A Reconsideration of the Sunni-Shi'a Divide in Early Islam Michael Bufano Clemson University, [email protected]
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2008 A Reconsideration of the Sunni-Shi'a Divide in Early Islam Michael Bufano Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Bufano, Michael, "A Reconsideration of the Sunni-Shi'a Divide in Early Islam" (2008). All Theses. 331. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/331 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A RECONSIDERATION OF THE SUNNI-SHI’A DIVIDE IN EARLY ISLAM A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History by Michael P. Bufano May 2008 Accepted by: Dr . James A. Miller, Committee Chair Dr . Amit Bein Dr . Steven Marks Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to explain how and why many modern Twelver Shi’a, Sunni, and Western scholars have structured political and religious conflict during the formative era of Islam (610-945 C.E.) around a partisan Sunni-Shi’a divide that did not truly exist, at least as we know it today, until the sixteenth century. By analyzing the socio-political and economic developments from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (570-632) to the Abbasid Revolution (750), I intend to show that there was no clear line that divided Sunni and Shi’a Muslims during the formative era of Islam, and that the concepts of Sunnism and Twelver Shi’ism took centuries to develop into the theological, legal, and spiritual characteristics that we associate with the two main sects of Islam today. In other words, I intend to show that Twelver Shi’ism and Sunnism were the products of several centuries of theological and legal speculation. During the first two centuries of Islam, a diversity of religious and political movements clouded the line between Sunnism and Shi’ism. Moreover, many of the life stories of important “Twelver Shi’ite” and “Sunni” historical figures of the formative era also blurred the line between what we know today as Sunnism and Shi’ism. ii Dedication I would like to thank my parents Nancy and Paul, my two brothers Steven and Richard, and my sister Kristina for their love and support throughout the last six years. Without you, I would not be where I am today. I would also like to thank Dr. James A. Miller, Dr. Amit Bein, and Dr. Steven Marks for their guidance and patience throughout the last two years. iii Table of Contents Title ...................................................................................................................................... i Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Charts and Maps .................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Modern Sunna and Shi’a Interpretations of Islamic History .........................1 General Overview of Shi’ism in Islamic History ................................................................5 Twelver Shi’ite Dogma and the Distortion of the Historical Narrative .............................12 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 2: Shari’ah Minded Opposition and the Roots of Shi’ite Piety ............... 20 Introduction: The Roots of Shi’ite Piety ............................................................................20 Shi’ism and the Limits of Shari’ah ....................................................................................25 The Piety-Minded Opposition............................................................................................31 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................34 Chapter 3: The Foundations of Islam, 570-632 C.E. .................................................... 37 Introduction ........................................................................................................................37 The Pre-Islamic Community in Mecca ..............................................................................39 The Qur’anic Revelation ....................................................................................................44 The First Islamic Community ............................................................................................46 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................50 Chapter 4: Islamic Conquest and the Rashidun Caliphs, 632-661 C.E. ..................... 53 Introduction ........................................................................................................................53 Setting the Stage for Islamic Expansion into the Middle East...........................................54 The Expansion of Islam into the Middle East ....................................................................60 Uthman’s Caliphate: A Progression towards Civil War ....................................................73 The First Civil War: The Battle of Siffin ...........................................................................78 The Archetypes of ‘Ali ibn Abu-Talib and Hasan .............................................................81 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................87 Chapter 5: The Early Umayyad Caliphate, 661-692 C.E. ............................................ 89 Introduction ........................................................................................................................89 iv The Reign of Mu’awiyya ...................................................................................................93 Husayn’s Martyrdom vs. Zayn al-Abidin’s Imamate ........................................................98 The Second Civil War ......................................................................................................103 The Kaysaniyya Movement .............................................................................................108 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................112 Chapter 6: The Umayyad Caliphate and the Islamic Opposition, 692-750 C.E. ..... 114 Introduction ......................................................................................................................114 ‘Abd al-Malik to Hashim: The Height of the Umayyad Caliphate ..................................119 The Third Civil War.........................................................................................................126 The Piety-Minded Opposition..........................................................................................130 Muhammad al-Baqir and Jafar al-Sadiq ..........................................................................136 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................144 Epilogue .......................................................................................................................... 146 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 151 Charts Chart 1: The Twelve Imams ..............................................................................................13 Chart 2: The Umayyad Family Tree ..................................................................................89 Maps Map 1: Arabia in the Fifth Century....................................................................................43 Map 2: The Islamic Conquests ..........................................................................................63 v Chapter One: Introduction Introduction: Modern Sunna and Shi’a Interpretations of Islamic History The world of Islam divides into two main sects with different theological approaches to God that vary at key points in doctrine. The American experience in Iraq since 2003 has spotlighted these key differences, yet few understand their origins. Most works, even those by specialists, construe the division as reaching back to the early formative years of Islam—which it does in some respects—but many do not realize how long it took for the important differences between what became known as Sunni and Shi’i Islam to become solid and fixed as they now seem to be. In other words, in the first few centuries of Islamic history, the term Shi’ism can only be applied retrospectively to a diversity of political sects and religious movements, many of which had little in common. 1 Here, a closer analysis of Islamic history from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (570 to 632 C.E.) to the Abbasid Revolution (750 C.E.) will show that there was a diversity of Shi’ite movements throughout early Islamic history and no clear line that divided