The Emergence of Shi'ism and the Twelvers

In relation to works dedicated to the study of Sunnism and Sunnijurispru- dence, works on Shi'ism and Shi'ite jurisprudence have received less academic attention within western scholarship.

The fundamental doctrinal difference that distinguishes Shi'ism from mainstream orthodox Islam (or more specifically, Sunnism) is its doctrine of Imamate, which developed (or at least came to light) after the demise of Prophet Muhammad when Muslims started to dispute who would succeed him in leading the community.34 Amongst the Muslims, a group, which even­tually became recognised as the Shi'ite 'Ali (lit. supporters of Ali) professed that all spiritual, ethical, legal, and political affairs of the community (umma) were entrusted to the cousin and son in-law of the Prophet, Ali b. Abi Talib (d. 661). Being from the family of the Prophet, Ali's supporters upheld that he, by nature and nurture, possessed the necessary qualities of being the Prophet's rightful heir. In support of their claim, the Shi'ites made numerous references to traditions and historical events, which they believed attested that the Prophet designated Ali as his successors

31 See MAchaA Lipka et- A,, Wliy Mustois are the Worlds Fastest Growing Rellglous Group, retrieved 23rd June 2018, from http^//www,pewresearch,0rg/fact^tank/2017/04/06/why -mus]ims-are-the-wor]ds-fastest-growing-religious-group/.

32 This is also shown by Stewart, Islamic Legal Orthodoxy, 38-42; Newman, The Formative !١(^ilodof TweIverShsm, xv.

33 For a comprehensive understanding of the Iranian Revolution see Hoveyda, The Shah and the Ayatollah', Parsa, Social Oilglns of the Iranian Revolution)', Zahedy The Iranian Riv^olt^tlonThi^nar^dNow.

34 Tabataba, Shttte Islamt, 33', Gotdzthier, Introduction to Islamite Theology and Law, 202-3', Stewart, Islamic Legal Orthodoxy, 28-37.

35 See Moei, An Introduction, 1122', Moezzi The Dlvlne Gul!^e in Early Shfism., 6-!2', Modarresi CrsesandConsolldatlonIntheFormative Period ofShHteIslam,ι-⅛.

Despite the case put forward by his supporters, 'Ali did not immediately take charge of the Muslim community. Instead, he was endowed with the reigns of successorship, or caliphate, around twenty-six years after the death of the Prophet. All's tenure as a Caliph lasted for five years and not only witnessed an immense expansion of his circle of supporters, but also a fierce civil war that was instigated during the reign of his predecessor, Caliph 'Uthman b. Alfan (d. 656).36 After the demise of 'Ali, Shi'ites continued to uphold the belief that the rightful successorship belonged to male decadents from the family of the Prophet, through his daughter Fatima (d. 632) and Ali. By the middle of the 8th century, Shi'ite fractions had formulated the doctrine that mankind was and will always remain in need of guidance on all worldly (dunyawi) and religious (dint) affairs, which can only be provided by a divinely appointed Imam.37 The authority and influence of an Imam on the Shi'ite community was immediately recognised by the ruling Umayyad and early Abbasid monar­chies. Since Shi'ite Imams were strong contenders to the throne of caliphate, both Umayyads and Abbasids recognised the potential pejorative implica­tions of Shi'ite political rebellions, in particular if the Shi'ite Imams spurred their supporters to question the legitimacy of their monarchical governance.

Western scholarship's examination of the emergence of Shi'ism finds that two tendencies coexisted within the Shi'ite community after the death of 'Ali: an extremist tendency and a moderate tendency.38 The extremist fraction of the Shi'ite community, who became known as the ghulat (exaggerators) or

36 Ibld,,3.

37 Ibld,,, ⅛ Moezzi, The Dbilne Guldii, G', Stewart-, Islamic Legal Oithodoiiy, 23-4 Also, for

an overview of how the early Shi'ite concept of Imamate compared with the Sunni socio-political concept of Caliphate see Crone and Hinds, God’s Callph, 1-6.

38 See Momen, An Introduction, 65-71, Modarressi, Crises and Consolidation, 20-5' Moezzi, Divlne Guide, 129-31: For a thorough study on the Shi'ite Extremists see Moosa, Extremist Shlites.

the mufawwida, persistently ascribed Imams with superhuman, and at times, godlike, attributes and characteristics. They instigated the formulation of doc­trines such as the Imams possessing knowledge of the unseen (dm al-ghayb) and possessing infallibility (⅛ma) from committing sins and mistakes.39 On the other hand, the moderate fraction of the Shi'ites denied and rejected any extremist tendencies that elevated Imams from human beings to supernatural beings.

In recent years, western scholarship has witnessed the appearance of several scholarly monographs that attempt to unravel the religious philoso­phy of Shi'ism through examining its early formative period. Such scholarly monographs include Hossein Modarressfs Crises and Consolidation (1993), Amff-Moezzfs The Dhe C^u^c^e in Eaffy Shi'ism (1994١), Meff BaAher's Scffp CandEicegeslsinEaffyImamtShism (1999),ArzffaLsianfsstudy of the fifth Shi'ite Imam, Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 743) in Early Shl^cI Thought (2000), Andrew Newman's The Formative Period of Twelver Shi^cism, and Maria Dakake's study of Shi'ite identity in early Islam in The Charismatic Community (2007).

39 Modarressi, Crises and Consolidation, 21.

40 1,,29.. in which the centrality of Imams remained fundamental for both worldly and spiritual guidance. For instance, Amir-Moezzs study of early Shrism, which he refers to as early 'Imamism', leads him to assert:

Early Imamism, what from the beginning of this study was called “the early esoteric suprarational tradition," is not a theological-political doc­trine with a “theory of the Imamate"; on the contrary, this Imamism is a “theory of the Imamate" in which, and in regard to which, all other aspects of the doctrine are developed: theology, cosmogony, ethics, politics, the practical aspects of worship, mysticism, law, eschatology, and so forth.«

A thorough study of whether Shi'ism started as a political or a religious move­ment is undoubtedly an important enquiry that may potentially have astound­ing implications for the Shi'ite discourses of theology and jurisprudence. However, it falls outside the remit of my study, as I specifically focus on the already existent modern orthodox legal discourse of Shi'ism. For the purpose of my study, it is vital to note that modern Shi'ite theology, or more precisely, theology advocated by orthodox Shi'ite jurists-cum-theologians, presents Imams (together with the Prophet) as divinely appointed infallible (ma^csum) individuals who, by their very nature, possess knowledge (^cilm) of the Sharia, and it therefore regards them as authoritative figures who must be followed as a source of guidance.42

Despite the centrality of Imams within Shi'ism, the Shi'ite community did not always agree on which exact descendant from the household of the Prophet was eligible to take the reins of the Imamate.

41 Moezzi, Divine Guide, 125-126.

42 See Tabataba'!, ShiHte Islam, 172-3; Sobhani, Doctrines ofShiH Islam, 96-120: MuzaiTar, The Fatthof theImhmiyyahShi'ah,2c>.

43 For a comprehensive study of the numerous sub-schisms within Shi'ism, including Zaydi, Ismaili and Imami see Momen, An Introduction, 45-60: Heinz Halm, Shi'ism.

44 See Cuhdere, Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fur^dan^t^r^tali5^m, ⅛19', Aso see Newman, Twetver Shttsm: Unity andDtverstty IntheLtfe of Islam, 632-1722,2. on to his elder son Hasan b. 'Ali (d. 670) and then to his younger son Husayn b. Ali (d. 680). From the lineage of Husayn, the reigns of Imamate passed down another nine generations of his descendants. Orthodox Shi'ite theology upholds that each Imam was divinely appointed and chosen through designa­tion (nass) by the previous Imam.45

In the late gth century, Shi'ites faced major turmoil when the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-'Askari (d. 874), passed away without explicitly designating an undisputed heir who would take the seat of Imamate after him. Shi'ites eventu­ally came to allege that the rightful heir to Hasan al-Askari was his young son Muhammad al-Mahdi (b. 86g) who, because of his life being endangered by the Abbasid Caliphate, was forced to go into hiding from the world.46 For over sixty years, the Shi'ite community maintained limited access to the Hidden Imam through four individual deputies who claimed that they had access to him. These deputies were known as the ambassadors (safer) or the agents (wakll) of the Hidden Imam. A deputy assumed the responsibility of mediating bet­ween the Shi'ite community and the Hidden Imam, by taking questions and concerns of the community to the Imam and returning with his signed replies (also termed as tawqiat 'receipts'). This period became known as the ‘Minor Occultation' (ghaybatal-sughra). In 941, the fourth deputy of the Hidden Imam passed away without appointing a successor. The end of deputyship meant that the Shi'ite community lost all access to the Hidden Imam. By the middle of the 10th century, prominent Persian Shi'ite scholars, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 941) and ibn Babawayh al-Qummi, commonly known as Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 991), travelled around the Muslim empire to collect reports that conveyed the traditions of the Shi'ite Imams. Their perpetual efforts resulted in them coming to the forefront of influencing the formulation of theological doctrines relating to the period which became, and is still, known as the ‘Major Occultation' (ghaybat al-kubrh). Since the middle of the 10th century up till the present day, Shi'ites hold that during the period of major occultation, God has prolonged the life of the Twelfth Imam and has kept him in hiding. He will only reappear (or end the occultation) when the world is ready to accept his reign, in which he will combat evil and corruption and establish peace and justice.47

45 TabatabaT, Skttte Islam, 17⅛⅛2', Sobhrant, Doctrines, 1001', M ahar. The Fatth of the

Irnhmtyyah, 7⅛

46 See Tabataba'i, Shi'ite Islam, 184-5; Momen, An Introduction, 43-5: Modarressi, Crises and Consolidation, 89-91: Halm, ShiUsm, 34-8. For a comprehensive study see Sachedina, IslamtcMesstantsmtHatn, TheOccultattonof the TwelfthImam.

47 Tabataba'!, Shi'ite Islam, 211-5: Sobhani, Doctrines, 115-20: MuzafTar, The Faith of the Imhmtyyah, 75,-8..

The major occultation of the Twelfth Imam meant that Shi'ites had no choice but to accept the fact that they had lost all access to a charismatic divine guide. It was no longer possible for the Shi'ite community to directly, or via inter­mediary deputies, refer to the Hidden Imam to continue seeking guidance on Sharia matters. The emphasis and centrality of the concept of Imamate within Shi'ism, coupled with the formation of the doctrine that the living Imam is in major occultation, meant that Shi'ites had no choice but to find solutions and justifications to the same questions and issues that the mainstream Muslim community was faced with after the demise of the Prophet. Post-major occul­tation, Shi'ite intellectuals were forced to decide 1) how Sharia knowledge can be accessed in the absence of the Hidden Imam and 2) who had the author­ity and qualifications to legitimately access it. To sufficiently respond to these questions, we find that during the period of the major occultation, Shi'ite jurist-cum-theologians escalated their legal discourse and, like their Sunni counterparts, made diligent efforts in presenting a coherent legal theory.

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