"The Twelvers are currently the most populous Shi°i denomination and a hugely influential force within the diverse and complicated history of Islam, and yet relatively few careful critical studies have been made into the complex and contradictory evidence for this foundational moment of Twelver Shi°ism. Central to this story are the agents of the hidden Imam who created the conditions of possibility for the establishment and canonization of this defining doctrine of Twelver Shi'ism: the Occultation ghayba of the twelfth Imam. I aim to show how the direct leadership of the Imams collapsed, how it was replaced by the authority of agents of non-Imamic lineage,9 and why the leadership of the agents collapsed in turn, only to be canonized as a key part of Twelver doctrine"--
In 874 CE, the eleventh Imam died, and the Imami community splintered. The institutions of the Imamate were maintained by the dead Imam's agents, who asserted they were in contact with a hidden twelfth Imam. This was the beginning of 'Twelver' Shi ism. Edmund Hayes provides an innovative approach to exploring early Shi ism, moving beyond doctrinal history to provide an analysis of the socio-political processes leading to the canonisation of the Occultation of the twelfth Imam. Hayes shows how these agents cemented their authority by reproducing the physical signs of the Imamate, including protocols of succession, letters and the alm taxes. Four of these agents were ultimately canonised as envoys but traces of earlier conceptions of authority remain embedded in the earliest reports. Hayes dissects the complex and contradictory Occultation narratives to show how, amidst the claims of numerous actors, the institutional positioning of the envoys allowed them to assert a quasi-Imamic authority in the absence of an Imam.
Reconstructing the roles and careers of key actors in the drama of early Occultation politics and the emergence of the first leaders of Twelver Shi ism, this book demonstrates how they established the doctrines and institutions of Twelver Shi ism, the dominant branch of Shi i Islam in the world today.
Recenzijos
'This book studies a crucial yet poorly understood period in the history of Imami Shisim. Hayes has produced a compelling historical narrative out of a difficult and fragmentary record. Significantly, he reminds us that doctrine is never sui generis, and that to understand doctrinal history, we must keep in mind the social and the political.' Mushegh Asatryan, University of Calgary 'An innovative study the first of its kind in which the relationship between the Imam and the community is examined in terms of institutional structures and networks, and not purely as a matter of doctrine. For the first time, we have a history of early Imami Shi'ism which incorporates developments in religious doctrine with political structures, religious institutions and the practices of early Imami believers. The work provides us with a clear and detailed account of the Imam's practical as well as doctrinal authority in early Shi'ism. The finding have implications beyond Shi'i studies with implications for our understanding of the development of institutional religion in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods.' Robert Gleave, University of Exeter 'A path-breaking study of the pivotal moment in the formation of Twelver Shi`ism - the transition of leadership from the Imams to the envoys. By inserting social, political, and institutional dimensions into his analysis and narrative, Hayes offers a new approach to the writing of Shi`i history.' Nimrod Hurvitz, Ben Gurion University of the Negev 'An exciting, path-breaking book that examines the emergence of Twelver Shism through the lens of the forgotten actors at the heart of the story: the agents of the imams. Part social history, part history of religion, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the many different kinds of Islam that developed in the early period.' Christian C. Sahner, University of Oxford 'A vividly coherent narrative of a sensitive historical period.' Hussein Ali Abdulsater, JAOS
Daugiau informacijos
Offers fascinating insights into the careers of the first leaders of Twelver Shiism: agents who claimed to speak for the 'hidden Imam'.
Introduction;
1. The rise of the agents in the late Imamate (830-874
CE);
2. The crisis before the crisis. The feud between Imamic contenders and
the power of the agents;
3. Crisis! The mother, the brother, the concubine
and the politics of inheritance;
4. The agents of the Niya in the era of
perplexity;
5. The creation of an envoy: The rise of Ab Jafar al-Amr;
6.
Rise and fall: Ibn Raw, Shalmaghn, and rise and collapse of the envoyship;
Conclusion.
Edmund Hayes is researcher at Radboud University, Nijmegen. He has authored numerous articles at the intersection between the intellectual, religious, and social history of early Islam, including on the institutions of the Shii Imamate, Islamic revenues, charity and taxation, excommunication, ethnicity and gender and sexuality.
