Shia islam or shiism is one of the two main branches of islam. The origin of islam is placed around 610 ce when muhammad, a highly spiritual and religious man who spent months in praying and self contemplation in a secluded cave near the town of mecca, is thought to have received divine messages. Select general bibliography and miscellany with occasonal urls. Cambridge core middle east studies shii islam by najam haider. Rlg 5937 u04 special topics spring 2017, religious department, fiu time.
Tauris in association with the institute of ismaili studiesshii muslims have played a crucial role, proportionally greater than their relative. It holds that the islamic prophet muhammad designated ali ibn abi talib as his successor and the imam leader after him, most notably at the event of ghadir khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of saqifah. Pdf this research paper surveys the history, theology, and philosophy of the shia madhhab, one of the two main factions of islam. Shia islam, the second largest branch of islam, consists of approximately 15 percent of the total muslim population. The shia revival how conflicts within islam will shape the future. This student guest lecture is an overview of the history of the ismaili imams and the ismaili concept of tawil esoteric interpretation. Pdf this research paper surveys the history, theology, and. This book is a general introduction to shii islamspecifically to twelver shiism, to which the majority of shiis belong today. In christianity, the soul becomes spiritual as it is sanctified through the gifts of grace brought by the holy spirit as it enters into the soul itself. Muhammads bloodline continues only through his daughter fatima zahra and cousin ali who alongside muhammads grandsons comprise the ahl albayt. Shias adhere to the teachings of muhammad and the religious guidance of his family or his descendants known as shia imams. The shia religion is traditionally called shii or tashi madhhab also. Perhaps no aspect of the history of shii islam is as confused as the stories relating to the twelfth imam and this is not surprising as this is the point in shii history where the events related become of a miraculous, extraordinary nature and the nonbeliever may be unwilling to. Indeed, the shii scholars and literati of various branches and regions, including scientists, philosophers, theologians, jurists and poets, have made seminal contributions to islamic.
Shii, member of the smaller of the two major branches of islam, the shiah, distinguished from the majority sunnis and characterized especially by the belief that the spiritual and political leadership of the muslim community was designated to pass through the lineage of. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. These two works represent a modest attempt to fill some of the gaps that exist in the field of islamic. Consequently it will be illustrated how this attitude became manifest as early as the death of the prophet muhammad. Shii islam by najam haider cambridge university press. It is academic in its approach and organized into two main sections. Of the two standard works available in english, heinz halms shiism includes only short treatments of the. This book proved an excellent means of beginning to fill that void. The present work is a summarized version of shii islam. The division of the community of islam into sunni and shii branches has commonly been explained in terms of purely political differences. An introduction political economy of islam 20171026 pdf the art and material culture of iranian shiism.
Shia islam origins, shia islam history, shia islam beliefs. It was delivered at the university of toronto at the invitation of the professor of the course on. This shorter version aims to briefly address main issues related to islam in general and shii islam in particular. A history of shii islam shii heritage series farhad daftary. This view primarily contrasts with that of sunni islam, whose adherents believe that. In the early years of islamic history there was no orthodox sunni or heretical shiite, but rather of two points of view that were drifting steadily until became manifest as early as the death of muhammad the prophet of islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of muhammad and the religious guidance of his family who are referred to as the ahl albayt or his descendants known as shia imams. Islamic library shia islamic pdfs now in collaboration.
Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Its origins have been attributed to basically political partisanship with regard to the leadership of the umma, a partisanship which later exploded into conflict in the civil war between ali and muawiya. From infallible imams to ayatollahs in iran, shii islam has long been a prominent, if misunderstood, branch of. A history of shii islam, by farhad daftary rebecca. I came to this book with only a rudimentary knowledge of islamic history and a glaring ignorance of shii islam. Rather shiism is a theoretical category, in which a large number of existing and lost orientations. The myth of the clerical migration to safawid iran. Iconography and religious devotion in shii islam international library of iranian studies 20100720 apocalyptic islam. Shiism began for the first time with a reference made to the partisans of ali the first leader of the ahl albayt household of the prophet. Muhammads bloodline continues only through his daughter fatima zahra and cousin ali who alongside muhammads. A history of shii islam shii heritage series farhad. This text gives an overview of shiite spirituality comparing it with christian spirituality. The focus is on twelver shiism, although mentions are made of the other shii denominations throughout the book where necessary.
Shiis must not be understood as a group with a united identity. Tauris in association with the institute of ismaili studies shii muslims have played a crucial role, proportionally greater than their relative size, in furthering the civilizational achievements of islam. A history of shii islam the institute of ismaili studies. Momens book fills an important gap in the general literature in english on twelver shiism, and should be carefully studied by anyone who wants to know more. The starting point in any study of shii islam must, by historical necessity, be the nature and composition of the muslim community which emerged at medina under the leadership of muhammad. The result is a comprehensive survey of shii islam that will serve as an accessible work of reference for academics in both islamic and middle eastern studies, as well as the broader field of the history of religions, and also more general, nonspecialist readers. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
The author has extensively used primary historical sources as well as more recent academic works in order to present one of the most detailed accounts of early shiism that is available in the english language today. Shia islam, also known as shiite islam or shiism, is the second largest branch of islam after sunni islam. Such global exposure has accentuated how little is known outside the muslim communities about the history and traditions of shi. Based on research on numerous well known to nearly extinct works, it promises to bring to the reader the spellbinding truths for the first time ever. Origins, faith and practices 2003, icas press by the same author. It deals with the history and development of this important religion, giving an account of shii doctrines and focusing in particular on those areas in which it differs from sunni islam. Though the two main sects within islam, sunni and shia, agree on most of the fundamental beliefs and practices of islam, a bitter split between the two goes back some 14 centuries.
Charting the history of islam from the death of the prophet muhammad to the present day, john mchugo describes the conflicts that raged over the succession to the prophet, how sunnism and shiism evolved as different sects during the abbasid caliphate, and how the rivalry between the sunni ottomans and shii safavids ensured that the split. This text is a very detailed and comprehensive history of the early stages of shiism. It deals with the history and development of this important religion, giving an account of shii doctrines and focusing in particular on those areas in which it. This is a laudable expansion in scope from previous introductions. This work is the product of the authors research in film and media at the university of londons school of oriental and african studies, where she obtained her. Indeed, the shii scholars and literati of various branches and regions, including scientists, philosophers, theologians, jurists and poets, have made. Shii islam, with its rich and extensive history, has played a crucial role in the evolution of islam as both a major world religion and civilization. The sunnishii schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to muhammad, whereas in reality, sunni and shii muslims also differ on a number of seminal theological doctrines concerning the nature of god and legitimate political and religious authority.
The study of shii islam presents papers originally delivered at the first international colloquium dedicated exclusively to shii studies, held in 2010 at the institute of ismaili studies, london. Arab shiite opposition to ali alkaraki and safawid shiism. An international conference that examines one of the most intriguing periods in the history of shii islam and brings together some of the leading scholars in the field. Publishers in association with the institute of ismaili studies, 20. Jqs publishes articles both in english and arabic, to encourage the bridging of the gap between the two traditions of muslim and western scholarship. Nacim pakshirazs book, shii islam in iranian cinema, focusses on issues related to religion and spirituality in iranian films and explores the multiple facets of the expression of shiism in both its worldly and spiritual approaches. The spirituality of shi i islam download ebook pdf, epub. The true history of early islam is probably the first ever work that will attempt to trace the history of islam. Within the book are eight sections, namely, history, the quran and its shii interpretations, hadith, law.
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