The Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam

The Origins and Early Development of Shi’a Islam Table of Contents Editor's preface Preface Chapter 1 Conceptual Foundations Chapter 2 Saqifa: The First Manifestations Chapter 3 Ali and the First Two Caliphs Chapter 4 The Re-emergence of the 'Alid Party Chapter 5 Kufa: Stage of Shi’i Activities Chapter 6 The Abdication of Hasan Chapter 7 The Martyrdom of Husayn Chapter 8 The Reaction after Karbala Chapter 9 The Struggle for Legitimacy Chapter 10 The Imamate of Ja'far as-Sadiq Chapter 11 The Doctrine of the Imamate Bibliography Notes Editor's preface The Arab World has, for some time, been attracting the attention of a growing public throughout the world. The strategic position of the Arab countries, the oil they produce, their sudden emancipation and emergence as independent states, their revolutions and coups d’état, have been the special concern of statesmen, politicians, businessmen, scholars and journalists, and of equal interest to the general public. An appreciation of the present-day problems of Arab countries and of their immediate neighbours demands a certain knowledge of their geographical and social background; and a knowledge of the main trends of their history political, cultural and religious-is essential for an understanding of current issues. Arabs had existed long before the advent of Islam in the seventh century AD, but it was with Islam that they became a world power. Arab civilization, which resulted from the contacts the Arabs had with other peoples and cultures, especially after the creation of this world power, and which reached its height in the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries, was, for a few centuries that followed, the guiding light of a large part of the world. Its role cannot, thus, be ignored. The Arab Background Series provides the English speaking, educated reader with a series of books which attempt to clarify the historical past of the Arabs and to analyse their present problems. The contributors to the series, who come from many parts of the world, are all specialists in their own fields. This variety of approach and attitude creates for the English-speaking reader a unique picture of the Arab World. N. A. ZIADEH Preface The rise and development of Islam ham been the subject of numerous studies, both general and specialized, but a major question, that of the origins and early growth of Shi'a Islam, has received insufficient attention. So far, the approach to this subject ham been largely through the works of heresiographers such as Baghdadi, Ibn Hazm, and Shahrastani; and the picture that has emerged has been that of a heresy founded on political and economic considerations. Indeed, valuable as the heresiographies are for an understanding of the problems involved, over-dependence on such polemical works can only be expected to result in such conclusions. A much more reliable basis for research may be found in the historical texts, many of which preserve contemporary documents and fragments of older and more trustworthy accounts; but in their studies of Shi'a Islam, scholars have seldom turned to these more objective works. For many years, of course, these texts were accessible only in ancient manuscripts preserved in isolated collections scattered throughout the world. And within the works themselves, a passage relevant to our subject may often appear only after the perusal of an entire volume. Now, however, the great upsurge of scholarly interest in the Islamic world in both the East and the West has borne fruit, and the researcher has at his disposal modern critical editions of early sources and a plethora of invaluable reference aids. In the light of the evidence now available, it is possible to undertake a critical reassessment of the origins and development of Shi'a Islam. In these pages, therefore, an attempt is made to trace out and reconstruct those earliest tendencies and ideas which gave Shi'a Islam its distinctive character. As these factors came to focus on the question of religious leadership, our discussion will largely concentrate on the Shi'i response to this problem, from its origins among a group of early Muslims until the Imamate of Ja'far as-Sadiq. By this time, all the fundamental elements of Shi'ism had appeared, and were being formulated into what would eventually become the Twelver system of doctrine and legal practice. My aim has been to reconstruct and present the development of an Islamic ideal-that of a particular vision of religious leadership that first appeared after the Prophet's death- based on the testimony of the historical sources. In this sense my work may be seen as completing itself with Chapter Eight, dealing with the movement of the Tawwabun. Chapter Nine deals with a problem within the Shi'a itself, and here certainly historical sources cannot be of much help. A solid historical foundation can be restored once again with Chapter Ten, which provides a background for the Imamate of Ja'far as- Sadiq. The last chapter does not, in fact, mark the culmination of the main theme of this work, but rather offers to the reader an assessment of a developed stage of a concept of religious leadership as it emerged from its rudimentary foundations. With these few words about the work, it is my pleasant duty to acknowledge the valuable help which has been rendered to me in the preparation of this study. Professor Nicola A. Ziadeh kindly offered me the opportunity to write in his series. Much of the research work involved was made possible by a generous grant from the American University of Beirut. Mr Lawrence I. Conrad rendered patient and perseverant assistance during the course of my work, and Miss Lamia Awad typed the manuscript with diligence and care. Numerous colleagues and friends have read parts of the text and have made valuable comments and suggestions. To all of them I extend my utmost gratitude and sincere thanks. American University of Beirut 27th August 1976 SYED HUSAIN M. JAFRI Chapter 1 Conceptual Foundations The division of the community of Islam into Sunni and Shi'i branches has commonly been explained in terms of purely political differences. 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 Mu'awiya. This war not only established the Umayyads in power, but also supposedly marked the advent of Shi'ism as a religious movement divergent from the main body of believers. Such an interpretation grossly oversimplifies a very complex situation. Those who thus emphasize the political nature of Shi'ism are perhaps too eager to project the modern Western notion of the separation of church and state back into seventh century Arabian society, where such a notion would be not only foreign, but completely unintelligible. Such an approach also implies the spontaneous appearance of Shi'ism rather than its gradual emergence and development within Islamic society. The recent occidental conception of "a purely spiritual movement" is exceptional. Throughout most of human history religion has been intimately involved in the whole life of man in society, and not least in his politics. Even the purely religious teaching of Jesus-as it is commonly regarded-is not without its political relevance.1 Just as the Prophet was basically a religious and spiritual teacher and messenger and, at the same time, due to the circumstances, a temporal ruler and statesman, Islam has been since its very birth both a religious discipline and, so to speak, a socio-political movement. It is basically religious because of the status Muhammad attained as the Apostle of God appointed and sent by Him to deliver His message to mankind, and political because of the environment and circumstances in which it arose and grew. Likewise Shi'ism, in its inherent nature, has always been both religious arid political, and these co-existing aspects are found side by side throughout its history. It is therefore difficult to speak, at any stage of its existence, about the "political" Shi'a as distinct from the "religious" one. Throughout the first three or four centuries of Islamic religious and institutional development, one cannot fail to see that all religious discussions among Muslims had both political and social relevance. When we analyse different possible relations which the religious beliefs and the political constitution in Islam bear to one another, we find the claims and the doctrinal trends of the supporters of Ali more inclined towards the religious aspects than the political ones; thus it seems paradoxical that the party whose claims were based chiefly on spiritual and religious considerations, as we shall examine in detail presently, should be traditionally labelled as political in origin. The term Shi'a, keeping in view its historical development, must strictly be taken throughout this chapter in its literal meaning as followers, party, group, associates, partisans, or in a rather looser sense, the "supporters".2 In these meanings the word Shi'a occurs a number of times in the Qur'an.3 In its applied meaning as a particular designation for the followers of Ali and the people of his house, and thereby a distinct denomination within Islam against the Sunni, the term Shi'a was a later usage. In the infant years of Islamic history, one cannot speak of the so-called "orthodox" Sunna and the "heretical" Shi'a, but rather only of two ill-defined points of view that were nevertheless drifting steadily, and finally irreconcilably, further apart With this meaning of the term Shi'a in mind, our main purpose here is to trace the background of this support to Ali and to investigate its origins in the Arabian society of the day in the midst of which Islam arose.

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