it in his seed, the ones
who are selected and puried (by Allah).
Verily, the Imamate is the position of the Prophets, and the heritage
of the successors. Indeed, the Imamate is the vicegerency (khilafa) of
Allah and the vicegerency of the Messenger, and the station of Amir
al-muminin and the inheritance of al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Truly, the Imamate is the reins of the religion, the state of order of the
Muslims, the rectitude of the world, and the might of the believers. Verily,
the Imamate is Islams growing root, and its lofty branch. Through the
Imam the prayer, zakat, fasting, hajj and jihad (exerting oneself, striving
in the way of Allah, whether by means of ones property, ones life, ones
knowledge, or by any other means) are perfected, the general wealth (of
the Muslims, fay) and charity (sadaqat) are increased, the restrictions
and the commands are put into practice, and the frontier-posts and
borders are protected.
Where can someone like this be found? Do you imagine that this
can be found anywhere else but in the progeny of the Messenger? By
Allah, they have lied to themselves, they have promised to themselves the
impossible, they have climbed up to a dicult and dangerous height,
(and) their feet will slip and fall to the bottom. They want to appoint an
Imam with (their) convulsed, unproductive and defective mind, and (their)
misguided opinions. Nothing accrued to them but remoteness from him 69
The Ethos of Shiism 45
(iii) Al-Wilayat al-Mutlaqa (Tashrii and Takwini):70 Legislative
and Creative Authority
When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect
to meet with Us say, Bring [us] a dierent Quran, or change it. [O
Prophet] say, It is not for me to change it of my own accord; I only
follow what is revealed to me, for I fear the torment of an awesome Day,
if I were to disobey my Lord.
(Q. 10:15)
The Quran also proclaims that Muhammad speaks only what has been
revealed to him: By the setting star! Your companion has not strayed; he is
not deluded; he does not speak from his own desire. It is only a revelation
that is sent to him (Q. 53:14). He enjoys a limited scope of authority how-
ever, in that God does take his preference into consideration. For instance, it
is reported that God desired to legislate ve daily prayers of two units (raka)
each, whereas Muhammad was hoping for a revelation that would increase
the noon (zuhr), afternoon (asr), and night prayers (isha) by two units and
the evening prayer (maghrib) by one. God accommodated his wish on account
of his nobility and grandeur.71
Another area in which his legislative authority can be actualized is the
administration of political, social, and economic aairs. This is based on the
Quranic verse that mentions the ulu al-amr72 and another one that gives
Muhammads right upon Muslims priority over their own rights upon them-
selves: The Prophet is closer to the believers or has a higher claim (awla)73
on them than their own selves, and his wives are like their mothers
(Q. 33:6).74 Accordingly, he was entitled to adjudicate on issues that would
crop up among Muslims and expect them to accept his judgment uncondi-
tionally: By your Lord, they will not be true believers until they let you
46 The Ethos of Shiism
decide between them in all matters of dispute, and nd no resistance in their
souls to your decision, accepting them totally (Q. 4:65).
Sunni exegetes, who assert that the waw in the sentence is only a conjunction
that contains no reference to the persons state (waw al-hal), read: Your (real)
friends are (no less than) Allah, His Messenger, and the believersthose who
establish prayers and pay zakat and they bow down humbly (in worship).77
Shii interpretations have featured linguistic, rational, and traditional
proofs to determine the walis identity and scope of authority. The particle
innama underlines that wilaya is conned only to God, His Messenger, and
the person who gave the zakat while bowing in prayer (ruku). The wali is not
dened as a friend or a patron, but is equated to awla bi-l-tasarruf, namely,
one who is more entitled to exercise full authority over the believers than they
have over themselves: The Prophet has a greater claim (awla) on the faithful
than they have on themselves (Q. 33:6).78 Another argument to discredit
reports equating wali simply with friend is obtained from Quranic verses
that denote the believers, in general, as awliya of each other (i.e., friends,
without the restrictive particle innama).79 Thus, wali in Q. 5:55 is believed to
have a dierent signication and a higher rank and status because it is con-
joined with the wilaya of God and His Messenger. Hadith reports, consensus
among the scholars, and the occasions of the revelation are employed to
identify Ali as the wali.
Al-Wilaya comprises both real or creative (takwini) and legislative
(tashrii) wilaya. The discourses of Shii scholars on the scope of the Imams
authority range from advocating a comprehensive universal authority to
outright rejection of the same. Some Imami scholars are silent and have
deferred judgment on the basis that there is insucient information to
render any decisive conclusion.80 In a hadith attributed to Muhammad, he
forewarns the community that some of the lofty virtues regarding his
progeny in the form of hadiths will be extremely dicult to accept as valid,
except for those whose faith, after having been rigorously tested by God,
remains intact. The true stature and exalted station of the divine guides, along
with the initiatory secrets, could be revealed only to those who had the
necessary prerequisites and training: Our teaching is dicult and arduous;
the only ones who can withstand it are a prophet sent to men, an angel of
proximity, or an initiated one whose heart has been tested by God for faith
The Ethos of Shiism 47
(inna haditha-na sab mustasab la yahtamilu-hu illa malak muqarrab aw nabi
mursal aw abd imtahana Allah qalba-hu li-l-iman).81 This is in keeping with
the principle articulated in the hadith: We, the group of prophets, have been
ordered to talk with the people according to the capacity of their understanding
(ala qadr uquli-him).82
In addition, the Imams cautioned people not to reject and belie those
hadiths that praise them because doing so might cause them to discard
something true. At the same time, however, sound hadiths do direct the
community to use the Quran in order to distinguish between true and false
hadiths. Those that conform to it ought to be accepted; those that do not
ought to be struck against the wall, meaning categorically rejected. These
two apparently conicting admonitions suggest that analyzing the hadiths
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must be a nuanced activity, one done with care and diligence by considering
various factors: whether it is of particular or universal import, comprehensive
or context-bound in its applicability; constant or variable, esoteric or exoteric,
and muhkam (explicit and clear-cut) or mutashabih (allegorical, metaphorical
or symbolic).
This approach can be supported by the Quran, which calls upon people to
evaluate the truthfulness of any report and not to accept or reject it without
sucient investigation, for doing so will only result in remorse and regret:
Believers, if a troublemaker brings you news, check it rst, in case you wrong
others unwittingly and later regret what you have done (Q. 49:6). Another
Quranic verse advanced to attest to the possibility that such apparently irra-
tional or unintelligible hadiths might have an esoteric or a hidden meaning
that need to be excavated is: But they are denying that whereof they have no
knowledge [ilm], and whose interpretation [tawil] has not yet come to them.
In the same way, those before them refused to believesee what was the end
of those evildoers! (Q. 10:39).83
The story of Jesus is normally cited to support a universal wilaya, because
he could restore human life by breathing his spirit into it and cure the sick by
Gods will: I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I will make
[akhluqu] a bird for you out of clay, then breathe [anfakhu] into it and, with
Gods permission, it will become a real bird. I will heal [ubriu] the blind and
the leper, and bring the dead back to life [uhyi] with Gods permission
(Q. 3:49).84 It is interesting to observe that in this verse Jesus refers to himself
as a miracle worker, albeit with Gods blessing: how, by My leave, you
fashioned (takhluqu) the shape of a bird out of clay, breathed (tanfakhu) into
it, and it became, by My leave, a bird; how by My leave, you healed (tubriu)
the blind person and the leper; how by My leave, you brought the dead back to
life (tukhriju al-mawta); (Q. 5:110). At the same time, the Quran
underlines that God is the ultimate Sovereign, Omniscient, and Omnipotent:
Say [O Prophet], I have no control over benet or harm, even to myself,
except as God may please: if I had knowledge of what is hidden, I would have
abundant good things and no harm could touch me. I am no more than a
bearer of warning and good news to those who believe (Q. 7:188).
48 The Ethos of Shiism
A distinction is made here: al-wilayat al-takwiniyya as it relates to God is
dhati (essential), whereas it is aradi (accidental, namely, with Gods permis-
sion [bi-idhn Allah]) for the prophets and Imams. The Quran mentions other
prophets who had this creative authority to perform miracles: Joseph, Moses,
Solomon, and Muhammad.85 An interesting dialogue between the Sixth
divine guide, Jafar al-Sadiq, and a blind man named Abu Basir relates that
the former conrms his ability to revive the dead and cure the leper and the
blind by Gods will. The Sixth Imam rubbed his hand over this mans face
and eyes, and his eyesight was restored.86
For the sake of explication, wilaya can be divided into 1487 subjects.
So believe in God, in His Messenger, and in the light We have sent down.
(Q. 64:8)
The infallible divine guides are endowed with a special soul and emanate
from Gods Light. In one sense, they are the Light of God: There was
nothing else except God. Then He created the ve [Muhammad, Ali, Fatima,
Hasan, and Husayn] from the Light of His Glory 89 This light is trans-
mitted from generation to generation in the loins of Adams progeny. After it
reached Abd al-Muttallib, it was divided between Abdalla (Muhammads
father) and Abu Talib (Alis father). This light enables the divine guides to
inspire and inuence peoples hearts in order to bring them closer to God. In
response to Abu Khalid al-Kabulis inquiry about So believe in God, in His
Messenger, and in the light We have sent down (Q. 64:8), the Fifth Imam,
al-Baqir, replied:
I swear by God that the light (al-nur) is the light of the Imams from the
household of the Prophet till the Day of Resurrection The brilliance of
the light of the Imam in the hearts of the believers is greater than that of
the sun. It is the Imam who illumines the hearts of the believers. God
prevents the brilliance of that light from reaching the hearts of whom-
soever He wills; this being the explanation for the darkness of their
hearts.90
Similar hadiths indicate that their true followers received some aspect of this
light and thus were guided aright, whereas their enemies were deprived of
this light and, consequently, went astray: The one to whom God gives no
light has no light at all (Q. 24:40).91 This division into antagonistic and
dualist groups is a recurring theme.
The way to attain cognizance and understanding of God is to comprehend
this light: Knowing me (i.e., Ali) is through the Light. Knowing God is
identical to knowing me by the Light and this is the pure religion (marifati
bi-l-nuraniyya wa marifat Allah azz wa jall marifati bi-l-nuraniyya wa huwa
The Ethos of Shiism 49
al-din al-khalis92). In his exegesis of The earth will shine with the light of its
Lord (Q. 39:69), Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 941) relates that Imam Sadiq
had interpreted the light of his Lord to mean the light of the Imam of the
Earth.93 As this lights94 exalted nature makes it impossible to fathom the
precise nature of these luminous individuals, the divine guides related esoteric
knowledge only to those select disciples (ashab al-sirr95) who had the capacity
and were already initiated to comprehend their status. This is related in a
story about Umars question to Abu Dharr as to the identity of the person
who was with the Prophet in the mosque. The latter replied that he could not
recognize that persons true nature. Upon going inside, Umar saw that
Muhammad was with Ali and, in astonishment, related the conversation to
Muhammad. Muhammad told him that Abu Dharr had spoken the truth,
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because no one can have full cognizance of Ali except God and His Mes-
senger.96 In another tradition, the Prophet states that no one can recognize
God except I and you (Ali); no one can recognize me except God and you;
no one can recognize you except God and I (Ya Ali ma arafa Allah illa ana
wa anta, wa ma arafa-ni illa Allah wa anta, wa ma arafa-ka illa Allah
wa ana).97
The infallible divine guides, who were the rst creations after Muhammad,
are also viewed as the best, the perfect, and the most noble (ashraf and afdal)
of all of His creations (except for Muhammad) because they were the rst to
recognize His divine Unicity and Majesty.98 They are the Creators purpose
(nal cause) for creating the world, which was done for their sake (illat
al-ghai al-khilqali ajli-him): O Ali, were it not for us (i.e., the divine
guides), God would not have created Adam or Eve, paradise or hell-re
and heavens or the earth (Ya Ali, law la nahnu [i.e., the divine guides] ma
khalaqa Allah Adam wa la Hawwa wa la janna wa la-l-nar wa la-l-sama wa
la-l-ard).99 In one tradition, Ibn Abbas relates that the Prophet told him that
he and Ali had been created from one light (nur wahid)100 40,000 years before
Adam and the Divine Throne. God created humanity and the universe on
account of His love for Muhammad and his progeny.101 In his al-Itiqadat,
Shaykh Saduq relates a hadith that God did not create anyone superior to
the Prophet and the Imams. They are the most loved by Him and the most
noble. 102
The presence of these luminous lights is essential for the worlds continued
existence. In this regard, prophethood (nubuwwa) ended with Muhammad;
however, the need for a wali continues until the end of time, and thus a proof
(hujja) from God must always be present:
The Most Excellent Names belong to God: use them to call on Him and keep
away from those who distort them.
(Q. 7:180)
The name (al-ism) is derived from the mark (al-sima) and is an indication or a
sign. This appellation, which has both a general and a universal application,
refers to the named item (mussamma), whether it is a word formulation, an
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the beautiful names of God and the Supreme Symbol and the Greatest Sign
(wa nahnu asma Allah al-husna wa-l-amthal al-ulya wa-l-ayat al-kubra).109
4 Intercession (shafaa)
Your Lord is God who created the heavens and earth in six Days, then
established Himself on the Throne, governing everything; there is no one that
can intercede with Him, unless He has given permission.
(Q. 10:3)
The Imams are endowed with the privilege of shafaa tashrii (intercession in
legislation) and shafaa takwini (intercession in creation) on behalf of creation
to secure goodness and repel harm. The former is employed to petition God
to forgive and overlook those infractions related to His rights (huquq Allah);
the latter acts as an intermediary between God and His creation in dispersing
and diusing divine bounties, mercy, grace, and sustenance, including the act
of creation. This meaning is related in a hadith reported on Alis authority:
The earth was created for the sake of the sevenyou receive sustenance
through them, help and assistance is rendered to you on account of them, and
rainfall comes through [their intercession]they include Salman al-Farsi,
Miqdad, Abu Dharr, Ammar, and Hudhayfa. I am their leader, and they
send benedictions upon Fatima (khuliqat al-ard li saba, bi-him turzaqun,
wa bi-him tunsarun, wa bi-him tumtarun, min-hum Salman al-Farsi wa-l-Miqdad
wa Abu Dharr wa Ammar wa Hudhayfa, wa ana imamu-hum wa hum
al-ladhina sallu ala Fatima110). As a consequence, there must always be a
hujja so that the Earth can survive and keep the cause of its existence.
On the Day of Judgment, the shafaa will be available to all people who
accepted the truth brought by the divine guides. One hadith relates the
meaning of rahim from the exegesis attributed to the Eleventh Imam, Hasan
al-Askari. In it, he is reported to have said that only 1 percent of Gods
mercy (rahma) has been dispersed among His creation in this world, and that
it nds expression in the love between the human/animal mother and her
child/ospring. On the Day of Judgment, the entirety of Gods rahma will be
52 The Ethos of Shiism
diused and accessible, such that Muhammads community will successfully
intercede on behalf of its neighbors, associates, and acquaintances irrespective
of their faith or lack thereof.111
Hadiths found in the early works report that many of the previous prophets
sought the divine guides intercession for help when confronted with a crisis,
and that it was due to the latters honor that God decided to knead the clay
out of which He fashioned humanity with His own Hand and breathed into it
from His Spirit. Noah was rescued from the ood when he appealed to God
through these luminous entities, and Ibrahim prayed to God for the re to
become cool by asking for it in the name of Muhammads progeny. Moses
communicated with God, and Jesus performed miracles and was saved from
crucixion by being allowed to ascend to heaven, on account of the divine
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guides intercession.112 God created the world due to His love for the awliya,
and it is because of their teachings and initiatory knowledge that the angels
and humanity worship God.
The Imams receive revelation (wahy122), but not in the form in which it des-
cended upon the prophets. Instead, God inspires them by means of another
process and, as such, they are referred to as muhaddath, persons spoken to by
angels via sounds in their ears (naqr -l-asma) and supported by the Holy
Spirit (ruh al-qudus) whenever they desire to know something.123 Imami
scholars distinguish between a messenger who brings a new law and scripture
(rasul); a non-lawgiving prophet (nabi) who is entrusted with explicating and
advancing his immediate predecessors message; and the Imam, who receives
inspiration as a muhaddath to guide people in exoteric and esoteric issues. The
The Ethos of Shiism 53
Imams can hear, but not see, the angel who brings this inspiration. On the
Night of Power, which occurs during Ramadan, they receive additional
information about that which is to unfold in the subsequent year as well as
detailed elaborations on other issues. In addition, the Imams make a spiritual
ascension to the Divine Throne to increase their knowledge, especially on
Fridays.
The Imams provide inner guidance to their followers on how to rene their
souls by esoteric means. This is in contrast to the outer guidance they dis-
pense on issues related to the law and the sharia. They develop a bond
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with their true followers, those who have accepted their wilaya and are in
communion with them. Further, their guidance covers the entirety of Gods
creation.
Every religion comprises a zahir (exterior) and a batin (interior) dimension.
The chain of prophets and scriptures fall into the former category, and the
uninterrupted chain of Imams, whose presence is mandatory for life on Earth
to continue, constitute the latter. The faithful who submit to their wilaya and
love them are given the privilege of being initiated by the Imams and guided
into the mysteries of the Divine Being and religion:
The person upon whose shoulders lies the responsibility for the guidance
of a community through Divine Command, in the same way that he is
the guide of mans external life and acts, is also the guide for the spiritual
life, and the inner dimension of human life and religious practice depends
upon his guidance.125
8 Miracles and Charismata [special divine graces and favors] (mujizat and
karamat)
The term mujizat is normally applied to the miracles performed by the pro-
phets, and karamat to those performed by the saints of God. This distinction
is especially apparent in the works of kalam, where it is discussed in separate
categories. The Imams perform miracles as a testimony of their high rank and
stature. Some of the works on Imamate detail the miracles attributed to
them.126 Sharif Murtada severely rebukes those traditionists who exaggerate
the divine guides supernatural powers, such as the ability to walk on clouds
and other fanciful accounts.127
In pre-existential time, God made a pact with the distinguished prophets (ulu
al-azm) and the rest of humanity to worship only Him and to testify to their
54 The Ethos of Shiism
devotion and love for the Prophet and his progeny. The scriptural evid-
ence cited for this episode is [O Prophet], when your Lord took out the o-
spring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness
about themselves, He said, Am I not your Lord? and they replied, Yes we
bear witness. So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, We were not
aware of this (Q. 7:172). Various related hadiths state: God took the pre-
temporal pact from the prophets on the wilaya of Ali and the covenant was
made with the prophets by virtue of the wilaya of Ali (inna Allah akhadha
mithaq al-nabiyyin ala wilayat Ali wa akhadha ahd al-nabiyyin bi wilayat
Ali128). The primordial covenant on love and delity (walaya) to the divine
guides was taken from the entire creation.129
Allama Abd al-Husayn Amini (d. 1970), author of the momentous multi-
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10 The Presentation of Deeds to the Prophet and His Progeny (ard al-amal)
Every week, the infallible leaders receive a full account of the deeds of their
faithful followers who submit to their wilaya. They become joyful and happy
when the deeds performed are positive, and saddened and sorrowful when the
deeds are negative.132 The Sixth Imam, when asked about the interpretation
of Quran, 9:105, Say [O Prophet], Take action! God will see your actionsas
will His Messenger and the believers , replied that this refers to the Imams.133
11 The Infallible Guides are Witnesses Over the Deeds of the Community
The infallible leaders will be the proof (hujja) of God on the Day of Judgment
over the faithful by virtue of the following Quranic verse: We have made
you [believers] into a just community, so that you may bear witness (shahid)
[to the truth] before others and so that the Messenger may bear witness
(shahid) [to it] before you (Q. 2:143). On that day, every community will be
The Ethos of Shiism 55
summoned to appear before the Imam of their respective time, who will act as
a proof: On the Day when We summon each community, along with its
leader (Q. 17:71).
The status of the divine guides is so exalted that God created the universe out
of His love for them. They were created from the superior clay of heaven
(illiyyin) and are from the original Light (nur) of God.134 In contrast, their
opponents were created from the sijjin, which is from hell, and is composed of
salty, brackish water.135
Adam and the angels were commanded to prostrate to them, thereby ack-
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nowledging their grand status, and to arm their wilaya. One who arms their
wilaya is akin to one who has armed the wilaya of all the prophets sent by
God, whereas one who accepts the wilaya of Muhammad but rejects his
infallible progeny is akin to one who accepts the wilaya of all the previous
prophets but rejects the wilaya of the last Prophet.136
14 The Divine Guides Relationship with God, the Prophets, and the Other
Existents before and after Creation
The infallible guides have a special and unique relationship with God, for
their luminous lights were created before anything else and from a special
56 The Ethos of Shiism
heavenly material (illiyyin). Thus they are the rm rope of God (habl Allah
al-matin143) and have been given special knowledge of the greatest names
(al-ism al-azam).144 In addition, they have a relationship with the prophets by
virtue of communicating with their spirits and having inherited their knowl-
edge.145 Gabriel is reported to have told Muhammad: God created Ali with
the other prophets esoterically and created him with you exoterically (Inna
Allah baatha Ali maa al-anbiya batin wa baatha-hu maa-ka zahir).146
They are also the mediators between God and the prophets, as their names
are invoked before a miracle is performed. As a case in point, it is asserted
that God forgave Adams lapse when he petitioned God for forgiveness in the
name of the luminous entities, that Moses parted the Red Sea by invoking
their names, and that Jesus revived the dead by appealing to God in the name
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of the 14 infallibles. The earlier prophets gave glad tidings to their respective
communities on the future coming of Prophet Muhammad and his progeny.
The infallible divine guides have a close and intimate relationship with
everyone who has accepted their wilaya and are sincerely devoted to them.
Their light shines in their hearts with a light that is more intense than that of
the stars. They guide the faithful like a compassionate father, such that the
analogy is made that one who cuts o his link with them is like an orphan.147
The above categories are interrelated and intertwined. The division was
made only to illustrate and explicate the complex nature of wilaya found in
early Twelver Shii hadith literature. Later Imami scholars, who took great
pains to provide Quranic references and rational arguments to prove that
ascribing certain supernatural powers to the divine guides was neither exag-
geration nor extremism (ghuluww),148 accused the Sunnis of exaggerating
some of the caliphs virtues.149 Shii scholars vigorously denounced all reports
that sought to divinize and glorify the Imams and/or all those that attributed
divine attributes to them, especially from the tenth century onward, as having
been fabricated by extremist Shiis (ghulat). However, such hadiths do exist in
the early corpus of Shii works on hadith, exegesis, and theology by Saar,
Qummi, Ayyashi, Saduq, Kulayni, and other scholars.
Hodgson, Watt, Amir-Moezzi, and Ayoub make a persuasive case that
there was no separation or distinction between extremist and moderate
Shiism for the rst two centuries. Thus, the former may be considered a precursor
and progenitor of the latter when the scholars opted to distance themselves from
such exaggerated reports and formally disciplined the former on the grounds that
they had transgressed the limits of Islam. Hodgson writes: [T]he conventional
approach to the Ghulatthat they were the left wing of the Shia, a posited
Twelver moderation being its center, and the mild Zaydis its right wingis
hardly acceptable, certainly for the earlier period which is most fully described
by the heresiographers.150 Amir-Moezzi labeled these two categories as non-
rational esoteric and theologico-legal-rational trends, respectively, with the
latter becoming dominant and the norm after having diluted (but not com-
pletely expunged) those hadith reports that elevated the Imams status to a
cosmic level.151 It is in this context that one should note an astute observation
The Ethos of Shiism 57
made by Ayatollah Abdalla Mamaqani (d. 1932): We have stated on many
occasions that the accusations of extremism leveled by the early [scholars]
(al-qudama) do not deserve to be taken into consideration since many aspects
that are essential to Imami doctrine (daruriyyat al-madhhab) were held by
them to be extremist.152
The virtues and excellences mentioned in the Quran and hadith that the
divine guides enjoy are gifts bestowed (mawhub) upon them by God and thus
are not acquired (iktisab). However, they can be regarded as an ideal and a
paradigm that can inspire other people to strive for a higher rank of excel-
lence in their own lives: The Messenger of God is an excellent model (uswa
hasana) (Q. 33:21). Accordingly, every conscious human being can poten-
tially ascend to a higher status, depending upon the extent to which he/she
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polishes his/her cosmic mirror (heart). The prophets and divine guides, who
have actualized the names of God latent in all people, thus become points of
reference worthy of emulation. In the Sixth Imams own words: It is because
of us that God is known and worshipped. We are the proofs that lead to God,
and were it not for us God would not have been worshipped (Bi-na urifa
Allah wa bi-na ubida Allah nahnu al-adilla ala Allah wa law-la-na ma ubida
Allah);153 He who knows us knows God, and he who knows us not, knows
not God (man arafana faqad arafa Allah wa man ankarana faqad ankara
Allah); and Without God, we would not be known, and without us, God
would not be known (law la Allah ma urifna wa law la nahnu ma urifa
Allah).154
Morteza Motahhari succinctly summarizes the essence of this chapter: all
the various forms of wilaya/walaya reside in the person of the Imam: wilayat
al-mahabba (the Imams are entitled to unconditional love and aection and,
as such, their devotees have been charged to discharge this obligation);
wilayat al-Imama (the Imams have been designated to provide guidance and
leadership to the people in religious and spiritual matters since they are the
authoritative and infallible guides); wilayat al-zaama (the exclusive authority
and mandate over the Muslims socio-political aairs or in temporal matters);
wilayat al-ghayb (unseen) and malakuti (divine) (the Imams have been gifted
with comprehensive authority over the entire creation of God like Prophet
Muhammad and other previous prophets).
Scholars adopted dierent approaches to engage in a systematic study of
this central doctrine of Imamate and wilaya/walaya. The detailed rational and
traditional arguments were gradually articulated and rened with care and
diligence, bearing in mind that for the Shiis it was the very foundation of
their faith. Rejecting the merit and validity of Imamate is equivalent to
rejecting the prophecy of all the prophets.
Notes
1 Mahmoud Ayoub, The Crisis of Muslim History: Religion and Politics in Early
Islam (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003), 17 and 22. Tabari relates on Sayf
58 The Ethos of Shiism
b. Umars authority that Ali was so eager to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr that
in his haste he arrived dressed only in his shirt. Madelung, The Succession to
Muhammad, 12 and Marshall Hodgson, How did the Early Shia Become
Sectarian, Journal of the American Oriental Society 75/1 (1955): 1.
2 Ardent supporters of Ali, like Salman al-Farsi and Abu Dharr, viewed his suc-
cession in religious as opposed to political terms. Maria M. Dakake, The Char-
ismatic Community: Shii Identity in Early Islam (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 2007), 6.
3 Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad, 16 and Q. 3:3334, 19:58, 6:8489,
37:7677, 57:26, 11:7173, and 4:34. Amir-Moezzi further elaborates on Made-
lungs work in his The Spirituality of Shi Islam, 1622. Contrast this with M. A.
Shaban, who maintains that Muhammad made no pronouncement on the ques-
tion of how the umma should continue after him. The famous Shii tradition that
he designated his cousin Ali as his successor at Ghadir Khum should not be
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taken seriously. Such an event is inherently improbable considering the Arab tra-
ditional reluctance to entrust young and untried young men with great responsi-
bility One can only conclude that Muhammad intended that his followers
should settle, on their own, the problem of succession, if indeed there was to be
any successor at all. This ts very well with his deep understanding of his times
and it was the only practical course for him to take. M. A. Shaban, Islamic
History: A New Interpretation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971),
16. A similar view is posited by Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History (London:
Harper & Row, 1966), 50. Also see Marshall Hodgson who writes: It is hard to
suppose that anyone thought of Ali as the logical candidate at the death of the
Prophet, Hodgson, How did the Early Shia Become Sectarian, 2.
4 Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad, 24.
5 Afsaruddin, Excellence and Precedence, 6.
6 Ibid., 271.
7 Moshe Sharon, The Development of the Debate around the Legitimacy of
Authority in Islam, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 5 (1984): 12141.
8 Dakake, The Charismatic Community, 6.
9 Shariati, Selection and/or Election, 12. This 250-year period is the approximate
span of time covered by the 12 infallible divine guides before the commencement
of the Minor Occultation (874). He argues that the Quran contains conicting
material that can be selectively retrieved to substantiate pre-set positions. Sunni
scholars cited the Quranic verse on consultation to validate the method used to
choose Abu Bakr as the new leader. This, according to him, has been the stan-
dard practice of those who use religion to give credence to ones position: In
order to do away with a right, another right will be cited. Ibid., 6.
10 each party [hizb] rejoicing in their own (Q. 23:53).
11 Mud, Awail al-maqalat, 1.
12 Nasir b. Abdalla b. Ali Qafari, Usul madhhab al-Shia al-Imamiyya al-ithnay
ashariyya: ard wa naqd (Cairo, n.p., 1994), 34.
13 Interestingly, Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, the famous historian and exegete,
is referred to as harboring mild tendencies and inclinations in favor of the Ahl
al-Bayt (tashayyu yasir), but not to the extent that it resulted in any harm.
Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-itidal (Beirut: Dar al-marifa,
1985), 3:498.
14 Mud, Awail al-maqalat, 2. The term shia was used to refer to Ali in various
contexts: as being more virtuous and meritorious than Uthman, as the legitimate
Imam and successor to Muhammad, as having been explicitly appointed by
Muhammad, and of being infallible and inerrant.
15 Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yaqubi, Tarikh-e Yaqubi, trans. Muhammad Ibrahim
Ayati (Tehran: Markaz-e entesharat-e elmi va farhanghi, 1983), 1:228.
The Ethos of Shiism 59
16 Ahmad Mahmud Subhi, Nazariyyat al-Imama la day al-Shia al-ithnay ashariyya:
tahlil falsa li-l-aqida (Beirut: Dar al-Nadda al-Arabiyya, 1991), 49.
17 Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, al-Itqan ulum al-Quran (Beirut: Dar
Ibn Kathir, 1987), 6:589.
18 Majlisi, Bihar, 31:437.
19 Mud, Awail al-maqalat, 94.
20 Shahrastani, Kitab al-milal, trans. Kazi, 125.
21 Abu Hatim al-Razi, Gherayesh wa mazaheb-e Islami, trans. Agha Nuri (Qum:
Markaz motaleat va tahqiqat-e adyan va mazaheb, 2003), 259.
22 Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari, al-Maqalat wa-l-raq, ed. Muhammad Jawad Mashkur
(Tehran: Markaz-e entesharat-e elmi va farhanghi, 1982), 15; Hasan b. Musa
al-Nawbakhti, Firaq al-Shia, trans. Muhammad Jawad Mashkur (Tehran:
Entesharat-e elmi va farhanghi, 2002), 17.
23 Muhammad b. Hasan al-Tusi, Talkhis al-Shai, ed. Husayn Bahr al-Ulum
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46
people, I ask no reward for it from you; my reward comes only from God
(Q. 11:29). Also, see Q. 11:51, 25:57, 26:109, and 26:127.
47 Say, If I have asked you for any reward, you can keep it (fa-huwa la-kum). It is
God alone who will reward me: He is witness to everything (Q. 34:47).
48 Shustari, Ihqaq, 4:263, 287; 5:43; 7:213, 216; 17:165; and 21:129.
49 Ibid., 6:41012. In Sunni hadith collections, the person of Ali is replaced by
amiri: wa man yutia al-amir fa qad ataani See Muslim b. al-Hajjaj
al-Nisaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar al-kr, n.d.), 6:13.
50 Shustari, Ihqaq, 17:811, 7:378, and 6:41012.
51 Ibid., 30:311 and 17:235.
52 Ibid., 22:340 and 9:252, 454.
53 Quoted in Amini, Ghadir, 4:323; Allama Amini relates 11 other hadiths on this
subject, 4:32125. Shustari, Ihqaq, 33:237 and 9:165. See also Etan Kohlberg,
The Position of the Walad Zina in Imami Shiism, in Belief and Law in Imami
Shiism (Hampshire: Variorum, 1991), chap. 11, 23766: Their basic message is
that a hallmark of the walad zina is hatred of the ahl al-bayt, 239.
54 Shustari, Ihqaq, 9:425 and 18:471.
55 Ibid., 21:319 and 22:341. Love for the divine guides is interpreted to mean love
for the truth, humanity, goodness, and anything that leads to prosperity and
perfection.
56 Ibid., 3:577, 7:215, and 17:197.
57 Ibid., 5:1045.
58 Ibid., 2:298 and 9:48790; Sulayman b. Ibrahim al-Qanduzi al-Hana, Yanabi
al-mawadda, ed. Ali Jamal Ashraf al-Husayni (Beirut: Dar al-uswa, 1995), 1:91.
Qanduzi quotes these hadiths from Zamakhsharis al-Kashshaf and Fakhr al-Din
al-Razis al-Tafsir al-kabir, both of which feature their authors commentary on
the verse on mawadda (Q. 42:23).
59 Qanduzi, Yanabi, 1:91.
60 Shustari, Ihqaq, 5:291, 6:416, 16:598622, 22:453, 24:474, 30:330, and 31:252.
61 Ibid., 30:279, 18:243, and 7:260.
62 Abu al-Qasim Raghib al-Isfahani, al-Mufradat gharib al-Quran (Cairo:
al-Matbaah al-maymaniyah, 1906), 15556.
63 Muhammad Husayn al-Nuri, Mustadrak al-Wasail (Tehran: al-Maktabat
al-Islamiyya, 1962), 3:182.
64 Ibid.
65 al-Qadi, The Term Khalifa in Early Exegetical Literature, 409.
66 Numerous hadiths refer to the divine guides as khalifa in its comprehensive sense,
which covers the temporal, religious, and spiritual spheres. See, for example,
The Ethos of Shiism 61
Kulayni, Ka, 1:27576 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab anna al-aimma khulafa Allah
ardi-hi ); and Amini, Ghadir, 7:131.
67 Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide, 12.
68 Ibid., 19.
69 Kulayni, Ka (Kitab al-hujja, Bab nadir jami fadl al-imam wa sifati-hi).
Muhammad b. Yaqub b. Ishaq al-Kulayni, al-Ka, translated to English under
the supervision of Muhammad Rida al-Jafari (Tehran: WOFIS, 1978-) vol. 1,
part two, The Book of Divine Proof (II), 92109. So far, up to the end of section 1
of Kitab al-hujja has been translated to English. This corresponds to 2:189 of the
work edited and translated into Persian by Mustafawi.
70 Dierent terms are employed to refer to this wilaya: al-wilayat al-mutlaqa,
al-wilayat al-amma, al-wilayat al-takwiniyya, al-wilayat al-kulliyya. al-wilayat
al-takwiniyya and tashriiyya are not found in the Quran and the hadith litera-
ture. See Lotfollah Sa Golpayegani, Velayat-e takvini va velayat-e tashrii
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(Tehran: Muassasat al-Imam al-Mahdi, n.d.), 53. I use wilaya in its technical
sense, not in the signication found in some Shii hadiths and works, to mean love
(mahabba). It is possible to distinguish between the two meanings in Shii works
based on the sentences context and qarain. Wilaya, like wahy and mujiza, does
not lend itself to intellectual constructs because it is a reality (haqiqa) that the
community is informed about through hadiths. Only a select few can taste an
aspect of this wilaya. The analogy is trying to make a small child understand the
pleasure of having sex.
71 Kulayni, Ka, ed. Ghaari, 1:25556, hadith no. 4 (al-tafwid ila rasul Allah wa
ila-l-aimma amr al-din).
72 Q. 4:59.
73 This superlative form of awla was used during the sermon of Ghadir where the
Prophet is reported to have asked the believers: Do I not have more authority
or claim (awla) over you than you have upon yourselves? Haskani, Shawahid
al-tanzil, 1:187; Hilli, Nahj al-haqq, 17273.
74 Abdel Haleem translates this as The Prophet is more caring towards the believ-
ers than they are themselves, while his wives are their mothers which is not quite
accurate.
75 Landolt, Walayah, 31623 and Tabatabai, Mizan, 6:1016, 10:89, 16:291, and
14:215.
76 Abdel Haleems translation: Your true allies are God, His Messenger and the
believersthose who keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and bow down
in worship.
77 Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran (Elmhurst, New York: Tahrike Tarsile
Quran, 2009), 81. H. Landolt translates this verse as Your wali is only God, his
Messenger, and those who [truly] believe, who perform the prayer and give alms,
bending the body. Landolt, Walayah, 317.
78 Abdel Haleems translation: The Prophet is more caring towards the believers
than they are themselves.
79 And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians
(awliya) of each other (Q. 9:71) and The believers, both men and women,
support each other (Abdel Haleems translation).
80 Sa Golpayegani, Velayat-e takvini, 1315.
81 Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saar al-Qummi, Basair al-darajat, ed. Mirza M.
Kuchebaghi (Qum: Maktaba Ayatollah al-uzma al-Marashi al-Naja, 1983),
2028; Kulayni, Ka, 2:25357 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab -ma jaa anna haditha-hum
sab mustasab); Majlisi, Bihar, 2:18385; Futuni, Tafsir mirat al-anwar, 61.
82 Kulayni, Ka, 1:28, hadith no. 15 (Kitab al-aql wa-l-jahl).
83 Abdel Haleems translation: But they are denying what they cannot comprehend
its prophecy has yet to be fullled for them.
62 The Ethos of Shiism
84 Jafar Sobhani, Velayat-e tashrii va takvini dar Quran-e majid (Qum: Muassasa
Imam Sadiq, 2003), 6468.
85 Josephs miracle is related in Q. 12:9396; Moses in Q. 2:60 and 26:63; Solomon
and his companion in Q. 27:3840; Muhammad in Q. 54:12.
86 Kulayni, Ka, 1:470, hadith no. 4. For additional examples, see Jawad b. Abbas
Karbalai, al-Anwar al-satia sharh ziyara al-jamia (Tehran: Muassasat al-alami,
1990), 1:298309.
87 These 14 categories are interrelated and thus not mutually exclusive. See Kulayni,
Ka, 2:276318 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab hi nukat wa nutaf min al-tanzil -l-wilaya)
and 2:31821 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab hi nutaf wa jawami min al-riwaya -l-wilaya).
88 Sometimes referred to as al-haqiqat al-Muhammadiyya or al-haqiqat al-Alawiyya.
89 Kulayni, Ka, 1:276 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab anna al-aimma nur Allah), hadith no. 1.
God is the light of the heavens and the earth (Q. 24:35).
90 Ibid. and Amir-Moezzi, The Spirituality of Shii Islam, 27374.
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ketab, 2001), 258. In total, 99 of Gods names are related in multiple hadith
reports. See Saduq, al-Tawhid, 194223.
105 Muhammad b. Ali b. Babawayh al-Qummi (Shaykh Saduq), Maani al-akhbar,
ed. Ali Akbar al-Ghaari (Tehran: Entesharat-e Islami, 1982), 3; al-Qummi,
Tehrani, al-Tawhid, 22930, hadith no. 1.
106 Mulla Hadi Sabzawari, Sharh al-Asma al-husna (Qum: Maktaba basirati, n.d.),
1:4, 78, 189, and 2:21.
107 Ibid., 2:96. Another variant is dakhil -l-ashya la ka-shay shay dakhil, wa
kharij min al-ashya la ka-shay min shay kharij. Tabatabai, Mizan, 8:263;
Kulayni, Ka, 1:83, hadith no. 2 (Kitab al-Tawhid, Bab anna-hu la yurafu illa bi-hi);
Saduq, Tawhid, 285 and 306; Saduq, Maani al-akhbar, 1:239, hadith no. 217.
108 Ibid.
109 Kulayni, Ka, 1:196, hadith no. 4 (Kitab al-tawhid, Bab al-nawadir); Majlisi,
Bihar, 25:5, hadith no. 7; al-Nadr Muhammad b. Masud b. Ayyash al-Sulami al-
Ayyashi, Kitab al-tafsir, ed. Hashem al-Rasuli al-Mahallati (Tehran: al-Maktabat
al-ilmiyyat al-Islamiyya, n.d.), 2:42 (nahnu wa-l-lah al-asma al-husna al-lati la
yaqbalu Allah min al-ibad amal illa bi marifati-na) as interpretation of the
verse: fa adu-hu bi-ha (Q. 7:180). The divine guides are also referred to as kalimat
Allah (words of God) in hadith reports, Shaykh Saduq, Man la yahduruh al-
faqih, ed. Ali Akbar Ghaari (Qum: Jamiat al-mudarrisin, 1984), 2:592 (Bab
mawdi qabr amir al-muminin ); Majlisi, Bihar, 24:173, and in some of the
ziyarat they are addressed as kalimat Allah (al-salam alay-ka ya kalimat
Allah in Bihar, 100:307), kalimat Allah al-tamma (Kanz al-ummal, 1:108)
and kalimat al-Rahman (Bihar, 100:278). In the ziyara of the Twelfth Imam:
wa azhir kalimata-ka al-tamma ardi-ka, in Taqi al-Din Ibrahim
b. Muhammad al-Amili al-Kafami, al-Balad al-amin wa-l-dir al-hasin (Beirut:
Muassasat al-alami, 1997), 404; Bihar, 99:82. In the supplication celebrating the
Twelfth Imams birth: fa-tammat kalimatu-ka sidq wa adl la mubaddila
li-kalimati-ka wa la muaqqiba li-ayati-ka, in Kafami, al-Balad al-amin, 264.
110 Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-Numan al-Mud, al-Ikhtisas with introduction
by Muhammad Mahdi Hasan al-Khurasani (Qum: Maktaba basirati, n.d.), 4.
Other examples are hadith qudsi: khalaqtu-ka li-ajli wa khalaqtu al-khalq la-ka,
and law la-ka la-ma khalaqtu al-aak, Shustari, Ihqaq, 1:43031.
111 Mud, Ikhtisas, 25, hadith no. 4. Qudrat Allah Husayni Shahmuradi analyzes the
exegesis attributed to the Eleventh Imam and concludes that it is authentic and
properly ascribed to him. See Abd al-Husayn al-Amini, Tafsir-e Fatihat al-kitab,
trans. Qudrat Allah Husayni Shahmuradi (Tehran, n.p, n.d.), 193204.
112 Futuni, Tafsir mirat al-anwar, 31. Shafaa here is used in the sense of tawassul
(resorting to intermediaries by way of petitionary prayer), which is a form of
shafaa.
64 The Ethos of Shiism
113 Yalamuna ilm ma kana wa ma yakun, Kulayni, Ka, 1:38891 (Kitab al-hujja,
Bab anna al-aimma yalamuna ilm ma kana wa ma yakunu wa anna-hu la yakhfa
alay-him al-shay).
114 Ibid., 1:38283 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab anna al-aimma idha shau an yalamu alimu).
115 Ibid., 1:32931.
116 Ibid., 1:34450. For greater elaboration on these written sources, see Amir-Moezzi,
The Divine Guide, 7374.
117 Ibid., 1:37274.
118 Ibid., 1:35072.
119 Kulayni, Ka, 1:38387 (Kitab al-hujja, Bab anna al-aimma yalamuna mata
yamutuna wa anna-hum la yamutuna illa bi ikhtiyar min-hum).
120 The scope of knowledge in the section on wilaya is far broader than it is in the
section on khilafa, because knowledge in the latter section pertains only to tem-
poral aairs (e.g., knowledge of the Quran, sunna of the Prophet, and matters
pertaining to society). The divine guides are also referred to as rmly grounded
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