CRISIS AND CONSOLIDATION IN THE FORMATIVE PERIOD OF SHI'ITE ISLAM AbG Jdffdr ibn Qibd dl-Rdzi dnd His Contribzltion to Imdmite Shi'ite Thozlght Hossein Modarressi THE DARWIN PRESS, INC. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY Copyright O 1993 by Hossein Modarressi All rights reserved. CONTENTS No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, PREFACE ............................. vii electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of PART ONE: Imiimite Shi'ism in the Late ThirdINinth brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. Century ............................... 1 CHAPTERI: From Responsibilities to Rights ....... 3 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data CHAPTER11: Moderation or Shortcoming? ....... 19 CHAPTER111: The Crisis of Succession ......... 53 Modarressi, Hossein, date Crisis and consolidation in the formative period of Shi'ite Islam PART TWO: Abu Ja'far ibn Qiba al-Riizi: His Life and : Abu Ja'far ibn Qiba al-RZzi and his contribution to imamite Works ..............................107 Shi'ite thought 1 Hossein Modarressi. CHAPTERIV: Ibn Qiba: A Prominent Theologian . 109 cm. P. CHAPTER V: A Debate with the Mu'tazilites ..... 133 Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. CHAPTERVI: A Debate with the followers of ISBN 0-87850-095-2 (alk. paper): $35.00 Ja'far b. 'Ali ..................... 145 1. Shi'ah-Doctrines-History. 2. Ibn Qibah, Abfi Ja'far CHAPTER VII: A Debate with the Zaydites ...... 169 Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahmin, 9th/lOth cent.-Contributions in Shiite doctrine. 3. Shi'ah-Doctrines-Early works to 1800. 1. Title. BP194.M63 1993 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................ 245 297'.20424c20 9241266 CIP INDEX ..............................273 The paper in this book is acid-free neutral pH stock and meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. @ Printed in the United States of America Preface THEYEARS 260-3291874-941, known among the Shi'ites as the period of Minor Occultation, comprised undoubtedly the most difficult and critical period in the history of Imimite Shi'ism. It began with the death of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-'Askari, of no apparent successor, thus creating a total doctrinal chaos in the Imimite Shi'ite community, particularly in Mesopotamia. That resulted in turn in internal conflicts, many desertions and conver- sions, and the emergence of numerous splinter groups and subsects within the Imamite community. The situation encouraged other groups such as the Mu'tazilites and Zaydites to criticize and attack more aggressively the traditional ImZmite doctrines, which were now more vulnerable than ever before. Continuation of the old internal disagreements and schisms in the ImZmite community itself over some of the main theoretical issues, such as the validity of reason, the nature of the Imam, and the scope of his authority, only further complicated the situation. Beyond these elements, political suppression of the Shi'ite community, which reached its peak during the reign of the Abbasid Mutawakkil (232.2471847-861) and con- tinued throughout most parts of the period of Minor Occultation, J added to the tenslon. The need for reconstruction of some of the fundamental principles of the doctrine, such as the question of why human~tyshould always need an Imam, was real and presstng. The Imimite theologians of that period thus had the difficult task of defending the doctrine against attack while trying to offer i new interpretations of fundamental principles to accommodate new realities and developments. Gradually, in this period, which con- / tinued for most of one century, Imiimite Shi'ism developed into what later came to be known as Twelver Shi'ism with its special theological analyses and points of view. Abu Ja'far b. Qiba al-Rizi, one of the most prominent and active ImZmite theologians of this i period, had a major role in all of these reconstmctions and develop- ments. .. vlll PREFACE The present work attempts to shed light on some aspects of the Imiimite doctrine during the period of Minor Occultation and on the contributions of Abii Ja'far b. Qiba to the formation of the developed Imamite doctrine. The second part of this volume contains the texts of three short works of this scholar together with their English translation. The author would like to express his gratitude to Professors Wilferd Madelung and Michael Cook, who read the work and made PART ONE valuable suggestions, and to Mr. John Cooper, who produced the typescript of the Arabic texts and helped with their translation. Imamite Shi'ism in the Late ThirdINinth Century I From Responsibilities to Rights ,-I AFFECTIONFOR THE household of the Prophet is an old phenomenon in Islam that dates back to the time of the Prophet hlmself. Among his companions sonle were especially devoted to hls fam~ly.H~storical accounts suggest that after the death of the Prophet, when succession to his position was contested, those com- panions upheld the priority of the House of the Prophet, represented at the time by 'Ali b. Abi Tilib, first cousin of the Prophet and husband of his beloved daughter, Fi~ima,and supported him as the most eligible candidate. This opinion failed, however, to get enough support as did the suggestion that the leadership of the Muslim community be divided between the Emigrants (Muhzjirzin) and the Medineans (Anscir). Instead, the Quraysh, the powerful tribe of the Propher, managed to appoint one of their seniors from another clan to the position. 'All did eventually assume the caliphate twenty-five years later but for less than five years; he was assassinated in 401661. With the failure of the brief rule of his son, Hasan al-Mujtabi, political leadership passed from the Prophet's family to the Umayyad clan, which had been among the most bitter enemies of the Prophet until the last years of his life. The circle of followers that gathered around 'Ali, especially from the time of 'Uthmin, the third caliph, expanded immensely during the short period of 'Ali's caliphate, which was marked by fervent religiosity. During the reign of Mu'gwiya (41-601661-680), the followers of 'All com- prised a distinct group within the larger Muslim community and were severely persecuted by the government. In the course of their involvement in subsequent issues, such as the rise and fall of Husayn in 611680, the revolt of the Tawribin (the Penitents) in 64-651683- 684, and the rise of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in Kcfa in 66-671686-687, they emerged as an active anti-Umayyad group that supported the 'Alids as the legitimate rulers of the Muslim state.' ! 1. See the letter of the caliph HishXrn b. 'Abd al-Malik to his governor in Ktifa in Tabari, 7:169; also Hasan b. Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya: 24. 4 CRISIS AND CONSOLIDATION FROM RESPONSIBILITIES TO RIGHTS 5 The Shi'ite movement would eventually become one of the leader. This group, which came to be known as the Kaysinites,? two main divisions of Islam. Until the end of the first century of did not survive beyond the secondleighth century. After 'A11 Zayn the Hzjra, however, it did not d~stlnguishitself from the main body al-'Abidin, his son, Muhammad al-BZqir,4 and then Muhammad's of the Muslim community except by the mentioned political ten- son, Ja'far al-Sidiq, each enjoyed in turn wide public recognition dency. As Islamic legal schools began to form early in the second1 as the head of the House of the Prophet.' In the time of Ja'far eighth century, Shi'ism gradually became a distinct legal school, al-Sadiq, however, a further split divided the Shi'ite community most of whose members followed the teachings and legal opinions into two camps, Zaydites and Ja'farites. The Ja'farites later came of the most learned member of the House of the Prophet at the to be known as the Imamites. time, Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Baqir (d. 1141733).2Soon, during the After Ja'far al-Sidiq, the majority of his followers continued explosion of theological debates in Islamic society and the emergence to recognize, as a general rule, the most distinguished (usually the of different schools of kalam, the Shi'ite movement gradually began eldest) son of the previous Imim of his descendant as the next Imim. to take specific positions on various theological topics, mainly fol- The common belief was that each Imam designated his successor lowing the positions of Imam Muhammad al-Biqir and his son, from among his male descendants through testament (wa;iyya), Imim Ja'far al-Sidiq (d. 1481765). By the time of the Abbasid sometimes also called explicit designation (nus;). The list of the revolution in 13'21749, the Shi'ite movement had thus grown into Imams came, therefore, to be a chain of fathers and sons (except a complete and independent political, legal, and theological school. for the second and third Imams, Hasan and Husayn, who were After the death of 'All b. Abi Tilib, his two sons by Pi~ima, brothers) as follows: Hasan and Husayn, became the focus of devotion for those who 1. 'Ali b. Abi Tilib (d. 401661) supported the claim of the House of the Prophet to leadership of 2. Hasan b. '~l'ial-Mujtabi (d. 491669) the Muslim community. After the death of these two, the son of 3. Husayn b. 'All al-Shahld (d. 611680) Husayn, 'A11 Zayn al-'Abidin, came to be recognized by most of 4. 'kll b. al-Husayn Zayn alLeAbidin (d. 9517 13) the community as the head of the Prophet's House. One radical 5. ~uhammadb. 'Ali al-Baqir (d.