Paradigmatic Criteria of "Leadership" in Islamic Thought: Subject-formation at Sunnī, Shīʿī, and Ṣūfī Crossroads

Pa adigma ic C i e ia o “Leade ship” in Islamic Though :
Subjec - o ma ion a Sunnī, Shīʿī, and Ṣū ī C oss oads
Ali N. Moughania
Submi ed in pa ial ul illmen o he
equi emen s o he deg ee o
Doc o o Philosophy
unde he Execu i e Commi ee
o he G adua e School o A s and Sciences
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
2022
© 2022
Ali N. Moughania
All Righ s Rese ed
Abs ac
Pa adigma ic C i e ia o “Leade ship” in Islamic Though :
Subjec - o ma ion a Sunnī, Shīʿī, and Ṣū ī C oss oads
Ali N. Moughania
The p eoccupa ion o Islamic hinke s wi h he o ma ion o mo al subjec s ( hemsel es
and o he s) mo i a ed hei deploymen s o di e en concep ual amewo ks o sa is y
pa adigma ic mo al equi emen s. These in ellec ual pu sui s a e po ayed as echnologies
in ol ed in “ca ing o he sel ,” ha is, in o ming he subjec /agen o he b oade communi y.
Recons uc ing his o ical deba es ha d aw on he wo ks o a selec ion o Islamic au ho s, mainly
be ween he 10 h and 13 h cen u ies CE, his disse a ion add esses he ela ed pa adigma ic
ea u es o a ious o ms o Islamic leade ship (e.g. ulū al-am , muj ahid, ahl al-ḥall, imām, and
quṭb).
The Qu ʾānic wo ld o in e connec ed meanings ela ed o am (au ho i y, command,
ma e …) and hose es ed wi h i assumes a conce n o he mo ali y, i no ou igh in allibili y,
and he in ellec ual me i o a leade . Th ough an analysis o ypes o au ho ship and e ms o
discou se, ḥadī h li e a u e on e se 4:59 om he Shīʿī adi ion sheds ligh on he ise o a ious
Sunnī s a egies add essing he ques ion o in allible ju is ic leade ship ( aṣwīb al-muj ahid).
Ano he case o leade ship appea s in he Ṣū ī mys ical s and o Sunnī hough , whe e he spi i ual
leade , o quṭb, may be seen as analogous o he S hīʿī Imām in e ms o mo al excellence and
p esence-in-absence (ghaybah). My analyses o hese dis inc ea u es and o ms o leade ship
culmina e wi h a case s udy on he Mahdī in mode ni y, an an icipa ed sa io igu e a he
c oss oads o S unnī, Shīʿī and Ṣū ī hough , in which he adap ing o ea lie lines o easoning
exhibi s s a egies o he pu pose o subjec - o ma ion.
Each o hese case s udies demons a es no only ha he in e p e i e amewo ks o
Islamic hinke s we e in es ed in mo al subjec - o ma ion bu also ha a holis ic eading o such
hough can iden i y hei au ho ial ac i i y i sel as one o m among he di e en o ms o
leade ship ha e ol e a ound subjec - o ma ion.
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Table o Con en s
Abs ac .......................................................................................................................................... iii
Dedica ion .......................................................................................................................................
P e ace............................................................................................................................................. 1
In oduc ion ................................................................................................................................... 18
0.1 The Ques ion........................................................................................................................ 18
0.2 The “Empi ical” Con ex : Islamic “Leade ship” ................................................................. 19
0.3 Me hodology and Sou ces ................................................................................................... 23
0.3.1 Lib a y and A chi e ...................................................................................................... 24
0.3.2 “The Islamic” as a Discu si e T adi ion ....................................................................... 26
0.3.3 T aining and “Voice” .................................................................................................... 30
0.3.4 His o iog aphy and Memo y ......................................................................................... 34
0.4 In e p e i e F amewo k ....................................................................................................... 44
0.4.1 Pa adigm Theo y ........................................................................................................... 44
0.4.2 Types o Au ho s ........................................................................................................... 45
0.4.3 Subjec - o ma ion .......................................................................................................... 46
0.5 A gumen : “Leade ship” and Subjec - o ma ion in Islamic Though ................................. 53
0.6 “Lib a y” E idence .............................................................................................................. 55
0.6.1 In ellec ual Technologies and Subjec - o ma ion ......................................................... 55

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0.6.2 “Leade ship” and Subjec - o ma ion ............................................................................. 64
0.7 Ou line o Chap e s .............................................................................................................. 67
Chap e 1: Wha ’s in a Command? And Subjec - o ma ion ......................................................... 69
1.1 Qu ʾānic Mo al Go e nmen ali y o Ulū al-Am ................................................................ 74
1.2 Sunnī Exegesis on he Obedience o Ulū al-Am Ve se ...................................................... 81
1.3 Concep ual Technologies: The Obedience o Yazīd’s Soldie s .......................................... 90
1.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 96
Chap e 2: Leade ship a he Pe iphe y ....................................................................................... 100
2.1 Se ing he S age: Ulū al-Am in Imāmī Shīʿī Exege ical Li e a u e ................................. 100
2.2 A Window in o he Classical Reading: al-Ṭūsī’s al-Tibyān .............................................. 103
2.3 Rep esen a i e Su ey o Ea ly Imāmī Shīʿī Exege ical Li e a u e on Obedience o Ulū al-
Am .......................................................................................................................................... 108
2.3.1 Repo s ha Limi Ulū al-Am o he Imāmī Imams Explici ly................................... 110
2.3.2 Repo s ha Iden i y Ulū al-Am wi h he Imāmī Imams bu Do No Explici ly Limi
Ulū al-Am o Them ............................................................................................................. 116
2.3.3 Repo s ha Speci ically Name Ulū al-Am ............................................................... 125
2.3.4 Miscellaneous Repo s Fea u ing Dis inc Quali ies o Ulū al-Am ........................... 136
2.4 A Recen Shi : al-Ṣad En e aining Ano he Possibili y ................................................. 142
2.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 148
Chap e 3: Ahl al-Ḥall wa al-ʿAqd and In allibili y-cum-Taṣwīb ............................................... 150
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3.1 Complemen ing a Diach onic Su ey o Ulū al-Am ........................................................ 150
3.2 Ulū al-Am as Ahl al-Ḥall wa al-ʿAqd............................................................................... 156
3.3 A Genealogy o Ahl al-Ḥall wa al-ʿAqd ............................................................................ 163
3.4 Reconciling “Thei Am ” o Shū á wi h “Ou Am ” o Imama e ...................................... 174
3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 177
Chap e 4: The Axis o Excellence? Pa adigma ic Requi emen s .............................................. 180
4.1 Se ing he s age: ʿAlī, he Pi o Poin o he Que n ......................................................... 181
4.2 Shi ing Emphasis in he Imam’s Role .............................................................................. 184
4.3 The Quṭb in Ṣū ī S ands o Sunnī Though ...................................................................... 188
4.3.1 The Quṭb in al-Tus a ī’s Ta sī ................................................................................... 188
4.3.2 Al-Ḥakīm al-Ti midhī’s Kha m al-Awliyāʾ ................................................................. 191
4.3.3 Subsequen De elopmen s Consolida ed in Fakh al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Quṭb and
Immacula e Imam ................................................................................................................. 198
4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 213
Chap e 5: The Mahdī in Mode ni y ........................................................................................... 215
5.1 Leade ship o Mul iple Fo ms ........................................................................................... 216
5.2 Quali ies o he Mahdī ....................................................................................................... 219
5.2.1 Sp eading Jus ice and Legal In e p e a ion ................................................................. 219
5.2.2 P esence-in-Absence ................................................................................................... 225
5.3 Epis emological Technologies ........................................................................................... 229
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5.3.1 De aul P inciple o Ve i ica ion ................................................................................. 229
5.3.2 P ac ical and Theo e ical Reason’s Technologies ....................................................... 231
5.3.3 Qu ʾānic Exege ical Technologies .............................................................................. 233
5.3.4 Sunnah Au ho i y Technologies .................................................................................. 238
5.4 G oup Feeling (ʿAṣabīyah) wi hou Bigo y (Taʿaṣṣub) ................................................... 240
5.5 Subjec - o ming Technology s. Supe -imposed Ideology ............................................... 246
5.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 249
Conclusions and Coun e a gumen s ........................................................................................... 251
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 251
En e aining and Add essing Po en ial Coun e a gumen s ...................................................... 254
Bibliog aphy ............................................................................................................................... 257
Dedica ion
To one in dis ess, eaching o he one wi h no need...
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om Naja and passing h ough, such as he la e ʿAbd al-Sa ā al-Ḥasanī. Al hough i was sho -
li ed, I alue he memo ies om ha i s yea wi h a dis inc es eem, as i was qui e a ansi ion
o me on mul iple le els and I am o e e g a e ul o all hose who helped me in he p ocess. I
should also like o hank he Join Commi ee o G and Schola s in Naja (al-Lajnah al-
Mush a akah bayn al-Ma ājiʿ ī al-Naja al-Ash a ), which e e s o he leading eligious
au ho i y, ʿAlī al-Sīs ānī, as well as he emaining g and schola s in Naja , Muḥammad Isḥāq al-
Fayyāḍ, Bashī al-Naja ī, and he la e Muḥammad Saʿīd al-Ḥakīm. This commi ee’s e alua ion,
d awing on he ecommenda ions o my ad iso s and eache s, helped secu e my esidence a he
Qawām mad asah, nex doo , o my subsequen yea s in Naja .
Fo my sponso ship h oughou my s udies in Naja , no o men ion he ini ial in e iew
oppo uni y wi h my o-be ad iso he e, I am g a e ul o he suppo o he Imam Mahdi
Associa ion o Ma jaeya (I.M.A.M.), based in my home own o Dea bo n, Michigan. When I
sough hei ad ice on aking such a jou ney in 2010, I was wholehea edly encou aged by
Mohammad Baqi al-Kashmi i and Haide Baha al-Uloom (same name as he a o emen ioned
Ḥayda Baḥ al-ʿUlūm, ela ed e en, bu no he same pe son). Al-Kashmi i and Baha al-Uloom
had bo h, hi he o, gene ously sha ed hei knowledge wi h me by c ea ing a sense o communi y
and collec i e e lec ion, in addi ion o o e ing o mal lec u es a di e en enues. I also bene i ed
immensely om a p epa a o y-ḥawzah p og am wi h Sa da Razi. Be o e ha , I had been
mo i a ed by o he enowned English speake s on Islam, such as Hassanain Rajabali and Amma
Nakshawani, all o whom humbly accep ed he in i a ion o a younge me eques ing ha hey
speak abou Islam a Fo dson High School. I con inue o d aw on lessons om se mons by Hassan
Qazwini and o he Muslim communi y leade s on he conce ns o Muslims as mino i ies and ac oss
he globe. Bu , in de eloping my in ellec ual in e es s, I ha e mos p o oundly apped in o he

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men o ship o Haide Baha al-Uloom, including his weekly semina s on Islamic hough in
Dea bo n, bu especially guided eadings in A abic ha he would ecommend o me based on my
ques ions, and which I passiona ely s udied whene e I was no oo p eoccupied by my ull- ime
Chemical enginee ing p og am a he Uni e si y o Michigan – Ann A bo . I ha e also been
hono ed by his con idence in me, whe he in impa ing wisdom, o us ing me wi h sensi i e
p ojec s ela ed o my esea ch, such as ansla ing Islamic wo ks in ended o cap u e he nuances
o echnical language. I was ac ually while ende ing Aḥmad al-Ishkiwa ī’s al-ʿAqīdah al-
Mahdawīyah (Wi h Mahdī Eyes) in o English ha he hough o analyzing i s ma e ial o Chap e
5 o my disse a ion occu ed o me.
Whe he a his ea lie junc u e o du ing my yea s o s udy a he ḥawzah o Naja , wha
immeasu ably acili a ed my access o he a ailable esou ces in A abic was ha I had al eady
de eloped luency in he language hanks o he wise insis ence o my pa en s ha my siblings and
I spend a ew yea s o ou you h imme sing ou sel es in he A abic con ex o ou Lebanese
he i age. In hose yea s o esidence in Lebanon, be ween 1998 and 2002, I was young enough o
ca ch up wi h my classma es wi hin a yea o a ending o mal A abic lessons a e no mal school
hou s. Bu I was old enough o ha e s udied he language su icien ly, by he end o ou s ay in
Lebanon, o con inue honing my abili y, ela i ely independen ly, h oughou my li e back in he
Uni ed S a es. Tha being said, in he i s yea , I had he bene i o Sama al-Baṭal’s supe b
coaching, and, la e , was inspi ed by a numbe o eache s, such as Sihām Rajab, a wha was hen
known as he Al-Mayadine School in he Hosh a ea o Ty e/Sou , Lebanon. Al hough I do no
mean o hese acknowledgmen s o be exhaus i e, by any means, I do ind i app op ia e he e o
exp ess my deep sense o g a i ude o he iendship o ha educa ional communi y, a no ewo hy
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example o which has been he amily o Ghassan Fa an and Ib issam Sam a, especially hei son
Wael, o e he yea s.
In my ime s udying a Columbia, I ha e been o una e o e u n o Naja almos e e y
yea , o e win e o summe b eaks, up un il he mos ecen Co id-19 ou b eak. In he summe o
2016, Columbia’s G adua e School o A s and Sciences (GSAS) and he Middle Eas Ins i u e
(MEI) sponso ed my six-week s ay in Naja o ocus on ad anced eadings in A abic and Islamic
s udies ele an o my g adua e esea ch. Coo dina ing wi h Haide Baha al-Uloom, Muḥammad
ʿAlī Baḥ al-ʿUlūm helped acili a e my a el o I aq and Amjad Riyāḍ was kind enough o a ange
my s ay a he Najm al-Aʾimmah mad asah o ha pe iod. He also acili a ed mee ings o me o
discuss my academic pu sui s and ele an ex s wi h ḥawzah eache s. Among he many help ul
engagemen s ha summe , in addi ion o mee ing up wi h some o my p e ious eache s and pee s,
I bene i ed om discussions wi h Amjad Riyāḍ on an aspec o al-Ṣad ’s Manṭiq al-Is iq āʾ, Ḥasan
al-Ghazālī on Mughnī al-Labīb, Ḥayda Jāsim al-Ḥasanī al-Ḥillī on Islamic his o iog aphical
sou ces, and om semina s by Muḥ ammad Bāqi al -Sīs ānī on me hodology in app oaching he
s udy o eligion. I ondly ecall he ad ice and wa m welcome o Muḥammad Ṣādiq al-Khi sān
and his amily on his ip as well. One memo able (albei somewha emba assing!) momen o
ha summe ’s s ay showed me an example o hu mili y, which I can hope o li e up o, bu , alling
sho o ha , can a leas lea n om. Whe he i was due o changing sleep pa e ns, exhaus ion,
illness, o some o he explana ion wi h a sil e lining, I canno say o su e, bu despi e aking he
expec ed p ecau ions, I inad e en ly slep h ough an appoin men wi h an hono able ḥawzah
eache , appa en ly o he i s (and hope ully he las !) ime in my li e. I men ion his o highligh
he unassuming eac ion o Ghazwān al-Khuzāʿī who, ins ead o s o ming ou in us a ion o
o he wise snubbing me a e wa d, as one migh expec , g ace ully came o e wi h a g oup o
10
s uden s and knocked on my doo o check on me. Du ing my b ie s ay a Najm al-Aʾimmah, I
was en iched no only by i s igo ous lea ning en i onmen , bu also by discussions wi h s uden s
and isi o s om di e se backg ounds, including wo isi o s om he Uni ed S a es, Ali
Aboukhod and Younes Makki, who la e became iends o mine.
Abou a yea p io , in he summe o 2015, I pa icipa ed in he Naja Re ea , o ganized
by he Mains ay Founda ion, and ha e joined again in he ollowing win e b eaks o 2016, 2017
and 2018. These ips ha e been p iceless oppo uni ies o econnec wi h and mee new ḥawzah
schola s, isi his o ical si es, and help in oduce a di e se g oup o pa icipan s o he ḥawzah
expe ience om my pe spec i e as a b idge be ween wo wo lds. Fo hei since e and admi able
e o s, I app ecia e he eam o o ganize s and suppo e s who ha e made such p og ams possible.
Fo his and o he commendable wo k ha I ha e bene i ed om by he Mains ay Founda ion,
among hose I ha e known pe sonally o many yea s, I hank Aba ha Tajaldeen, Jalal Moughania,
and Mohamed Ali Banoon. In pa icula , I should like o hank Hassan al-Hakim o his wo k on
he g ound and behind he scenes. Al-Hakim’s b oade amily and ne wo k ha e been a i al
esou ce h oughou my yea s o s udy in Naja and beyond. In he Summe o 2018, hanks o a
sponso ship acili a ed h ough his con ac s, I was also p i ileged wi h he oppo uni y o make a
once in a li e ime pilg image o he c adle o Islam in Mecca and Medina.
In a 2013 co espondence wi h Hossein Moda essi, he appea ed o be su p ised ha I
wished o a el om he ḥawzah o Naja o s udy ( adi ional) Islamic sciences in he USA. Bu
when I explained ha my goal was o con ibu e o he b idge be ween he ḥawzah s udy o Islam
and he (secula ) academic s udy o i , he sha ed ha his was wha he had done yea s ea lie as
well, and ecommended an MA in a opic like in ellec ual his o y as a b idge be ween science and
11
he humani ies. I was du ing Roy Mo ahedeh’s isi o I aq in 2014, while I was s ill s udying a
he ḥawzah o Naja , ha I began o mo e se iously plan o g adua e s udies back in he Uni ed
S a es. Mo ahedeh had been ha ing a mee ing wi h some o my eache s a he Baḥ al-ʿUlūm
o ice and I was asked o ansla e in he mee ing be ween Jaʿ a al-Ḥakīm and Mo ahedeh, among
o he s. A e he mee ing, upon co esponding wi h Mo ahedeh abou po en ially pu suing
g adua e s udies on Islam, he ecommended ha I pu sue hem a P ince on because o Hossein
Moda essi’s p esence he e. In a co esponden ce wi h Seyyed Hossein Nas , he had ecommended
ha I ei he go o Qum o mo e ad anced s udy, o come o he Uni ed Kingdom, Canada o he
Uni ed S a es o g adua e wo k in Islamic s udies. While hings did no exac ly u n ou as
Mo ahedeh sugges ed, and I was no able o go o Qum (beyond a sho isi in he Summe o
2014), as Nas p oposed, I ended up wi h oppo uni ies o d aw on some o he bes ha he
academic s udy o Islam had o o e bo h a Columbia and P ince on. Fo hei esponsi eness and
openness a he ime, and in app ecia ion o how hings panned ou in e ospec , I am hank ul o
he ad ice o hese senio specialis s, as well as mo e ecen ly min ed ones, such as Soloman Ali
Hassan.
I his is no he sui able space o men ion all o hose who ha e, cumula i ely, sha ed in
my academic li e and, by ex ension, i s p oduc ions, om my humbles beginnings, hen I should
a leas men ion some o hem who can be loca ed in he con ex o my g adua e s udies. Besides
he es eemed indi iduals no ed ea lie , my g adua e s udies a Columbia ha e also bene i ed om
cou ses o colloquia wi h Robe S alnake , Jose So e , Da id Max Moe man, Ka ha ina I anyi,
Saeed Hona mand, Xan Hol and Mamadou Diou . Upon my a i al a Columbia, he ad ice o
se e al acul y membe s helped guide my academic ajec o y. Some o hem who come o mind
a e Wayne P oud oo , Ka he ine Ewing, Michael Como, Muhsin Musawi, Hamid Dabashi, and he
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la e Pe e Awn. As a Teaching Fellow appoin ed by Columbia’s GSAS (2017-2022), in addi ion
o d awing on he example o my p o esso s, I ha e also app ecia ed lea ning om he app oaches
o se e al o he acul y membe s, including Rachel McDe mo , Ma hew Keegan, Elaine an
Dalen, Rym Be aieb and Taou ik Ben-Amo . I should like o hank Elaine an Dalen o sha ing
eedback on my P ospec us p oposal in he i s semes e a Columbia. I also hank a b oade ange
o colleagues whose w i ings, commen s, o o he pieces o ad ice ha e con ibu ed o molding
my academic expe ience a Columbia and P ince on be ween 2015 and 2022. These indi iduals
include, o ins ance: Oma Fa aha , Mohammad Sadegh Ansa i, Ib ahim El Houdaiby, Aseel
Najib, Ebadu Rahman, And ew Mcla en, Mohamed Wajdi Ben Hammed, No a Jacobsen Ben
Hammed, Sohaib Khan, Ve ena Meye , Na id Za innal, Ca he ine Amble , Ka im Malak, Dana
Lee, Quinn Cla k, Fa ima-Ezzah ae Touilila, Fidahussain Yamani, Mahmood Gha a i, Rami
Koujah, Yasmina Raiani, Zain Shi azi, Thae Theeb, Oma Abdel-Gha a , Saeed Ghadimi,
Shabbi Abbas, Elias Taweel, John Halliwell, Max Shmookle , Sa ah Hawas, P ashan Iyenga ,
Basma Radwan, Rana Bake , Hameem Rahman, Doha Tazi Hemida, Dominique Si gy, Ilona
Ge bakhe , Awo (Yay a) Sumah, A hu Za a e, Anna Reume , Mune e Gulce, Shaunna
Rod igues, John (Nick) Tackes, and Ja ed Sacks. Indeed, I eel obliged o many o he s uden s I
ha e se ed as a Teaching Fellow as well. Fo he e has o en been a aluable eedback loop
shu ling be ween and/o o ming ou collec i e e lec ions. Lib a ians, adminis a o s, and o he s
a a ious loca ions, ha e helped make li e pleasan on good days and mo e bea able on o he s. A
Columbia, P ince on, Leiden and he Uni e si y o Pennsyl ania, I should men ion, o ins ance,
Kaoukab Cheba o, Kelly Tu le, Pe e Magie ski, AnnaLee Pauls, Sil ia Ve me en, As id
Benedek, Michael Fishman, Joanna He z, Cha les Jes e , Hollyann Kozlowski, Me yl Ma cus,

13
Sand a Pe e s, Alyssa Pienciak, and Jessica Rech scha e , Thalyana S a his, Edwin To es, She y
Wei, he la e Sa ah Jackman and he la e G egg Labi a.
To all he communi ies o lea ning, ins i u ions, and indi iduals ha ha e suppo ed me
along he way, whe he di ec ly o indi ec ly, ma e ially o sen imen ally, I am o e e indeb ed.
Bu wha I accomplish wi h his miles one is no only hanks o hose who ha e helped me, i is
also an achie emen o he collec i e. I no , hen his disse a ion’s con ibu ions a e, in any
e en , one o he ways I gi e back, howe e modes ly, o Columbia, o P ince on, o my sponso s
a he ḥawzah o Naja , o William K. and Delo es S. B ehm while a he Uni e si y o Michigan,
o my home own communi y o Dea bo n, o Fo dson High School, his yea celeb a ing i s 100 h
anni e sa y, o hose men ioned h oughou his sec ion and o many unsung he oes.
A comp ehensi e accoun o pe inen in luences, pe haps e en unconscious ones, will
ha e o be pos poned o w i en by o he s. None heless, I should like o hank he ellow esiden s
a he icini ies o whe e I ha e s ayed, pa icula ly my cu en neighbo s, he amily o Mehdi al-
Ri ai and Soha Saleh. I also owe a g ea deb o g a i ude o communi y leade s and o ganize s in
he New Yo k Ci y egion, especially a he Imam Al-Khoei Bene olen Founda ion, Al-Ghadee
Bene olen Founda ion, and Masjid-e-Ali. I ake his oppo uni y o men ion, o ins ance, Fadhel
Al-Sahlani, Maan Al-Sahlani, Rizwan Riz i, Mohamed Jaa a , Hamid al-Baya i, Ha em Abu
Shahba, Imad Haida Ahmad, Walid Abushahba, Hussein Mhanna, Ahsan Abdul Rassoul, Bashi
K ayem, Hassan Yaseen, and Ahmad Cheikhali, bu he e a e many o he s o whose se ice o
and leade ship o he communi y I am hank ul, no o men ion he indi ec indeb edness o many
who ha e depa ed, such as he la e Tilmiz Riz i.
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In ansi o and om Naja , I would usually s op o a ew days (occasionally o mon hs)
in Lebanon o isi my sis e ’s amily, and in mo e ecen yea s, my in-laws. I am e e g a e ul o
hei hospi ali y, con idence, and well wishes. The amily o Wael M oueh and Hanann Moughania
ha e been bo h amily and iends a a ious junc u es in my jou ney. Adnan Nasse and Mona
Hod oj ha e no only welcomed me in o hei amily as a son-in-law since 2012, bu ha e also
en us ed me wi h hei che ished daugh e , Malak, who has chosen o pa ien ly endu e he dis ance
om he pa en s as I pu sued my g adua e s udies in he USA and o pos pone pu suing he
academic enginee ing goals in o de o build a amily wi h me. As much as ou one-yea -old son,
Ami i Husayn, has illed ou home wi h joy and ligh , i i we e no o Umm Ami i Husayn’s ull-
ime passion in looking a e him, hen I can ha dly imagine how I would be able o ocus on my
esea ch and eaching. Malak s ill manages o be my alued in e locu o on con en anging om
Middle Eas e en s, o Islamic s udies, and, indeed, o Biomedical Enginee ing, in which she holds
a Mas e ’s deg ee. In e es ingly, Ami i Husayn is o en an excellen lis ene o ou con e sa ions
o e dinne , and one o his play ul ac i i ies is o check ou he books in my lib a y. I should like
o hank my in-laws as well as he Ali and Amina Bazzi amily o hei elen less suppo and o
opening hei homes in Bei u o us du ing he Co id-19 pandemic (no o men ion helping o
in oduce me o my wi e- o-be yea s ea lie ). Despi e he mos ecen s ess ul condi ions in
Lebanon, hey s ill managed o shine in nume ous ways, o which I am g a e ul. I app ecia e he
amily iends who ha e eached ou , each in hei own way, wi h a helping hand when we we e
s uggling wi h new ound challenges, such as he amily o ʿAbd Allāh Shuʿay ū, he amily o
Muḥammad Zabad and Ma iam Nasse , Ib āhīm Ḥud uj, Ma yam Ṣāliḥ, and he la e Ma yam
Ṭabājah ––Malak’s g andmo he who we los so soon a e he la e g and a he , ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn
Ḥud uj.
15
My own g andpa en s, aun s, uncles, ela i es, nea and a , and iends, new and old,
command my since e app ecia ion o hei suppo . I salu e hem and know ha , ega dless how
ou pa hs c issc oss, he oo s and alues we sha e make e en dis an g ee ings and checking up
on one ano he o ms o eunion. Al hough I was bo n and aised in Ame ica, my Lebanese he i age
and, wi h i , my amily name, ha e p i ileged me wi h a legacy o schola ship and a his o y o
globe o ing in pu sui o knowledge, om no h A ica (Maghnia, p esen -day Alge ia, acco ding
o one o igins na a i e), and he Le an , o I aq, and back o he coas o Ty e/Sou (Tay Debba,
o be speci ic) and he sou he n hills o Jabal ʿĀmil (Bin Jbeil, o be exac ). Bu my mo e ecen
amily his o y –– albei s ill cul i a ing a dedica ion o lea ning and a passion o se ice –– has
cen e ed a ound an hones li ing h ough a isanship and ade, om handic a shoemaking in
Bei u and assembly line manu ac u ing in De oi , o gou me pizza baking in Michigan and
Lebanon. I ecall my la e ma e nal g and a he , Hassan Bazzi, as a gene ous soul, an example o
since e lo e o humani y, amily, and good cha ac e , and o independence om poli ical pa ies.
Fo much o his bed- idden illness, he would con inue o ead sc ip u e, as i eci ing om memo y.
I knew my la e pa e nal g and a he , Abdel-la i Moughnia, o be a man o ew wo ds, bu he ew
wo ds ha he le me in his Lebanese A abic dialec , “Allah bi-ydabbi ,” we e ones o eassu ance
and op imism, ecognizing a g ea e scheme o hings beyond ou indi idual agency. He passed
away wi hin a ew mon hs a e I began my s udies in Naja . They a e su i ed by my ma e nal
g andmo he , Alia al-Mī , who con inues o exude a spi i o mo i a ional p aye despi e he li e
s uggles, and my pa e nal g andmo he , Rasmīyah ʿUsaylī, whose own challenges ha e helped
me e lec on coun ing ou indi idual and collec i e blessings. My mo he , Ahlam Bazzi, who
ea ned he doc o a e in Educa ion a e aising ou child en, and my a he , Naji Moughania, who
ounded a business in Dea bo n o suppo his amily and communi y a e escaping ci il wa in
16
Lebanon, ha e been much mo e han my pa en s. Being a bes iend in childhood, Mama likely
helped shape me he mos ea ly on. She was my i s eache be o e I could e en emembe i and
s ill im pa s aluable insigh s h oughou li e. Baba’s wo k e hic, adap abili y o changing
ci cums ances, and lo e o knowledge and i s seeke s, has d i en me o d aw on his sac i ices and
seek he noble academic oppo uni ies ha we e no so eadily accessible o him. I should dwell
on he no e ha I canno hank my pa en s enough a he han make a u ile a emp a enume a ing
ins ances o hei un emi ing suppo h oughou my li e in his limi ed space... My siblings ha e
been ue iends, and, each in hei own way, a ole model o me. Thei p o essions in li e, hus,
sui hem ––each is an educa o , albei in di e en ields. My olde sis e s, Suzanne and Hanann,
had been pa o my ea lies lea ning communi y, and hei c ea i i y, ambi ion, and compassion
inspi es me s ill. I should like o hank Suzanne and my younge b o he , Jalal, o ecen ly
spea heading he e i al and e amping o he Al inos legacy, he business my pa en s ounded,
and which enabled he dedica ion o lea ning and passion o se ice hey ins illed in us. Bu Jalal
has accompanied me in my in ellec ual jou ney much mo e closely (no he leas o which being
my i s ip o Naja ), on he one hand, and uniquely in he ele ance o his inside -pe spec i e
publica ions, communi y se ice and example o my b oade esea ch, on he o he . I in his you h
he may ha e looked o my example, howe e impe ec , o ollow in my oo s eps, hen i is mo e
so ue ha o insigh s on a balance be ween academic, p o essional, and social li e, I look o his.
In w i ing his segmen , I ha e been o n be ween wo op ions, each wi h a jus i iable
easoning: a oiding he men ion o indi idual names in o de o a oid he eg e o no ha ing
men ioned many o he speci ic indi iduals a p esen and/o la e ; o p o iding a highe esolu ion
ske ch o my jou ney’s landscape, one which men ions he names o many, i no mos , bu su ely
no all, o he signi ican pe sonali ies shaping my expe iences. I decided o op o he la e
23
selec ion (and which likely se s he s age o a e isionis accoun o he ea lies cen u ies in a
sepa a e s udy).
The con ibu ion o he p esen s udy, in pa , aims o demons a e he alue o app oaching
Islamic s udies a he c oss oads o i s di e se “sub- adi ions,” a he han limi specializa ion o
ocusing on each one o he o he in ela i e isola ion. A close examina ion o key exce p s om
wo ks o las ing ele ance on Qu ʾānic exegesis ( a sī ), ju isp udence (uṣūl al- iqh), heology
(kalām) and/o Ṣū ī w i ings, ela ed o e se 4:59, pain s a nuanced po ai o he pa adigma ic
ea u es a S unnī, Shīʿī and Ṣū ī c oss oads, one ha esona es wi h an a gumen connec ing o ms
and ea u es o “leade ship” o mo ally- ele an subjec - o ma ion. A hese c ossc oads,
concep ual amewo ks o in allibili y and exempla y guidance culmina e wi h he analysis o a
specialized syn hesis on he Twel e Shīʿī Imam’s p esence-in-absence (ghaybah).
0.3 Me hodology and Sou ces
I app oach ele an in ellec ual p oduc ions in a manne ha is admi edly (a leas
some imes), hough by no means in en ionally o consciously, impac ed by he his o y o in luence
ha has p i ileged ce ain au ho s and wo ks o e o he s in he espec i e academic sphe es I ha e
had he o une o pa icipa e in. My aining in a ious communi ies o lea ning (e.g. he
Uni e si y o Michigan, he Ḥawzah al-ʿIlmīyah o Naja , Columbia Uni e si y and P ince on
Uni e si y, in ha o de ), has exposed me o a wide ange o assump ions and app oaches, bu has
also opened my eyes o his inescapable ac . Fo e en i by an occasion o a e I g a i a e owa d
he in ellec ual wo ld o some hi he o un amilia school o hough , I am almos undoub edly le
wi hou deep engagemen wi h many o he s due o ime/ene gy cons ain s and he immensi y o
su i ing human in ellec ual ou pu . This goes wi hou men ioning los his o y and disco e ies ye
o be made. I is ob ious enough, hen, ha o o mula e any easonable, educa ed conclusions –

24
o educa ed ques ions o ha ma e – equi es some assump ions and, indeed, disclaime s. One
o hese assump ions I ind c i ical o b ing o he su ace he e is ha my ci a ion o exce p s om
au ho s (I mean e en academic schola s, le alone he his o ical schola s being s udied) and hei
espec i e wo ks does no en ail an app op ia ion o hei en i e in ellec ual genealogies o he
implica ions o hei heo e ical in e en ions. Ra he , I ake such exce p s as poin s o en y in o
a discou se ha ecognizes hose p i ileged au ho s and e ms in my speci ic ime and place. F om
A is o le o Foucaul , e ms can be adap ed o o he wise engaged wi h heu is ically in o de o
enable an analy ical in e en ion in a gi en dynamic sphe e o discou se and hope ully lea n
some hing ha se les well a home in he p ocess. I is, hen, qui e possible o ind insigh in a
no ion o exce p om he wo ld iew o di e se hinke s wi hou necessa ily adop ing hei
espec i e wo ld iews. This app oach allows o b idge-building in ways ha appea o be,
o he wise, unsus ainable, and makes in ellec ual en ichmen p ac ical when i may be, o he wise,
un hinkable. This is all o say ha he e a e may be many addi ional, aluable wo ks o engage
wi h, lea n om, and app op ia e, heu is ically ––i is jus ha ou pa hs ha e likely no c ossed
su icien ly (ye ).
0.3.1 Lib a y and A chi e
In his Sha īʿah Sc ip s, B inkley Messick syn hesizes mul iple s ands o heo izing ela ed
o ex s, om Bakh in o Foucaul o Asad, in o de o app op ia e and elabo a e a me hodology
summed up in his dis inc ion be ween he “lib a y” and he “a chi e.” These majo g oupings o
ex s e lec he cosmopoli an and he “con ingen ” ypes o sha īʿah- ela ed his o ies o each,
espec i ely.
15
Messick u he desc ibes he di e ence be ween he wo in e ms o he “au ho -
15
B inkley Messick, Sha īa Sc ip s : A His o ical An h opology (New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y P ess, 2018), 21.
25
unc ions” as opposed o “w i e - unc ions.” D awing on Foucaul ’s concep o he “au ho ”
(ha ing a dis inc ly discu si e unc ion) as opposed o o he “w i e s,” Messick uses “ unc ions”
in he plu al o m o e e o dis inc gen es. Jus as he lib a y ex s cha ac e is ically a oid he
pa icula i ies o “ he p ope name,” e en i a lib a y ex can be his o icized ha does no p eclude
he “a empo al” na u e o i s discou se. Mo eo e , jus as a ex om he a chi e is highly
pa icula , i s pa icula i y pe ains o he iden i ies in ol ed in hei con en s (e.g. pa ies in a
li iga ion) and no in he iden i y o he documen w i e .
16
While he ela ionship be ween lib a y ex s and a chi e ex s is ha o he gene al o he
speci ic, he cosmopoli an o he con ingen , Messick is ca e ul o wa n ha , on he one hand, his
is ela i e (i.e. mo emen s back and o h be ween he lib a y and a chi e a e possible), and ha ,
on he o he hand, his ela ionship is no a e u n o he “g ea ” and “li le” adi ions analysis o
he 1950s. Fo , con a y o ha end o analysis, he lib a y and he a chi e ep esen ,
“complemen a y ex ual domains,” and a e, “co-cons i u i e o pa icula locales.”
17
“Modeling”
is a p inciple heme h ough which Messick hinks o he dialec ical ela ionship be ween he
lib a y and he a chi e, “one ha highl igh s he in e ex ual p oduc ion and ci cula ion o ules and
ela ed language.” In mo e speci ic e ms, specialized lib a y ex s a e models o (how p ac ice
in o ms heo y) and o (how heo y in o ms p ac ice) pa icula a chi al gen es.
18
In my esea ch, e lec ing on he ela i e ela ionship be ween he Qu ʾān and ḥadī h, on
he one hand, and commen a ies and heo e ical eadings o hose sou ces, on he o he , I ex end
Messick’s di ision o lib a y and a chi e o he wo a o emen ioned ypes o ex s, espec i ely.
Since he la e a e lib a y ex s ela i e o a di e en a chi e, howe e , he e e en ial desc ip ion
16
Messick, Sha īa Sc ip s : A His o ical An h opology, 23.
17
Ibid, 25-26.
18
Ibid, 45.
26
lib a y/a chi e, and he en ailed “da a” o conce n, equi es a en ion in each ins ance o use.
Simila o how “seconda y sou ces” may be ega ded as “p ima y sou ces” depending on he
schola ly ques ion being explo ed, a ex ha is a lib a y ex , om one aspec , can be ega ded as
an a chi e ex , om ano he depending on he unc ion i has om ha aspec . Commen a ies and
“cons i u ional law” discussions on e se 4:59 can, hus, be ega ded as a con ingen a chi e o
he cosmopoli an lib a y being quo ed (i.e. he Qu ʾān).
Inspi ed by he wo k o M. M. Bakh in, Messick’s me hod is o, “ ead ela ed ex s oge he ,
o ead ac oss gen es, and o ead o discu si e sys em.”
19
This includes iewing o he ex s as an
impo an con ex o a gi en ex , iewing ex s as “gene a i e” elemen s wi hin pa icula
adi ions, app oaching ex s wi h a “dialogic” concep ion o hem as, “ esponding o and
an icipa ing esponses om o he ex s,” and a conce n o , “how he se e al ypes o w i ings
ac ed as in e locu o s.”
20
This app oach o ex s is especially conduci e in he his o ical
an h opologis (o in ellec ual his o ian in o med by e hnog aphy)
21
eading o Islam as a
discu si e adi ion, which b ings me o he nex me hodological poin – unde s anding Islam as a
discu si e adi ion.
0.3.2 “The Islamic” as a Discu si e T adi ion
In Talal Asad’s seminal a icle, “The Idea o an An h opology o Islam,” he i s akes issue
wi h he, “ amilia ep esen a ion o essen ial Islam as he usion o eligion wi h powe .”
22
Signi ican a ia ions in he belie s and p ac ices o Muslims p oblema izes such an essen ialis
19
Ibid, 41.
20
Ibid, 41.
21
Disciplina y bounda ies a e luid in ligh o his me hodology.
22
Talal Asad, “The Idea o an An h opology o Islam [1986],” Qui Pa le 17, no. 2 (2009): 1–30, 8.
27
educ ion. One a emp o add ess his p oblem app op ia es he O ien alis dis inc ion be ween
o hodox and non-o hodox Islam and adap s i o he ca ego ies o G ea and Li le adi ions,
hinking o “o hodoxy” as, “me ely one (albei in a iable) o m o Islam among many,
dis inguished by i s p eoccupa ion wi h he nice ies o doc ine and law, claiming i s au ho i y om
sac ed ex s a he han sac ed pe sons.”
23
Acco ding o his eading, he co ela ed social
s uc u es, u ban o hodoxy and u al/ ibal he e odoxy, come o ep esen pa s o a single sys em,
“be ween whom an unceasing s uggle o poli ical dominance akes place .”
24
Asad desc ibes he
main di icul y wi h he a o emen ioned cons uc ions as being ha hey ely on, “ alse concep ual
opposi ions and equi alences, which o en lead w i e s in o making ill- ounded asse ions abou
mo i es, meanings, and e ec s ela ing o ‘ eligion.’”
25
Asad implies ha his eading does no
gua d agains ep oducing he old educ i e con as s be ween Islam and Ch is iani y, and makes
his in i a ion owa d iewing Islam as a “discu si e adi ion.”
26
Nei he essen ialis , no nominalis , he objec o an an h opology o Islam, being a
“ adi ion,” ough o include and ela e i sel o i s “ ounding ex s.”
27
Fo Asad, a adi ion is made
up o discou ses ha in o m p ac i ione s ega ding he p ope o m and pu pose o a gi en
23
Ibid, 8.
24
Ibid, 9.
25
Ibid, 18.
26
Ibid, 10.
“In app oaching his issue, le us conside he ollowin g in e connec ed po in s: (1) Na a i es abou cul u ally
dis inc i e ac o s mus y o ansla e and ep esen he his o ically si ua ed discou ses o such ac o s as esponses o
he discou se o o he s, ins ead o schema izing and de-his o icizing hei ac ions. (2) An h opological analyses o
he social s uc u e should ocus no on ypical ac o s bu on he changing pa e ns o ins i u ional ela ions and
condi ions (especially hose we call poli ical economies). (3) The analysis o Middle Eas e n poli ical economies and
he ep esen a ion o Islamic "d amas" a e essen ially di e en kinds o discu si e exe cise ha canno be subs i u ed
o each o he , al hough hey can be signi ican ly embedded in he same na a i e, p ecisely because hey a e
discou ses. (4) I is w ong o ep esen ypes o Islam as being co ela ed wi h ypes o social s uc u e, on he
implici analogy wi h (ideological) supe s uc u e and (social) base. (5) Islam as he objec o an h opological
unde s anding should be app oached as a discu si e adi ion ha connec s a iously wi h he o ma ion o mo al
sel es, he manipula ion o popula ions (o esis ance o i ), and he p oduc io n o app op ia e knowledges.”
27
Ibid, 20.
28
p ac ice, which na u ally has a his o y, p ojec ed u u e and in e ening/in e connec ed p esen .
28
F om his aspec , he discu si e adi ion o Islam includes he “classical” as well as he “mode n”
eadings, and a p ac ice is “Islamic” because i is sanc ioned by he discu si e adi ions o Islam,
e en i i is only augh by, “an un u o ed pa en .”
29
O hodoxy, in Asad’s iew, is dis inc ly abou
a ela ionship o powe o u h and whe e e , “Muslims ha e he powe o egula e, uphold,
equi e, o adjus co ec p ac ices, and o condemn, exclude, unde mine, o eplace inco ec
ones,” he e lies i s domain.
30
Mo eo e , Asad ocuses on he ole o “ eason and a gumen ” in
adi ional p ac ice, no in he o m o o mal deba e and polemic, bu in e ms o , “ he p ocess o
ying o win someone o e o he willing pe o mance o a adi ional p ac ice.”
31
Asad concludes
ha Islamic adi ions a e, hus, no homogenous bu ha hey, “aspi e o cohe ence, in he way
ha all discu si e adi ions do.”
32
Howe e , Asad cau ions ha he e can be no, “such hing as a
uni e sally accep able accoun o a li ing adi ion,” because a esea che ’s “pa icula his o ical
posi ion” owa d a adi ion will impac he cohe ence ha s/he inds o ails o ind.
33
I d aw on Asad’s cha ac e iza ion o Islam as a discu si e adi ion, no me ely as an objec
o an h opology bu as a ca ego y o analysis mo e gene ally. Wi hin he b oade discu si e
adi ion, se e al Islamic adi ions eside, each wi h i s own discou ses, co esponding p ac ices
and o ms o a gumen a ion. Thus, while Asad’s o iginal o mula ion o Islam as a discu si e
adi ion may no accoun o he ole o o mal deba e and polemic in “ a di ional p ac ice,” he
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid, 21.
30
Ibid, 22.
31
Ibid, 23.
32
Ibid.
“An an h opology o Islam will he e o e seek o unde s and he his o ical condi ions ha enable he p oduc ion and
main enance o speci ic discu si e adi ions, o hei ans o ma ion––and he e o s o p ac i ione s o achie e
cohe ence.”
33
Ibid, 24.
“Decla a ions o mo al neu ali y, he e as always, a e no gua an ee o poli ical innocence.”

29
discu si e adi ions wi hin he adi ion o Islam include in ellec ual/discu si e adi ional
p ac ices ha do indeed en ail a ole e en o o mal deba e and polemic. In he in e es o being
p ope ly/e hically “ini ia ed” in o he discou se o he adi ion in ques ion – i no solely o mo e
accu a ely/objec i ely access i – lea ning wi h/ om, and no me ely abou , mas e s o Islamic
s udies wi hin he adi ion is pi o al o my esea ch me hodology. This includes bo h Messick’s
dialogic app oach o ex s as well as being in o med by li ed expe ience among p ac i ione s o
he discu si e adi ion, gaining e hnog aphic insigh s in o ming a econs uc ion o he adi ion’s
his o y (see nex sec ion).
Finally, al hough I d aw on he subs an i e concep behind “Islam as a discu si e adi ion,”
I gene ally a oid using he wo d “Islam” while desc ibing discu si e p ocesses and ins ead op o
a cons uc ion including he wo d “Islamic.” This is no because, as a esea che , I claim o
p esc ibe an ideal de ini ion o “Islam” ha should be dis inguished om “Islamic”
(mis)in e p e a ions and (mal)p ac ice. Ra he , i is because I ecognize desc ip i ely/analy ically
ha meaning ulness o such e ms is demons a ed when i e lec s he usage o an o e whelming
majo i y o Muslims. I I ha e accumula ed e hnog aphic insigh in his ega d, i in o ms ha
Muslims make a dis inc ion be ween “Islam” as an ideal (i.e. wha e e he Qu ʾān uly means and
wha e e P ophe Muḥammad eally mean , gene ally as well as when applied o speci ic con ex s)
s. discu si e (mis)in e p e a ions s. spa ially- empo ally-cul u ally speci ic (mal)p ac ice. Tha
is despi e he plain ac ha Muslims may p o ide di e en answe s when asked o a icula e wha
speci ic examples embody ideal “Islam” in hough and p ac ice oday.
This analy ical dis inc ion gene ally does no equi e me o ake a p esc ip i e/no ma i e
posi ion on wha “Islam” is o is no in my esea ch bu i does equi e me o be sensi i e o wha
an o e whelming majo i y o Muslims would ake o be no ma i e in my desc ip ion/analysis. I
30
is c i ical o no e ha his lens no only cla i ies how I d aw on he no ion o “Islam as a discu si e
adi ion,” bu also pa ially o e laps wi h he dis inc ion Ma shall Hodgson makes be ween he
“Islamic” and he “ Islamica e.”
34
The “Islamic” label is help ul o designa e meaning ul
engagemen wi h and applica ion o he discu si e adi ion, as opposed o he hough /p ac ice o
Muslims ha does no i such a desc ip ion and may be labelled “Islamica e,” o as I p e e ,
“cul u al.”
35
As o he g ay a ea in be ween he “Islamic” and he “cul u al,” I ind he lens o
Islam s. (mis)in e p e a ions s. (mal)p ac ice mo e use ul. In ligh o hese e minological
choices, when I make a gumen s ega ding “Islamic” au ho s/ hinke s, I ha e in mind hose
meaning ully engaging wi h he discu si e adi ion ––no me ely (o e en always) hose legally
ca ego ized as “Muslim .”
0.3.3 T aining and “Voice”
“Empi ically” speaking, his app oach ecognizes an inhe en laye o inaccessibili y o
classical Islamic hough due o he limi a ions o his o iog aphy and he meneu ics. Howe e , by
i ue o his he i age no being in a acuum, bu ins ead being pa o a discu si e adi ion s ill
ib an oday, some le el o inaccessibili y can be amelio a ed by a ca e ul deploymen o se e al
adi ional me hods (i.e. s udying wi h and lea ning om inhe i o s o he adi ion, no me ely
abou hem). I goes wi hou saying ha my esea ch does no necessa ily become pa o he
34
As Hodgson w o e, “The e has been, howe e , a cul u e, cen ed on a le e ed adi ion, which has been
his o ically dis inc i e o Islamdom he socie y, and which has been na u ally sha ed in by bo h Muslims and non-
Muslims who pa icipa e a all ully in he socie y o Islamdom. Fo his, I ha e used he adjec i e ‘ Islamica e’. I
hus es ic he e m ‘ Islam’ o he eligion o he Muslims, no using ha e m o he a mo e gene al phenomena,
he socie y o Islamdom and i s Islamica e cul u al adi ions.”
Ma shall G. S. Hodgson, The Ven u e o Islam: Conscience and His o y in a Wo ld Ci iliza ion, ol. 1, 3 ols.
(Chicago: Uni e si y o Chicago P ess, 1974 CE), h ps://hdl-handle-ne .ezp oxy.cul.columbia.edu/2027/heb.00894,
58.
35
I o no eason o he han ha i is a e m which does no sound so close o “Islamic” as “Islamica e.” As o
desc ip ions ha a emp o loca e non-Muslim au ho s in hei Islamica e con ex , I would sugges labelling hem
based on hei egional and/o lingua anca associa ion (e.g. No h A ican G eco-A abic philosophe ).
31
Islamic discu si e adi ion simply because I ha e been ained in adi ional ci cles o lea ning
associa ed wi h he ḥawza al-ʿilmīyah
36
in he holy ci y o Naja , I aq. Whe he o no his esea ch
i sel becomes pa o he discu si e adi ion depends on se e al ac o s, only one o which is
aining wi hin ha sphe e o schola ship. Bu in o de o easonably claim o ha e e hnog aphic
36
Linguis ically , “ḥawzah” can e e o a “ egion/a ea/side (nāḥiyah),” and is e ymologically ela ed o he no ion o
“collec ing/acqui ing/accumula ing (ḥawz).” Fo ins an ce, see:
Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād al-Jawha ī (d. 393 AH / 1003 CE), Tāj al-Lughah wa Ṣiḥāḥ al-ʿA abīyah, ed. Aḥ mad ʿAbd al-
Gha ū ʿAṭṭā , 4 h ed., ol. 3, 6 ols. (Cai o: Dā al-ʿIlm lil-Malāyīn, 1987), 875-876.
Also consid e sec ion “6.3.5. The ḥawza” o he ollowing EI3 a icle:
Sebas ian Gü n he , “Educa ion, Gene al (up o 1500),” in Encyclopaedia o Islam, THREE, ed. Ka e Flee e al.,
Encyclopaedia o Islam (B ill, 2017), h ps:// e e encewo ks.b illonline.com:443/en ies/encyclopaedia-o -islam-
3/educa ion-gene al-up- o-1500-COM_26134.
Fo a discussion o echnical de ini ions ha ha e been p oposed o al-ḥawzah al-ʿilmīyah ( he ḥawzah associa ed
wi h knowledge/s udy/lea ning), o jus ḥawzah o sho , see:
ʿAlī Aḥmad al-Bahādlī, al-Ḥawzah al-ʿIlmīyah ī al-Naja : Maʿālimuhā wa Ḥa aka uhā al-Iṣlāḥīyah, 1s ed.
(Bei u : Dā al-Zah āʾ lil-Tibāʿah wa al-Nash wa al-Tawzīʿ, 1993), 86-94;
ʿAdnān Fa ḥān Āl Qāsim, Tā īkh Al-Ḥawzā al-ʿIlmīyah Wa al-Madā is al-Dīnīyah ʿind al-Shīʿah al-Imāmīyyah, 1s
ed., ol. 1, 6 ols. (Bei u : Sha ika Dā al-Salām, 2016), 92-99. An addi ional ou olumes a e expec ed o be
published.
While he discussions o echnical de ini ions a e in o ma i e, he ollowing desc ip ion (no a de ini ion, bu
desc ip ion in o med by his au ho ’s e hnog aphic insigh ) a guably be e cap u es he ange o e e ences o he
no ion o “ḥawzah” among Twel e Shīʿah Muslims pu suing adi ional eligious lea ning. The ḥawzah is a cen e
o knowledge in he adi ional Islamic con ex , a hub o seeking sac ed lea ning ha is mean no only o engage
he in ellec bu cul i a e he cha ac e o i s communi y membe s. The ḥawzah al-ʿilmīyah is o en ansla ed as an
Islamic “semina y” o so s, bu i is pe haps mo e accu a ely desc ibed as a schola ly commu ni y o mas e s and
seeke s o knowledge, in which membe ship and ank depend on bo h academic me i as well as up igh cha ac e ,
including he obse ance o adi ional e ique es. When used o e e o such a collec i e ne wo k wo ldwide, he
ḥawzah al-ʿilmīyah communi y has concen a ed hubs o in ellec ual ac i i y cen e ed a ound his o ical holy si es,
mos no ably he sh ine o Imam ʿAlī in he holy ci y o Naja , I aq, and he sh ine o Lady Fāṭimah Maʿṣūmah (d.
201 AH / 816 CE) in he holy ci y o Qum, I an. Membe ship wi hin ha b oade communi y would depend mo e on
obse ing i s leading sch ola s’ widely acce p ed app oaches and no ms han on s udying in a pa icula loca ion. Bu
he ph ase “ḥawzah ʿilmīyah” o plainly “ḥawzah” can also e e o speci ic loca ions o lea ning in pa icula (no
jus he ci y hubs, bu speci ic ins i u ions wi hin he ci y), such ha h e e exis a plu al “ḥawzā ” h oughou he
wo ld, ypically whe e e he e a e quali ied mas e s om wi hin he adi ion who o e see lea ning ci cles, each
adi ional ex s acco ding o he e ique es/no ms o he b oade ḥawzah communi y, and os e an a mosphe e o
in ellec ual igo and spi i uali y. Membe s o he ḥawzah communi y a e con inuously e alua ed by mo e senio
schola s, pee s and, po en ially, quali ied s uden s, on hei in ellec ual achie emen and cha ac e , and so o mal
“deg ees/ce i ica es” a e no adi ionally ega ded as he inal wo d on a gi en communi y membe ’s c eden ials as
a ḥawzah schola /s uden . To some ex en , his e en applies o w i en o o al license/au ho iza ion (ijāzah) o ij ihād
because an indi idual’s in ellec ual and e hical pe o man ce would con inue o be moni o ed h oughou li e o any
se ious lapses o me hod o cha ac e , po en ially disquali ying he pe son om he a o emen ioned
license/au ho iza ion o any o he ecommenda ion/endo semen a ilia ed wi h he ḥawzah. To sum up a key poin
he e, he wo d ḥawzah is used o desc ibe: a speci ic local ins i u ion o adi ional Twel e Shīʿah eligious
lea ning; a communi y o such lea ning cen e ed a ound a holy sh ine, including bu no limi ed o he o me ; and/o
he collec i e global communi y consis ing o he o me .
32
“insigh ” in o he in ellec ual his o y o he adi ion, one ha in o ms eadings o p ima y ex s
and he eading/w i ing o seconda y ex s, adi ional aining alongside he inhe i o s o he
adi ion – in one o m o ano he – is almos indispensable o engagemen wi h he ex ual
dimensions o he adi ion, le alone he o al dimensions.
37
Skilled engagemen wi h he adi ion
is, in his iew, analogous o skilled language acquisi ion, comple e wi h i s own wo ld o nuance
ha equi es imme si e expe ience o ully abso b, le alone o luen ly exp ess.
38
S ill, a he e y
leas , i can be said ha playing i sa e wi h ega d o his me hodical equi emen speaks o
i sel .
39
The ela i e ease o a el, he a o dabili y o ad anced elecommunica ions and he
37
I w i e almos because many c ea i e hinke s a e bound o come up wi h ways o con ibu e o an in ellec ual
discussion despi e being comple ely o eign o i s ounda ional ex s and modes o ansmission.
38
This is no o say ha he adi ion is like language in i s ela i ely s a ic body o ules. Ra he , he ex en o he
adi ion’s dynamism is o be lea ned, as language is lea ned, h ough he imme si e engagemen wi h he adi ion’s
hei s/mas e s. While A ia Nakissa p oposes an “epis emic shi ” wi hin he Islamic ad i ion ( pa icula ly in he
con ex o he Sunnī al-Azha and Dā al-ʿUlūm) om language-based concep ions o knowledge owa d new
concep ions modeled on he na u al sciences, his is a guably a poin o con es a ion wi hin he adi ion i sel – a
leas wi hin Shīʿī Islam.
See:
A ia Nakissa, “An Epis emic Shi in Islamic Law: Educa ional Re o m a al-Azha and Dā al-ʿUlūm,” Islamic Law
and Socie y 21, no. 3 (June 27, 2014): 209–51, h ps://doi.o g/10.1163/15685195-00213p02.
Sligh ly disag eeing wi h Nakissa, I would a gue ha he no ion o “inno a ion” is no synonymous o “bidʿah”
(he e ical inno a ion) in all con ex s o he adi ion, and c ea i i y is closely ied no only o e sions o ij ihād bu
also o di e en ypes o au ho ship. Making connec ions ha had no ye been no ed, deepening an unde s anding,
enewing ele ance o an ea lie no ion, and o he ypes o de elopmen s we e no mode n in en ions o he Islamic
adi ion. Mo eo e , limi ed o ms o ij ihād, whe he in Sunnī o Shīʿ ī ci cles, en ail an o de o in e p e a ion
a guably gi ing ise o in e nal di e si y wi hin each legal school ha is compa able o he di e si y be ween he
legal schools. Wi h such di e si y in p ac ice, he p ocess in ol ed much mo e c ea i i y han he me e applica ion
o ules. This is no o dismiss he exis ence o an epis emic shi , wi hin speci ic ci cles o in luence, bu i is o
p oblema ize equa ing such a shi wi h dismissing he exis ence o a sha ed no ion o c ea i i y ac oss he shi . In
o he wo ds, 1) he e a e o ms o a c ea i i y sha ed ac oss he epis emic shi ; and 2) he epis emic shi is e iden
in he pos -shi insis ence upon pa icula o ms o c ea i i y ha assume he ya ds ick o he na u al sciences in
o de o ecognize schola ship as making a aluable con ibu ion. I is no abou he u e absence o such c ea i i y
p e-shi . Hallaq makes he a gumen ha such c ea i i y was no absen . By doing so, he does no necessa ily insis
ha such c ea i i y is he only o m o aluable schola ship.
39
O cou se, I ealize ha his goes up agains a end o an h opolog ical hinking, bu as Messick’s wo k
demons a es, hings a e changing. As Messick w i es, “In con as , a leas un il ecen ly his ype o hou gh
ep esen ed un amilia e ain o mains eam an h opologis s, esea che s mo e a uned o he s udy o unconscious
s uc u es (Lé i-S auss), commonsense assump ions (Gee z) o implici disposi ions ( Bo u dieu). F om Boas’s ime
o wa d, “na i e heo y,” as i la e would be e med, has been iewed askance, as un eliable “seconda y” ma e ial,
e en as posi i ely “dange ous.””
B inkley Messick, Sha īa Sc ip s : A His o ical An h opology (New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y P ess, 2018), 44.
39
ex e nal/in e nal e idence o e ules such claims o his o ici y (e.g. claims o hose p e e ing
o he s o e ʿAlī ibn Abū Ṭālib), Ibn Qiba w i es,
O he wise, he e is no sense in abandoning a widely ansmi ed epo whose na a o s
canno be accused, and accep ing a epo ha has no sa egua d agains he suspicion ha
he na a o s colluded o e i no any special cha ac e is ic ha alida es [ hei na a ion].
56
A “special cha ac e is ic,” imaginably ex e nal e idence o in e nal incohe ence/inconsis ency can
hus dispel he my h o a ecei ed na a i e. Ibn Qiba ends he le e wi h an in i a ion o easonable
e lec ion, his ime o con empla e he s akes, “wi h he eye o ea and cau ion he consequences
o unbelie and ejec ion o he u h.”
57
In a econs uc ed deba e wi h he Zaydīyah, Ibn Qiba a gues ha he Qu ʾān, as a sou ce
ex , canno be ead me ely in e ms o i s linguis ic meanings, as he e a e many e ms used in he
Qu ʾān wi h Di inely p esc ibed/coined
58
dimensions, such as, “al-salāṭ, al-zakā , al-ḥajj and he
like.” These equi e Di ine ins uc ion (ei he h ough he Qu ʾān’s mo e s aigh o wa d e ses
o h ough he P ophe and Imams) o unde s and p ope ly. Ibn Qiba w i es,
I is, hen, no possible o ace he meanings o hese hings back o he language because
in he i s place you would need o know ha no hing a all was in he wo ds you we e
ying o in e p e ha depended on di ine ins uc ion in ei he he summa y o he de ailed
unde s anding o i .
59
56
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 167.
ةصاخ لاو ، هيلع ؤطاوتلا ةمته هيلقنا ىلع نمؤي لا برخ لوبقو هيلقنا ىلع لاو هلقن في ةمته لا رتاوتم برخ كترل نىعم لف لاإو ]...[ نلو ابه نوتبثي مهعم
لمأتف . نايرح هئتا لاإ كلذ لعفي- الله كدعسأ- ل رظانل ا هب رظني امم كيلإ هب تبتك اميف رظنلا في لَإ راذلحاو ةفيلخا ينعب لمأتلما هداعم في ركفلما ، هنيد
]...[ دوحلجاو رفكلا بقاوع
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 60.
57
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 167.
58
Tawqī .
59
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 208.

40
This p o ides a his o iog aphical poin o cau ion in mining he Qu ʾān o his o ical da a. Thus,
app oaching he Qu ʾān linguis ically wi hin he A abic language, le alone a emp ing o de i e
meaning om e ymological connec ions ac oss di e en languages, has i s limi a ions om he
adi ion’s pe spec i e. Ins ead, o bene i om he Qu ʾān as ex e nal e idence, as well as o de i e
in e nal e idence om i , o much o he Qu ʾān he e mus be an in e p e e o so s, a
“mu a jim,” who “expounds” i , “who knows and quo es wha God in ends.”
60
On in e nal e idence and e lec ion, Ibn Qiba w i es ha , “ he e will be, in o de o
unde s and hei alsehood, no need o any hing mo e han hei own sel con adic o y, ain
con en ions.”
61
Ibn Qiba conside s i aling claims and in i es his in e locu o s o esol e in e nal
inconsis encies.
62
Tawā u , a gues Ibn Qiba, se s apa his his o ical claims om hose o his
in e locu o s, as he mass- ansmission o epo s by nume ous epo e s is o such an ex en ha ,
“p e alen cus om and eliable expe ience acknowledge ha i canno be all ab ica ed
هليصفت في لاو هلجم في لا ، لصأ فيقوت هيف سيل هلوأتت نأ ديرت يذلا ملكلا نأ ملعت نأ لاو أ جاتتح كنلأ ةغللا ىلع هلحم زويج سيلف .
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 100.
60
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 210. يا ناولدف ]...[د هرذعت فيو رذعتم رمأ اذهو ، اهليوتَ ىلع افيقوتو اصن لدي ام نآرقلا في اهليوتَ في ملعلا لهأ فلتخا ةدحاو ةيآ ىلع ةيديزلا رشعم ليل
. حضاو يدنع اذهو ، هب برخيف لَاعت الله دارم ملعي مجترم نم نآرقلل دب لا هنأ ىلع
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 100.
61
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 212.
.]كيكرلا[ دسافلا ضقانت لما مهاوعد نم رثكأ لَإ مبهذك ةفرعم في جتنح لم ]...[
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 103.
Also, o example, “I is impossible o a li ing pe son o ins all a dead pe son as his successo and o delega e he
Imāma e o him. This is so clea ly w ong ha he e is no need o say any mo e o p o e i s alsi y.”
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 217.
يلما يلحا فلختسي نأ لالمحا نمو ]...[. لوقلا ةرثك لَإ هرسك في جاتيح نأ نم اداسف ينبأ اذهو ، ةماملإبِ هيلإ يصويو ت
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 107.
62
Fo example, Ibn Qiba ask s his Zaydī in e lo cu o o explain he al e na i e o he Imāmīyah equi emen o naṣṣ
and he non-Shīʿī equi emen o Ahl al-Ḥall wa al-ʿAqd selec ion o he Imam.
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 237-238.
لا هتمامإ سيلفأملأا نم دقعلاو للحا لهأ عمتيج نم ليبس مكدنع هليبس سيلو مامإ هنأ هب ملعي زجعم ليلد هعم لاو ةيماملاا هلوقت ام ىلع صنلبِ لاإ حصت ة
؟هتفرعم لَإ ليبسلا فكيف : هل ليق ، معن : لاق اذإف ؟ هنوعيابيو هنوراتيخ ثم هرمأ في نورواشتيف
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 121.
41
alsehood.”
63
Ibn Qiba also makes an in i a ion o “ es ” claims abou his o ical occu ences by
compa ing and con as ing he na a i es in ligh o he eco ded e idence
64
, e e ing o he o e all
pic u e pain ed abou he impac o ce ain pe sonali ies as ex e nal e idence o quali ies hey
had.
65
Las ly, Ibn Qiba poin s o psychological dimensions o he pu sui o knowledge mo e
b oadly, le alone es ablishing his o ical ac s. Ibn Qiba w i es ha con o e sy su ounding he
u h does no unde mine he alidi y o one’s a gumen es ablishing a u h, o ,
I he u h we e only es ablished by a p oo on which he e we e ag eemen , no u h would
e e be es ablished [….]
66
Fu he mo e, Ibn Qib a e e s o he “habi ” o unc i ically aking he wo d o ansmi e s as a
culp i behind he ise o disag eemen .
67
In one ins ance, Ibn Qiba exempli ies a lucid pu sui o
e idence, indi ec ly highligh ing he impo ance o a oiding bigo y/p ejudice. As Ibn Qiba pu s
i , “I he e is p oo he e ha e u es wha we said, le he Zaydi es b ing i o wa d. We ha e no
g udge agains he u h. Thank God.”
68
63
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 212.
ا دلوم بِذك نوكي نأ زويج لا هلك كلذ نأ ةحيح صلا ةبرجتلاو ةيرالجا ةداعلبِ ملعي ام ]...[
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 103.
64
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al -Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 103.
65
Ibid, 104.
دنع ينب وه ام هسفن في هلضف نم رهظو ، روهشم نودم وه ام مارلحاو لللحا ملع نم ىسوم نع اولقن دق رثالآا ةلحمو رابخلاا ةاور نادجوو ةماعلاو ةصالخا
دجو املف ةماملإا تارامأ يه هذهو. هيخأ نود هيبأ دعب ماملاا هنأ انملع هيرغ نود ىسولم اهنا
66
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 219.
قح حص ام هيلع قفتم ليلدب لاإ تبثي لا قلحا ناك ول ادبأ
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 108.
67
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 221.
سأ ناكو ، ءلبلا مظع تىح ، نامزلا دعب نامزلاو ، تقولا دعب تقولا في مهيف مهسفن أ اوسلد ينباذك لبق نم وه انمإ ةيماملاا فلتخا نإ نوعجري موق مهفل
برخ يوري اروتسم لجر اوأر اذإ اوناكف زيتمو رظن باحصأ اونوكي لمو ، ةيحنا ةملسو داهتجاو عرو لَإ اوكش رهظو اذه رثك املف ، هولبقو نظلا هب اونسحأ ا
]...[ متهداع ىلع اورجو اولعفي ملف هيلع عميج ابم اوذخيأ نبأ ملسلا مهيلع ةمئلأا مهرمأف مهتمئأ لَإ
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 110.
68
Moda essi, C isis and Consolida ion, 226.
42
I bene i om Moda essi’s econs uc ion o Ibn Qiba’s his o iog aphical app oach, no
me ely o unde s and sec a ian deba es, bu a he o lea n om he Islamic adi ion in w i ing
his o y. Ibn Qiba’s his o iog aphical app oach can a guably o e a amewo k in synch onic
con e sa ion wi h mode n Islamic his o iog aphy, p esen ing iable al e na i es o sou ce-c i ical
app oaches ha o en a i e a conclusions diame ically opposed o hose o ecei ed adi ion o
simply ail o each “knowledge” a all. This app oach in o ms my esea ch in a leas wo ways:
(1) i p o ides he b ackd op o assump ions abou he adi ion’s de elopmen leading up o he
pe iod I ocus on be ween he 10 h and 13 h cen u ies CE; and (2) i demons a es a means o
p oblema izing he bounda ies be ween his o iog aphy, legal heo y and epis emology, all o which
play in o my analysis o deba es pe aining o leade ship.
In his ecen The Rebel and he Imam in Ea ly Islam, Najam Haide p oposes and models
a way o hinking abou ea ly Islamic his o ical w i ing which assumes ha ea ly Muslim
his o ians, “we e mo e conce ned wi h p ese ing he meaning o a gi en e en han hey we e
wi h eco ding i s speci ic de ails. In p ac ice, his ocus mean ha au ho s we e ee o embellish
and elabo a e na a i e elemen s (wi hin ce ain bounds) in o de o endow an e en wi h
signi icance.”
69
Haide a gues ha he e was a baseline o such elabo a ion – a sha ed, “co e
s uc u e o an e en o a biog aphy ha was amilia o he schola ly audience.”
70
Connec ing his
model o my me hodological discussion abo e, awā u would play a ole a leas in such a “co e
s uc u e,” ega dless o disag eemen pe aining o i s ole in some na a i e elemen s.
71
F om
. لله ركشلاو ، ةدناعم قلحا ينبو اننيب امف ، ةيديزلا اهرهظتلف هانلق ام عفدت ةجح انهه ناك نإف
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿmah, 113.
69
Najam I ikha Haide , The Rebel and he Imām in Ea ly Islam : Explo a ions in Muslim His o iog aphy (New
Yo k, NY: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2019), 259.
70
Haide , The Rebel and he Imām in Ea ly Islam, 259.
71
Each case in ques ion mus be conside ed in ligh o he sou ce ma e ial and his o ical memo y.
43
ano he angle, howe e , my p ojec in hi s wo k complemen s Haide ’s discussion in ha i seeks
o answe he ques ion: Why we e Islamic au ho s so conce ned wi h p ese ing such meaning and
why would hey lead hei eade s on wi h such epu posing, embellishing, and possibly e en
c ea ing epo s con eying he impo ance o an e en ins ead o eco ding i s li e al de ails? Wha
made such echniques/s a egies so cen al o hei in ellec ual in es men s? The answe is a pi o al
aspec o my hesis – a conce n o subjec - o ma ion.
P oposing a model ha explains why hese Islamic au ho s ( ia hei w i ings) unc ion as
hey do is he common h ead o his disse a ion in addi ion o he ypes o “leading” ha ela e o
e se 4:59 ’s ulū al-am . The ype o explana ion I p opose a ises ou o he in ellec ual “lib a y”
mos di ec ly d awn on by hese au ho s, despi e condi ioning (a e being condi ioned by)
communi y-based conside a ions. This can be con as ed wi h app oaches, sui able as hey may be
o hei objec s o s udy, ha ind mo e ele an explana ions in he social condi ions o au ho ship
a he han in he con en s au ho ed. Fo example, in he con ex o explaining he ise o he
ansla ion mo emen , Geo ge Saliba p esen s his e isionis na a i e ha d aws on Abū al-Fa aj
Muḥammad ibn Abī Yaʿqūb Isḥāq al-Nadīm’s (d. ca 438 AH / 1047 CE), “di ec connec ion
be ween he Islamic Ci iliza ion’s app op ia ion o he ancien sciences and ʿAbd al-Malik’s
e o ms which we e mainly cen e ed a ound he o de o ansla e he dīwān.”
72
G an ed, Saliba
s udies al-Nadīm’s wo k as a p ima y sou ce in i s own igh and, in ha sense, his explana ion
a ises ou o he his o ical objec o s udy i sel , bu his is a guably a ma e o laye s e e ing o
di e en objec s o s udy ––al-Nadīm in his case, “ac s mo e as an in ellec ual his o ian who ies
o explain his o ical e en s a he han a his o ian who simply eco ds hem.”
73
I is also because I
72
Geo ge Saliba, Islamic Science and he Making o he Eu opean Renaissance, T ans o ma ions (Camb idge,
Mass: MIT P ess, 2007), 68.
73
Saliba, Islamic Science and he Making o he Eu opean Renaissance, 30.
44
d aw my model om he mo e immedia e in ellec ual epe oi e o au ho s whose exce p s a e
s udied he e ha I can pos pone he de elopmen o mo e g anula , egion-speci ic, models o
mo i a ion, such as in he wo k o Ma ibel Fie o, who d aws on, “da a o al-Andalus collec ed
in HATA
74
– da a ob ained om biog aphical dic iona ies, ahā is, his o ical wo ks, quo a ions in
o he wo ks, ca alogues o manusc ip s and many o he sou ces,” o ha end.
75
These al e na i e
app oaches would su ely complemen he ype o modeling I p opose he e –– none can p o ide
he mos obus accoun alone –– bu o ully de elop such con ex ual analysis “on he g ound”
would wa an addi ional s udies beyond he con ibu ions o his disse a ion. Because he sha ed
lib a y con en o au ho s in his s udy is so in e wined wi h hei Muslim/Islamic iden i y, I op
o model hei in e en ions ( he “empi ical” econs uc ions h oughou his disse a ion) based
p ima ily on ha sha ed in ellec ual backg ound a he han o he ac o s, such as inancial o
poli ical conce ns.
76
0.4 In e p e i e F amewo k
0.4.1 Pa adigm Theo y
Wael Hallaq’s heo y o pa adigms d aws on a modi ied e sion o Kuhn’s “pa adigm,”
Foucaul ’s “o de o hings,” and, pe haps mos in luen ially, Schmi ’s no ion o a “cen al
domain,” in e ms o which ma e s beyond ha domain a e sol ed. Howe e , o Hallaq, a cen al
74
His o ia de los Au o es y T ansmiso es de al-Andalus.
75
Ma ibel Fie o, “Why and Wha Did Legal Schola s W i e in Medie al I slamic Socie ies?,” Jou nal o Islamic
Law 2, no. 1 (May 27, 2021), h ps://doi.o g/10.53484/jil. 2. ie o.
76
In his ein, upon men ioning an au ho , and o a oid educing he au ho o a pe cei ed geog aphic and/o
sec a ian a ilia ion lacking nuance, I ha e gene ally op ed no o apply hese labels. This is especially impo an i
one en e ains how he labels (e.g. “Ṣū ī”) a e some imes aken o mean d i e en hings and/o ha e de eloped o e
ime. The ac ha an au ho o en a elled in pu sui o knowledge and may ha e been a ilia ed wi h mul iple
locali ies is also an impo an conside a ion. Mo e speci ic discussion o an au ho ’s a ilia ions is be e le o
s udies ocusing on he social dynamics a play h oughou he s ages o a gi en au ho ’s li e.

45
domain, wi hin a pa adigm, does no me ely dic a e he e ms o i s ela ionship wi h he
“pe iphe al domain.” Ra he , since bo h he cen e and he pe iphe y sha e a pa adigm, hey a e in
a dialec ical ela ionship. Thus, Hallaq’s pa adigm in ol es, “a sys em o knowledge and p ac ice
whose cons i uen domains sha e in common a pa icula s uc u e o concep s ha quali a i ely
dis inguishes hem om equi alen domains in o he sys ems.”
77
Tha goes wi hou saying ha
he e emain dis inc concep s and p ac ices ha make he pe iphe y pe iphe al and he cen e
cen al.
0.4.2 Types o Au ho s
In ligh o his amewo k, Hallaq p oposes a ca ego iza ion o di e en ypes o au ho s,
cha ac e izing he in e en ion exac ed by each o m o au ho ship: (1) The docile au ho , who
knowingly o unknowingly se es he cen al domain. The c i iques o his ype o an au ho pe ain
o de ails, ne e eally challenging he cen al domain’s de ining ea u es; (2) The dissen ing
au ho , who c i iques he de ining ea u es o he cen al domain bu does no challenge he co e
ounda ions o he go e ning pa adigm. In a sense, he dissen ing au ho ein o ces he cen al
domain e en when a guing o he pe iphe al domain because s/he s ill has no challenged he
pa adigm; (3) The sub e si e au ho , who no only challenges he cen al domain’s discou s e-
de ining ea u es bu challenges he ounda ional assump ions o he en i e pa adigm sha ed e en
by he pe iphe al domain; (4) The discu si e au ho , who succeeds in sub e ing he pa adigm and
ushe ing in a di e en discu si e o ma ion. Beyond hese ou ypes, Hallaq desc ibes an
77
Wael B. Hallaq, The Impossible S a e Islam, Poli ics, and Mode ni y’s Mo al P edicamen (New Yo k : Columbia
Uni e si y P ess, 2014), h p://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/ esol e?clio12458724, 6-12.
46
addi ional ype o au ho : (5) The “analogical” au ho , who b ings new li e o a sub e si e au ho ’s
appeal, wi h upda ed ele ance.
78
0.4.3 Subjec - o ma ion
The ac i i y o an au ho , like o he o ms o conscious o e en unconscious i e a i e
ac i i y, can be modeled as ha ing a subjec - o ming impac . Indeed, pa o he a gumen I ou line
below is ha he in luen ial Islamic au ho s I conside ha e an analogue o his in mind – o a
hea – while engaging hemsel es and hei eade ship. I am no e e ing o he mo e ob ious
impac au ho s ha e on o ming hei subjec ma e , he opic o hei discussion. Ra he , I am
e e ing o he ope a ion o he au ho s on indi iduals engaging wi h hei w i ing, no only by he
me e ac s o w i ing, eading and e lec ing, bu by he lines o easoning in oked and emo ional
s a es conju ed. Wael Hallaq has opened up a heo e ical space o discussing he p ocess o
subjec - o ma ion as imagined wi hin he Islamic con ex by aming discussions o i s echniques
as a so o (anach onis ic), “commen a y on wha Foucaul called he echnologies o he sel […]”
Fo , in he mos ele an sense he e, “Foucaul was a ho oughgoing Ghazālian.”
79
While he
p ac ices desc ibed he e a e la gely pa and pa cel o he Qu ʾānic e hos and P ophe ic example,
his emphasis on he much la e ole o Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE) highligh s
he sys ema ic ea men p o e ed by his in luen ial Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, “a i uoso exposé o he
a o eligious p ac ice and, indeed, o li ing he good li e. I is pa adigma ic. I one can say ha
he mode n age is one o e shadowed by Kan ianism, hen he se e al cen u ies o middle Islam
we e o e shadowed by Ghazālianism.”
80
One es amen o his pa adigma ic quali y is ha
78
Wael B. Hallaq, Res a ing O ien alism : A C i ique o Mode n Knowledge (New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y
P ess, 2018), 171-175.
79
Hallaq, The Impossible S a e, 129.
80
Ibid.
47
cen u ies la e , he Shīʿī schola Muḥsin al-Kāshānī (d. 1091 AH / 1680 CE) publishes his
ecension o Ghazālī’s ex , mainly edi ing/ eplacing wha con lic wi h he Shīʿī school o hough ,
which he claims Ghazālī had emb aced a he end o his li e.
81
C.1. Technologies o he Sel
To cla i y, in his semina on “Technologies o he Sel ,” Michel Foucaul cha ac e izes a
key objec i e o his li e’s wo k as ou lining, “a his o y o he di e en ways in ou cul u e ha
humans de elop knowledge abou hemsel es: economics, biology, psychia y, medicine, and
penology. The main poin is no o accep his knowledge a ace alue bu o analyze hese so-
called sciences as e y speci ic ‘ u h games’ ela ed o speci ic echniques ha human beings use
o unde s and hemsel es.”
82
This insigh no only se es as a eminde ha some o and/o some
aspec s o ou p esumed knowledge is allible, bu ha speci ic echniques/” echnologies” ha e a
ole o play in he p ocess, ega dless o he u h/ alsehood dicho omy. Foucaul iden i ies ou
key ypes o hese echnologies, each associa ed wi h pa icula modes o aining and modi ying
he skills and/o a i udes o indi iduals,
(1) echnologies o p oduc ion, which pe mi us o p oduce, ans o m, o manipula e
hings; (2) echnologies o sign sys ems, which pe mi us o use signs, meanings, symbols,
o signi ica ion; (3) echnologies o powe , which de e mine he conduc o indi iduals and
submi hem o ce ain en ds o domina ion, an obje c i izing o he subjec ; (4) echnologies
o he sel , which pe mi indi iduals o e ec by hei own means o wi h he help o o he s
a ce ain numbe o ope a ions on hei own bodies and souls, hough s, conduc , and way
81
Muḥsin al-Kāsh ānī (d. 1091 AH / 1680 CE) , al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʾ Fī Tahdhīb al-Iḥyāʾ, ed. ʿAlī Akba al-
Gha ā ī, ol. 1, 8 ols. (Bei u : Manshū ā Muʾassasa al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿā , 1983 CE), 1.
82
Lu he H. Ma in, Huck Gu man, and Pa ick H. Hu on, eds., Technologies o he Sel : A Semina wi h Michel
Foucaul (Amhe s : Uni e si y o Massachuse s P ess, 1988), h ps://sea ch-ebscohos -
com.ezp oxy.cul.columbia.edu/login.aspx?di ec = ue&db=nlebk&AN=38988&si e=ehos -li e&scope=si e, 17-18.
48
o being, so as o ans o m hemsel es in o de o a ain a ce ain s a e o happiness, pu i y,
wisdom, pe ec ion, o immo ali y.
83
O p ima y conce n he e a e he la e , he echnologies o he sel , and speci ically hose pe aining
o he cons i u ion o he sel in ela ion o e hical conce ns and/o codes o mo ali y. Foucaul
ela es such echnologies o , “indi idual domina ion,” o , “how an indi idual ac s upon himsel ,”
o he G eek epimeles hai * sau ou, “ o ake ca e o you sel ,” “ he conce n wi h sel ,” “ o be
conce ned, o ake ca e o you sel .”
84
Th ough hese echnologies, hese echniques, hese
p ac ices, an indi idual exe cises powe o e him/he sel and o ms him/he sel in o a subjec wi h
dis inc disposi ions.
C.2. Habi us
I is help ul o hink o his subjec - o ma ion h ough a no ion A is o le in okes in he
con ex o de ining i ue/ ice –hexis (ἕξις), in G eek, o , as i is ende ed in La in, habi us, and
a guably analogous o malakah
85
in A abic. One o he mos impo an wo ds in A is o le’s
83
Ibid, 18.
84
Ibid, 19.
85
I appea s ha he usage o he wo d malakah in his sense (o closely ela ed o i ) is ex an s a ing wi h he wo k
o Abū Naṣ al-Fā ābī (d. 339 AH / 950 CE). In al-Ḥu ū , al-Fā ābī’s commen a y on A is o le’s Me aphysics, he
w i es,
]...[
ًئيش لعفي ام لّ
وأوكبم وأ ةكلبم[و ةرطفلبِ هيف ةّ
وقب لعفي كلذ نم ان لْعيف رّ
رك اذإو .ةعانصب لاو كلذ لبق قباس هل دايتعبِ لا ،ةّيع يبط ]ة
اّ
مإ ،ةّيدايتعا ةكلم هل تثدح ةيرثك ارارم دحاو عون نم ءيش . ةّيعانص وأ ةّيقلخ
[…] And he i s ha s/he does some hing o ha [so ] sp ou s om a po en ial ha exis s wi hin him/he
inna ely and by a na u al [capaci y o habi us], no due o p io habi ua ion o skill/c a . I s/he epea s an
ac o he same ype many imes o e , s/he acqui es a habi ua ed habi us (malakah) – ei he o he cha ac e
ype o he skill ype.
Abū Naṣ al-Fā ābī, Ki āb al-Ḥu ū , ed. Muh sin Mahdi (Bei u : Dā al-Mash iq, 1986), 135.
Ano he ea ly ins ance o malakah usage in his sense is in Tahdhīb al-Akhlāq wa Taṭhī al-Aʿ āq by Aḥmad
Miskawayh (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE) who w i es,
ينبتو اً
ضيأ نأ ةئيلها تيلا ردصت اهنع لاعفلأا ةلداعلا تىم تبسن لَإ اهبحاص تيسم ،ةليضف اذإو تبسن لَإ نم هلماعي ابه تيسم ،ةلادع اذإو
تبرتعا اتهاذب تيسم ةكلم ةيناسفن ]...[
Thus, i has also become clea ha he condi ion (hayʾah) om which jus ac ions issue o h [can be
conside ed om di e en aspec s.] Once i is a ibu ed o he doe , i is called a i ue. I i is a ibu ed o
55
o deba es which d aw on he wo ks o au ho s mainly be ween he 10 h and 13 h cen u ies CE
e eals a ious o ms o leade ship ha cen e on subjec - o ma ion, albei ela ed o he pa icula
ea u es in ques ion o he espec i e o m o leade ship.
0.6 “Lib a y” E idence
The inal sec ion o his in oduc ion pain s he i s componen o hese wo a gumen s by
d awing on key snapsho s om he Islamic “lib a y,” which is p esum ed o ha e in o med he
habi us o he au ho s deal wi h in he subsequen case s udies.
0.6.1 In ellec ual Technologies and Subjec - o ma ion
The p eoccupa ion o Islamic hinke s wi h a conce n o o ming mo al subjec s
( hemsel es and o he s) explains hei deploymen o compe ing concep ual amewo ks o sa is y
pa adigma ic mo al equi emen s. The e idence o his om he “lib a y” o Islam includes i s
appa en po ayal o hese in ellec ual pu sui s as echnologies in ica ely i n ol ed in “ca ing o
he sel ,” o ming he subjec /agen o he b oade communi y. Fo example
103
, he amous
103
When I ci e Qu ʾānic e ses wi hou e e ing o exege ical li e a u e, I am only claiming a ba e minimum o
wha aspec s o he e se a e easonably unde s ood o mean – in en ionally se ing aside wha migh be mo e open
o in e p e a ion/con o e sy by he Qu ʾān’s eade s. Making connec ions by c oss- e e encing wi hin he Qu ʾān
i sel , hen, allows o a econs uc ion o wha was/is likely in e nalized, i no b ough o he o e, by e lec i e
eade s o he Qu ʾān, gene ally speaking, who o en commi ed signi ican po ions o i o memo y in addi ion o
eci ing i equen ly. While his eading is somewha a he su ace, i is no supe icial, o i ecognizes Qu ʾān
3:7’s cau ion ega ding he wo ypes o e ses, he muḥkam and he mu ashābih, and does no a emp o claim an
in e p e a ion o he la e wi hou comp ehensi e e e ence o he o me (see Chap e 5 o his wo k o a summa y
o hese dis inc ions by an au ho om wi hin he adi ion). The e o e, his app oach is ounda ional o a oiding
bo h ex emis eadings, which supe icially ead he mu ashābih e ses wi hou holis ic e ence o he muḥkam
e ses, on he one hand, o which ake his o ically speci ic applica ions o a e se ou o i s sui able con ex . The
assump ion in my adop ion o his app oach o he Qu ʾān is ha i esona es wi h an accessibili y he Qu ʾān in i es
i s eade s owa d, wi hou sac i icing a holis ic eading o dismissing he alue p o e ed by gene a ions o
commen a y on he Qu ʾān. The app oach he e is, hus, a quali ied e sion o wha has been called a sī al-Qu ʾān
bil-Qu ʾān, an a emp a which can be ound in he mul i- olume al-Mīzān ī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān by Muḥammad
Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī (d. 1981 CE). See:

56
Qu ʾānic e se ha indica es he e a e wo ypes o e ses, one o be na iga ed in ligh o he o he ,
desc ibes hose who pu sue a lawed amewo k as being unsound o hea ( equi ing ca e),
َ
وُ
ه ي ذَّلا َ
لَ
زنَأ َ
كيَلَع َ
باتيكلا
ُهني
م ٌ
تياآ ٌ
تامَ
كُ
مُ َّ
نُ
ه
ُّ
مُأ ي
باتيكلا ُ
رَ
خُأَ
و ٌ
تاي
بهاشَتُ
م اَّ
مَأَف َ
نيذَّلا في ميي
بهولُق
ٌ
غيَ
ز َ
نوعيبَّتَ
يَ
ف ام
َهَباشَت
ُهني
م
َءاغيتبا
ي
ةَنتي
فلا
َءاغيتباَ
و
ي
هيليوَ
تَ امَ
و
ُمَلعَي
ُهَليوَ
تَ َّ
لايإ
َُّ
للَّا َ
نوخي
ساّ
رلاَ
و ي
في ي
مليعلا َ
نولوقَي اّنَ
مآ
ي
هيب
ٌّلُ
ك ني
م
ي
دنيع اني
ّبَ
ر امَ
و ُ
رَّ
كَّ
ذَي ّ
لايإ وُلوُأ
ي
بابلَلأا
Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān ī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān, 20 ols. (Qum: Muʾassasa al-Nash al-Islāmī, n.d.)
This app oach, in p inciple, appea s o be acknowledged/ augh in epo s a ibu ed o p ominen igu es in he ea ly
Muslim communi y. Pe haps mos no ably summa izing his p inciple, o ins ance, is a quo e om a epo
a ibu ed o ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭ ālib (d. 40 AH / 661 CE), whe e in he con ex o add essing supe icially pe cei ed
con adic ions in he Qu ʾ ān, ʿAlī s a es, “Indeed, pa s o he Book o God e i y he o he pa s and do no bely he
o he pa s, bu you ha e no been bes owed wi h he sus enance o eason ha you would bene i om […]”
بذكي لاو اضعب هضعب قدصيل الله باتك نإ ، اضعب هضعبهب عفتنت لقع قزرت لم كنكلو ]...[
A e hea ing all o he qu es ione ’s pe cei ed con ad ic ions in he Qu ʾān, ʿAlī p oceeds o add ess hem. Towa d
he end o he epo , ʿAlī unde lines ha he e is also knowledge beyond wha is accessible o he mo e gene al
eade /lis ene , saying, “The one wi h knowledge is no able o explain all knowledge o all people. Tha is because
among hem a e he s ong as well as he weak, and because some o i is bea able and some o i is unbea able
excep o hose among God’s selec iends whom He eases i o and has helped o bea i […]” ]...[هرسفي نأ ملعلا بحاص عيطتسي ملعلا لك سيلو قاطي لا ام هنمو هلحم قاطي ام هنم نلأو ، فيعضلاو يوقلا مهنم نلأ سانلا لكل نم لاإ هلحم
لهسيهئايلوأ ةصاخ نم هيلع هنا عأو هلحم هل الله ]...[
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥam mad ibn ʿAlī Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq (d. 381 AH / 991 CE), al-Tawḥīd, ed. Hāshim
al-Ḥusaynī al -Ṭah ānī (Bei u : Dā al-Maʿ i ah, n .d.), 254-270.
When I w i e ha he app oach I ake is a quali ied e sion o wha has been called a sī al-Qu ʾān bil-Qu ʾān, I
mean ha i is a guably less es ic ing in i s claims (e.g. po en ially in e nalized connec ions s. de ini i e exegesis),
and ha i is open o didac ic adi ions on how pa s o he Qu ʾān explain one ano he , as desc ibed in he
a o emen ioned epo a ibu ed o ʿAlī.
57
I is He who has sen down o you he Book. Pa s o i a e muḥkam e ses, which a e he
mo he o he Book, while o he s a e mu ashābih. As o hose in whose hea s is de iance,
hey ollow wha ashābaha
104
in i , in pu sui o mischie
105
and in pu sui o i s aʾwīl
106
.
Bu no one knows i s aʾwīl excep God [;] and hose i mly g ounded in knowledge; hey
say, ‘We belie e in i ; all o i is om ou Lo d.’ And none akes admoni ion excep hose
who possess in ellec .
107
104
Tashābaha; he pas ense e b ela ed o mu ashābih; linguis ically, he wo d mu ashābih is ela ed o he pas
ense e b ashābaha and he noun ashābuh, which exp esses he simila i y/ esemblance be ween di e en ma e s.
This can mean di e en hings, depending on he con ex . In some con ex s, mu ashābih desc ibes he consis ency
be ween he e ses o he Qu ʾān (i.e. e se 39:23). Howe e , in o he con ex s, such as in he e se quo ed he e,
mu ashābih a guably e e s o a o m o ambigui y which a ises when he in ended meaning o a Qu ʾānic e se is
no s aigh o wa d in a s and-alone ashion. A i s glance, in such e ses, he e would be mul iple possibili ies ha
would seem simila o wha mus be igh , leading o unce ain y. In his sense, he mu ashābih e ses (as opposed o
wha a e called he “muḥkam” e ses) a e supposed o be cla i ied by unde s anding hem wi h e e ence o he
muḥkam e ses, which a e al eady s aigh o wa d. The de ian choose o go a e he mu ashābih e ses wi hou
e e ing hem back o he muḥkam e ses and, hus, end up wi h wis ed in e p e a ions. See on his e se:
Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān Fī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān, 20 ols. (Qum: Muʾassasa al-Nash al-Islāmī,
n.d.);
Nāṣi Makā im al-Shī āz ī, al-Am hal ī Ta sī Ki āb Allāh al-Munzal, 20 ols., n.d.
105
Fi nah; depending on he con ex , can e e o a es o condi ions such as calami y, sedi ion, and emp a ion.
106
This is a o m o in e p e a ion no gene ally accessible o he ypical eade , as he e se indica es. Mo e de ails
on he usage o he wo d aʾwīl and i s signi icance in Chap e 5 o his wo k.
107
Qu ʾān 3:7.
58
The e se makes i clea ha being among “ hose i mly g ounded in knowledge (al- āsikhūn ī
al-ʿilm)” o a leas , “ hose who possess in ellec ( ulū al-albāb)” is a odds wi h ha ing an unsound
hea . No ewo hy he e is ha his language migh be an indica ion o he subs an i e meaning o
habi us be o e he wo d “malakah” had been adop ed o mean so. Tha is, he ph ase “ i mly
g ounded in ( āsikhūn ī),” depending on he con ex , can indica e he du able condi ion o a
habi us desc ibed ea lie . Whe he o no he i m g ounding means some hing much deepe han
habi us can be pu sued in he exege ical li e a u e. Bu he ph ase, “ hose who possess (ulū)” in,
“ hose who possess in ellec (ulū al-albāb)” appea s o be an e en mo e s aigh o wa d analogue
o habi us in his con ex . This is no o say ha whe e e “ulū” appea s, i is a gi eaway indica ion
o habi us, o he wo d mo e gene ally e e s o possession. Bu in pa icula con ex s desc ibing
cha ac e ai s and skills, he wo d “ulū” a guably well desc ibes habi us possession. The e se,
hus links s a es o he hea and/o he mo e du able habi us condi ions o he sel o he pu sui
o concep ual amewo ks. Acco ding o he e se, he “de iance” o he a s engende s lawed
eadings, mis aken concep ual amewo ks o lines o easoning ( o ms o aʾwīl), which in u n
ake he subjec down a pa h o mischie , p esumably consolida ing he hea ’s condi ion o
de iance – a lawed subjec o ma ion.
Add essing he e y no ion o God’s exis ence, he Qu ʾān poses ques ions, as i in i ing
he eade o o mula e his/he own line o easoning and “see” he a gumen (s) o i s end
him/he sel . In a sequence o e ses om su ah 52, one e ses eads,
]...[ َ
نوقيلالخا ُمُ
ه مَأ ٍ
ءيَ
ش ي
يرَغ ني
م اوقيلُ
خ مَأ ]...[
59
[…] We e hey c ea ed om no hing? O a e hey [ hei own] c ea o s? […]
108
Many o he e ses emphasize he impo ance o ha ing “e idence/p oo (bu hān),” o heo e ical
claims. This is o en accompanied by he possessi e “you p oo ,” possibly indica ing ha i is in
some sense subjec i e bu ha , none heless, a since e a emp a communica ing objec i e p oo is
being in i ed. Fo ins ance,
ي
مَأ اوذََّ
تخا ني
م
ي
هينود
ًةَي
لهآ ۖ لُق اوتاه مُ
كَناهرُب ]...[
Ha e hey aken gods besides Him? Say, ‘P oduce you p oo ! […].
109
O he e ses speak o “gods” in a sense ha can mean a pe son some imes a kes his own whimsical
desi es as a god
110
, o akes eligious leade s as lo ds besides God.
111
So he p inciple in he e se
is no add essing poly heis s alone, bu is a he indica i e o a subjec - o ming in ellec ual
echnology ac oss he spec um. Ano he e se s a es,
نَ
مَ
و
ُعدَي
َ
عَ
م
يَّ
للَّا اًٰ
لهيإ َ
رَ
خآ لا َ
ناهرُب
ُهَل
ي
هيب اَّ
نميإَف
ُهُباسي
ح َ
دنيع
ي
هي
ّبَ
ر
ُهَّنيإ لا
ُ
حيلفُي َ
نوريفاكلا
108
Ibid, 52:35.
109
Ibid, 21:24.
110
Ibid, 25:43; 45:23.
111
Ibid, 9:31.
60
Whoe e in okes besides God ano he god o which s/he has no p oo , his/he eckoning
will indeed es wi h his/he Lo d. Indeed he [un easonably ai hless]
112
will no be
elici ous.
113
112
Al-Kā i ūn (sing. al-Kā i ; an agen pe o ming he ac o ku ); Al hough his wo d is has been ansla ed
a iably as “in idels” (e.g. by Geo ge Sale), “unbelie e s” (e.g. by A. J. A be y), “disbelie e s” (e.g. by M. M.
Pick hall), “denie s o he u h” (e. g. by Muhammad Asad) and, “ ai h less” (e.g. by Ali Quli Qa ai), I would a gue
ha i s ende ing in English should be e accoun o he nuanced alence he wo d can ha e in di e en Qu ʾānic
con ex s, which may a imes o e lap. Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭab āʾī (d. 1981 CE) w i es ha , “ he appa en
meaning o ku in he Qu ʾān is ‘co e ing up (al-sa ),’ in a sense ha is inclusi e o he e minological usage o
ku [e.g. ha dema ca ing bounda ies o legal pu poses] as well as he unquali ied sense o ku as opposed o
unquali ied ai h…” ]...[ايحلطصا ارفك نوكي نأ نم معأ ترسلا وه نآرقلا في رفكلا رهاظو قلطلما نايملاا لباقم في اقلطم ارفك وأ ]...[
A-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān ī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān, ol. 2, 110.
A much ea lie e e ence wi hin he exege ical adi io n, a ibu ed o he six h Shīʿī Imam, Jaʿ a al-Ṣādiq (d. 148
AH / 765 CE), quo es him desc ibing i e aspec s (awjuh; sing. wajh) o ku in he Book o God (i.e. he Qu ʾān):
(1 & 2) he ku o s ubbo n ejec ion (juḥūd), wi h s ubbo n ejec ion ha ing wo aspec s (i.e. ejec ing he ue Lo d
by eso ing o insu icien ly in es iga ed/e idenced al e na i e claims; and ejec ing wha one knows o be ue); (3)
he ku o [ing a i ude owa d] blessings; (4) he ku o abandoning ha which God has commanded; and (5) he
ku o disassocia ion [ om ha which displeases God].
]نع نييلكلا[ ي
نَع ٍ
حيلاَ
ص ي
نْب ي
رْ
كَب ْ
نَع هييبَأ ْ
نَع َ
ميي
هاَ
رْ بيإ ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَعهوُ
جُ
و ْ
نَع ي
نيْي
برْ
خَأ هَل ُ
تْلُ ق َ
لاَق ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع ي
ّ
ييْ
يرَبُّ
زلا وٍ
رْ
مَع ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع َ
ديي
زَي ي
نْب ي
مي
ساَ
قْل ا ي
رْ
فُ
كْلا
او ُدوُ
حُْ
لجا ُ
رْ
فُ
ك اَ
هْ
ني
مَف هُ
جْ
وَأ يةَ
سَْ
خَ ىَلَع َّ
للَّا ي
باَتيك ي
في ُ
رْ
فُ
كْلا َ
لاَق َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ي
باَتيك ي
في ي
مَعيّنلا ُ
رْ
فُ
كو يةَءاََ
برْلا ُ
رْ
فُ
كو َّ
للَّا َ
رَ
مَأ اَ
م ي
كَْ
تريب ُ
رْ
فُ
كْلاو يْ
ينَ
هْ
جَ
و ىَلَع ُدوُ
حُْ
لج
ُ
هو َ
رَ
نا َ
لاو َةَّنَ
ج َ
لاو َّ
بَ
ر َ
لا ُ
لوُ
قَ ي ْ
نَ
م ُ
لْ
وَ ق َ
وُ
هو يةَّييبوُبُّ
رلي
بِ ُدوُ
حُْ
لجا َ
وُ
هَ ف ي
دوُ
حُْ
لجا ُ
رْ
فُ
ك اَّ
مَأَف َ
ني
م يْ
ينَ
فْ
ني
ص ُ
لْ
وَ ق َ
و ( * : َ
نوُلوُ
قَ ي َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُ
مُ
هو ُةَّيي
رْ
هَّدلا ُ
مَُ
له ُ
لاَ
قُ ي يةَقي
دَ
ناَّ
زلا
* ) ُ
رْ
هَّدلا َّ
لايإ انُ
كيلْ
هُ ي امو :ةيثالجا[24] َ
نوُلوُ
قَ ي اَّي
مم ٍ
ءْ
يَ
شيل ٍ
قيي
قَْ
تح َ
لاو ْمُ
هْ
ني
م ٍ
تُّبَ ثَ ت يْ
يرَغ ىَلَع ي
ناَ
سْ
حيتْ
سلاي
بِ ْمي
هي
سُ
فْ نَلأ هوُعَ
ضَ
و ٌ
نيي
د َ
وُ
هو
َق ( * : َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لا
* ) َ
نوُّنُظَي َّ
لايإ ْمُ
ه ْ
نيإ[ :ةيثالجا24] ْمُ
هْ
ري
ذْنُ ت َْ
لم ْمَأ ْمَُ
تهْ
رَ
ذْنَأأ ْمي
هْيَلَع ٌءاوَ
س اوُ
رَ
فَ
ك َ
نيي
ذَّلا َّ
نيإ ( * : َ
لاَقو َ
نوُلوُ
قَ ي اَ
مَ
ك َ
كيلَذ َّ
نَأ * ) َ
نوُني
مْ
ؤُ ي لا[ :ةرقبلا6] ي
نيْعَ ي
َّ
للَّا ي
ديي
حْ
وَ
تيب
ي
رْ
فُ
كْلا هوُ
جُ
و ُ
دَ
حَأ اَ
ذَ
هَ ف َ
لَاَعَ ت ٍةَفي
رْعَ
م ىَلَع ي
دوُ
حُْ
لجا َ
ني
م ُ
رَ
خلآا هْ
جَ
وْلا اَّ
مَأو]ةفرعم ىلع دوحلج ا وهف[ ي
دَق ٌّ
قَ
ح هَّنَأ ُ
مَلْعَ ي َ
وُ
هو ُ
دي
حاَْ
لجا َ
دَ
حَْ
يج ْ
نَأ َ
وُ
هو
اوُ
دَ
حَ
جو ( * : َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لاَق ْ
دَقو هَ
دْنيع َّ
رَ
قَ
تْ
سا* ) ْمُ
هُ
سُ
فْ نَأ اهْتَ
نَ
قْ
يَ
تْ
ساو اي
به * ) اًّ
وُلُعو ًامْلُظ ( * :لمنلا[14] ُلْبَ ق ْ
ني
م اوُناكو ( * : َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لاَقو
* ) َ
نيي
ريفاكْلا ىَلَع الله ُةَنْعَلَ ف هيب اوُ
رَ
فَ
ك اوُفَ
رَع ام ْمُ
هَءاج اَّ
مَلَ ف اوُ
رَ
فَ
ك َ
نيي
ذَّلا ىَلَع َ
نوُ
حيتْ
فَ
تْ
سَي[لا :ةرقب89] ي
رْ
فُ
كْلا َ
ني
م ُ
ثيلاَّثل ا هْ
جَ
وْلاو ي
دوُ
حُْ
لجا ي
يَ
هْ
جَ
و ُيري
سْ
فَ ت اَ
ذَ
هَ ف
َأ ُ
رُ
كْ
شَأأ ي
نيَ
وُلْ
بَ
ييل ي
ّ
بَِ
ر ي
لْ
ضَف ْ
ني
م اذه ( * : ع َ
ناَ
مْيَلُ
س َ
لْ
وَ ق ييكَْ
يح َ
لَاَعَ ت هُلْ
وَ ق َ
كيلَذو ي
مَعيّنلا ُ
رْ
فُ
ك
يل ُ
رُ
كْ
شَي اَّ
نميإَف َ
رَ
كَ
ش ْ
نَ
مو ُ
رُ
فْ
كَأ ْم ٌّي
نيَغ ي
ّ
بَِ
ر َّ
نيإَف َ
رَ
فَ
ك ْ
نَ
مو هي
سْ
فَ
ن
* ) ٌيمي
رَ
ك[ :لمنلا40] * ) ٌ
ديي
دَ
شَل ي
بِاذَع َّ
نيإ ُْ
تُْ
رَ
فَ
ك ْ
نيئَلو ْمُ
كَّنَ
ديي
زَلأ ُْ
تُْ
رَ
كَ
ش ْ
نيئَل ( * َ
لاَقو :ميهاربإ[7] ) ي
نوُ
رُ
فْ
كَت لاو ي
لِ اوُ
رُ
كْ
شاو ْمُ
كْ
رُ
كْذَأ ي
نيوُ
رُ
كْذاَف ( * َ
لاَقو
* :ةرقبلا[152] َأ ْذيإو ( * : َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّ ا ُ
لْ
وَ ق َ
وُ
هو هيب َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
رَ
مَأ اَ
م ُ
كْ
رَ ت ي
رْ
فُ
كْلا َ
ني
م ُ
عيباَّ
رلا هْ
جَ
وْلاو َ
نوُ
جي
رُْ
تخ لاو ْمُ
كَءامي
د َ
نوُ
كي
فْ
سَت لا ْمُ
كَقاثيي
م ناْ
ذَ
خ
َ
نوُ
دَ
هْ
شَت ْمُتْ نَأو ُْ
تُْ
رَ
رْ قَأ َُّ
ثم ْمُ
ك
ي
رياي
د ْ
ني
م ْمُ
كَ
سُ
فْ نَأ يْ
ثمي
لإي
بِ ْمي
هْيَلَع َ
نوُ
رَ
هاظَت ْمي
هي
رياي
د ْ
ني
م ْمُ
كْني
م ًاقيي
رَف َ
نوُ
جي
رُْ
تخو ْمُ
كَ
سُ
فْ نَأ َ
نوُلُ
تْ
قَ ت ي
ءلاُ
ؤه ْمُتْ نَأ َُّ
ثم ْمُ
كوُتَْ
يأ ْ
نيإو ي
ناوْ
دُعْلاو
َتو ي
باتيكْلا ي
ضْعَ
بيب َ
نوُني
مْ
ؤُ
تَ فأ ْمُ
هُ
جارْ
خيإ ْمُ
كْيَلَع ٌ
مَّ
رَُ
مُ َ
وُ
هو ْمُ
هوُدافُت ىراسُأ * ) ْمُ
كْني
م َ
كيلذ ُلَعْ
فَ ي ْ
نَ
م ُءازَ
ج امَف ٍ
ضْعَ
بيب َ
نوُ
رُ
فْ
ك[ :ةرقبلا84-85] ي
كَْ
تريب ْمُ
هَ
رَّ
فَ
كَف
* َ
لاَ
قَ ف هَ
دْنيع ْمُ
هْعَ
فْ
نَ ي َْ
لمو ْمُ
هْ
ني
م هْلَ
بْ
قَ ي َْ
لمو ي
ناَيمي
لإا َ
لَيإ ْمُ
هَ
بَ
سَنو هيب َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
رَ
مَأ اَ
م
ُلَعْ
فَ ي ْ
نَ
م ُءازَ
ج امَف ( يةَ
مايي
قْلا َمْ
وَ يو ايْنُّدلا يةايَْ
لحا ي
في ٌ
يْ
زي
خ َّ
لايإ ْمُ
كْني
م َ
كيلذ
* ) َ
نوُلَ
مْعَ ت اَّ
مَع ٍ
ليفاغيب الله اَ
مو ي
باذَعْلا يّ
دَ
شَأ لَيإ َ
نوُّ
دَ
رُ ي :ةرقبلا[85] ييكَْ
يح َّلَ
جو َّ
زَع هُلْ
وَ ق َ
كيلَذو يةَءاََ
برْلا ُ
رْ
فُ
ك ي
رْ
فُ
كْلا َ
ني
م ُ
سي
ماَْ
لخا هْ
جَ
وْلاو * : ع َ
ميي
هاَ
رْ بيإ َ
لْ
وَ ق
* ) هَ
دْ
حَ
و للهي
بِ اوُني
مْ
ؤُ ت َّ
تىَ
ح ًادَبَأ ُءاضْغَ
بْلاو ُةَ
وادَعْلا ُ
مُ
كَنْ
يَ بو انَنْ
يَ ب ادَبو ْمُ
كيب ناْ
رَ
فَ
ك ([ :ةنحتملما4] َ
ني
م هيئاَييلْ
وَأ ْ
ني
م هَتَ ئيْ
برَتو َ
سييلْبيإ ُ
رُ
كْ
ذَي َ
لاَقو ْمُ
كْني
م َ
ناْأََّ
برَت ي
نيْعَ ي
ي
سْني
لإا
يةَ
ماَيي
قْلا َمْ
وَ ي * ) ُلْبَ ق ْ
ني
م ي
نوُ
مُتْ
ك
َ
رْ
شَأ اي
بم ُ
تْ
رَ
فَ
ك ي
ّ
نييإ ( * :ميهاربإ[22]
َ
مايي
قْلا َمْ
وَ ي َُّ
ثم ايْنُّدلا يةايَْ
لحا ي
في ْمُ
كينْيَ ب َةَّ
دَ
وَ
م ًناثاْ
وَأ الله ي
نوُد ْ
ني
م ُْ
تُْ
ذََّ
تخا اََّ
نميإ ( * َ
لاَقو ية
َعْلَ يو ٍ
ضْعَ
بيب ْمُ
كُ
ضْعَ ب ُ
رُ
فْ
كَي * ) ًاضْعَ ب ْمُ
كُ
ضْعَ ب ُ
ن :توبكنعلا[25] . ٍ
ضْعَ ب ْ
ني
م ْمُ
كُ
ضْعَ ب ُأََّ
برَتَ ي ي
نيْعَ ي

61
This Qu ʾānic emphasis on e idence-based concep ual amewo ks is he language i chooses o
add ess humani y a la ge. In ha sense, i is pa adigma ic and hose who a i e – h ough hei
own p oo – a conclusions di e ging om he “cen al domain” o Islam a e “pe iphe al” ela i e
o ha cen e , bu none heless sha e he pa adigm.
114
I is a Qu ʾānic ideal, hen, o he e hical
subjec o o m him/he sel in ellec ually acco ding o e idence-based concep ual amewo ks,
lines o easoning ha cons i u e bu hān in his/he iew.
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥam mad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī (d. 329 AH / 941 CE), al-Kā ī, ed. ʿAlī A kba al-Gha ā ī, 5 h ed.,
ol. 2, 8 ols. (Teh an: Dā al-Ku ub al-Islāmīyah, 1984 CE), 389-391.
In ligh o hese nuanced usages, mos ele an ly he i s h ee o ou , I sugges an English ende ing o al-Kā i ūn
in his e se ha highligh s he un easonable na u e o he ku , hen ce, “ he un easonably ai hless.” Pe haps i goes
wi hou saying ha his also se es as an ins ance o which he no ions o ku o ing a i ude and ku o abandoning
God’s command may apply om di e en aspec s.
113
Qu ʾān 23:117
114
See also, o ins ance: Qu ʾān 2:111; 27:64; 28:75; and 4:174.
62
Howe e , while hese e ses appea o hone in on he p inciple o ha ing e idence-based
lines o easoning, some migh objec ha his alls sho o explaining why compe i ion a ises in
he p ocess o ad oca ing o some concep ual amewo ks as opposed o o he s. Why would
Islamic hinke s be so conce ned wi h sha ing hei own subjec - o ming echnology, as opposed
o being sa is ied wi h a so o e idence-based, subjec i e, plu alism o so s? A leas when i
comes o ju isp uden ial discussions, he e a e Islamic hinke s who would ha e app oxima ed
such a posi ion, albei wi h di e en heo e ical o mula ions.
115
E en in ma e s o ai h, many
would in oke Di ine Jus ice o excuse hose who – despi e due diligence – a i ed a di e en
conclusions han hose no ma i e o hem.
116
Howe e , in p inciple hey would ha e s ill been
d i en o make hei nuanced disag eemen s ele an o subjec - o ma ion, a guably because o he
ollowing e ses. This i s e se, o ins ance, can be unde s ood as a wa ning agains compound
igno ance (being obli ious o one’s igno ance, mainly due o some mo al lapse o hei own),
مُ
هَءاوهَأ اوعَبَّ تاَ
و ي
هيلَ
مَع ُءوس ُهَل َ
ني
ّيُ
ز نَ
مَ
ك ي
هي
ّبَ
ر ني
م ٍ
ةَنيّيَ ب ٰ
ىلَع َ
ناك نَ
مَفَأ
115
See Chap e 3.
116
Se ing aside he ques ion o how ealis ic such a scena io is, deeming he pe son in he hypo he ical scena io
excused would be a gued ei he based on in oking a ionally pe cei ed good and e il (al-ḥusn wa al-qubḥ al-
ʿaqlīyān) and/o ex ual a gumen s, such as Qu ʾān 4:98-99.
لاَ
و ي
لاجيّ
رلا َ
ني
م َ
ينفَعضَتسُلما َّ
لايإ ً
ليبَ
س َ
نودَتهَي لاَ
و ًةَليح َ
نوعيطَتسَي لا ي
نادلي
ولاَ
و ي
ءاسيّن
اً
روفَغ اًّ
وُ
فَع َُّ
للَّا َ
ناكَ
و مُ
هنَع َ
وُ
فعَي نَأ َُّ
للَّا ىَ
سَع َ
كيئٰلوُأَف
See:
Al-Anṣā ī (d. 1281 AH / 1864 CE), Fa āʾid al-Uṣūl, 23 d ed., ol. 1, 4 ols. (Qum: Majmaʿ al-Fik al-Islāmī, 1438
AH), 575-576;
ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad Riḍā Kāsh i al-Ghiṭāʾ (d. 1350 AH / 1931 CE), al-Nū al-Sāṭiʿ ī al-Fiqh al-Nā iʿ, ol. 1, 4
ols. (Naja : Maṭbaʿa al-Ād āb, 1961 CE), 212; and
Jaʿ a al-Subḥānī, al-Īmān wa al-Ku ī al-Ki āb wa al-Sunnah, 2nd ed., ol. 1, 1 ols. (Qum: Muʾassasa al-Imām
al-Ṣādiq, 1427 AH), 93-100.
63
Is s/he who s ands on a mani es p oo om his/he Lo d like someone o whom he e il o
his/he conduc is made o seem deco ous, and who ollow hei desi es?
117
Addi ional e e ences
118
cla i y ha hi s “deco ous” açade can lead an indi idual o ac ually “see”
his (objec i ely) e il deeds as good deeds, o en desc ibed as being unde a sa anic in luence. S ill,
he unde s anding is ha he indi idual is esponsible o alling o he emp a ion and lapsing
in o he heedlessness ha cul i a es his loss o sound ision. Thus, o Islamic hinke s wi h hese
e ses in e nalized, he impo ance o “ge ing i igh ” was no o be downplayed, e en when hei
in e locu o s appea ed o ha e nominally e idence-based lines o easoning. As ano he e se
highligh s,
ُئيّبَ
نُ ن لَ
ه لُق ً
لاامعَأ َ
نيرَ
سخَلأي
بِ مُ
ك
اًعنُ
ص َ
نوني
سُ
يح مَُّ
نهَأ َ
نوبَ
سَ
يح مُ
هَ
و اينُّ
دلا يةايَلحا ي
في مُ
هُ
يعَ
س َّ
لَ
ض َ
نيذَّلا
Say, ‘Shall we in o m you abou he g ea es lose s in espec o wo ks?
Those whose e o s go as ay in he li e o his wo ld, while hey eckon ha hey a e
i uous in hei wo ks.
119
As hese e e ences alone illus a e, he “lib a y” o Islam po ays hese in ellec ual
pu sui s as echnologies in ica ely in ol ed in o ming he subjec /agen o he b oade
communi y. The subjec ’s ela ionship o God depends on since ely conside ing his/he lines o
easoning and concep ual amewo ks, om he mos basic undamen als o his/he wo ld iew o
his/he p ac ical de o ion o God. Wi hin he Qu ʾānic ision, his has impli ca ions o he
117
Qu ʾān 47:14
118
See, o example, Qu ʾān 6:43; 8:48: 9:37; 16:63; 27:24; 29:38; a nd 35:8.
119
Ibid, 18:103-104
64
he ea e , le alone he spi i ual make-up o he subjec /agen as a membe o he b oade
communi y in day- o-day li e. The e o e, his eading o he lib a y suppo s he con en ion ha
he p eoccupa ion o Islamic hinke s wi h a conce n o o ming mo al subjec s ( hemsel es and
o he s) explains hei deploymen o compe ing concep ual amewo ks o sa is y pa adigma ic
mo al equi emen s.
0.6.2 “Leade ship” and Subjec - o ma ion
The au ho ship o he Islamic hinke s conside ed is one o m among he di e en o ms
o leade ship, which a e dis inc om au ho i y, and which e ol e a ound subjec - o ma ion. The
e idence o his om he “lib a y” o Islam includes i s appa en po ayal o an all-encompassing
sense o leade ship as e ol ing a ound subjec - o ma ion. Conside , o ins ance, he ollowing
Qu ʾānic e se,
ُ
فنَأ مُ
كيَلَع اونَ
مآ َ
نيذَّلا اَ
هُّ يَأ يا َ
نولَ
معَت مُتنُ
ك اي
بم مُ
كُئيّبَ
نُ
يَ
ف اًعيَ
جم مُ
كُعي
جرَ
م يَّ
للَّا َ
لَيإ مُتيَ
دَتها اَذيإ َّ
لَ
ض نَ
م مُ
ك
ُّ
رُ
ضَي لا ۖ مُ
كَ
س
O you who ha e ai h! Take ca e o you own souls. He who s ays canno hu you i you
a e guided. To God will be he e u n o you all, whe ea He will in o m you conce ning
wha you used o do.
120
This e se no only u ges each indi idual o lead his/he own soul down he pa h o guidance, i is
p esc ibing his leade ship in e ms o “ aking ca e” o on e’s own soul i s and o emos . Howe e ,
his should no be unde s ood o mean subjec - o ma ion is limi ed o onesel .
Ano he e se expands he sphe e o subjec - o ma ion o one’s immedia e ci cle. As he
e se eads,
120
Ibid, 5:105
71
]...[ هذه الله هقزر انمإو ،دعب عيشتي لمو بهذلما يّ
ماع هفينصت ينح ناك الم دماح بِأ نأ لاإ هرمع رخاوأ في ةداعسلا– امك
ّ
يلبنلحا يزولجا نبا هب دهشو ينلماعلا ّ
رسب ىمسلما هباتك في هرهظأ– ةفرعم وهو ،نايملإا نم ميظع نكر نايب هتاف دق ناك
نالجاو سنلإا دي س نم نآرقلبِو مبه كسمتلبِ ةيصولا تءاج نيذلا ينموصعلما ةمئلأا – مهيلعو هيلع الله تاولص ]...[
[…] Howe e , because when Abū Ḥāmid au ho ed i he was [a ollowe ] o a Sunnī
madhhab and had no ye become Shīʿī – and God only blessed him wi h his success
owa d he end o his li e, as he e ealed in his book called Si al-ʿĀlamayn and Ibn al-
Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī es i ied o i
138
– he had missed explica ing a majo co ne s one o ai h.
138
A i s glan ce, I would ha e aken “Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī” mos no ably o be a e e ence o Abū al-Fa aj ʿAbd
al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE), he Ḥanbalī schola o Baghdad. Bu , as o ye ,
I ha e no come ac oss a e e ence o Si al-ʿĀlamayn in his ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Jawzī’s elec onically
sea chable wo ks. I is possible, howe e , ha al-Kāshānī is e e ing o Ibn al-Jawzī’s es imony o al-Ghazālī’s
suppo sedly Shīʿī change o hea , no in he con ex o discussing Si al-ʿĀlamayn necessa ily, bu pe haps
elsewhe e. Following up on his possibili y, I would ha e expec ed ʿ Abd al-Raḥm ān Ibn al-Jawzī o make men ion
o such a hing when summa izing al-Ghazālī’s li e in his wo k on h is o y. Bu e en hough he c i icizes aspec s o
al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn and desc ibes his spi i ual jou ney h ough he end o his li e, Ibn al-Jawzī al-
Ḥanbalī makes no speci ic men ion o a Shīʿī change in al-Ghazālī’s hea (unless, o cou se, al-Kāshānī is hin ing a
wha he akes o be he implica ion o u ging “since i y,” which al-Ghazālī e e s o when gi ing his las will o
ad ice). See:
Abū al -Fa aj ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAlī Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī, al-Mun aẓam ī Tā īkh al-Mulūk wa al-Umam, ed.
Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādi ʿAṭā, Muṣṭa á ʿAbd al -Qādi ʿAṭā, and Naʿīm Za zū , 2nd ed., ol. 17, 19 ols. (Bei u :
Dā al-Ku ub al-ʿIlmīyah, 1995 CE), 124-127.
I is, hus, likely ha al-Kāsh ānī is e e ing o a di e en “Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī. ” Ano he p om inen “Ibn al-
Jawzī” would be he o me Ibn al-Jawzī’s g andso n h ough his daugh e ––hence known as he “Sibṭ (g andson
h ou gh one’s daugh e )” o Ibn al-Jawzī. Taking his possibili y se iously, and since Yūsu , Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī (d.
654 AH / 1256 CE), epo edly u ned o Ḥana ī ju isp udence, a leas appa en ly, one would ha e o unde s and he
iden i ie “al-Ḥanbalī” in “Ibn al -Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī” as e e ing o his g and a he ’s a ilia ion. In any case, Sibṭ Ibn
al-Jawzī does e e o Si al-ʿĀlamayn as al-Ghazālī’s wo k and quo es wha may be unde s ood as pa icula ly
Shīʿī alking poin s om ha ex . This includes a e e ence o he wo ds o P ophe Muḥammad ega ding ʿAlī as
mawlá du ing he e en o Ghadī Khumm, as well as he P ophe Muḥammad’s dea hbed eques o w i e a will,
which was me wi h nega i e eac ions om a numbe o p ominen companions. Fo ins ance, see:
Yūsu Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥana ī, Tadhki a al-Khawāṣ, ed. Ḥusayn Taqī Zādah, 2nd ed., ol. 1, 2 ols. (Bei u :
Ma kaz al-Ṭibāʿah wa al-Nash lil-Majmaʿ al-Ālamī li Ahl al-Bay , 1433 AH), 356-357.
Whe he o no al-Ghazālī au ho ed Si al-ʿĀlamayn does no necessa ily pu o es he ques ion o adop ing he
Shīʿī na a i e. Fo he epo ed con en is al eady a ailable in al e na i e Sunnī-compiled sou ces (see he oo no es
in he a o emen ioned e e ence), and Sunnī au ho s ha e p ocessed hem wi hin he amewo k o Sunnī wo ld iew
assump ions (e.g. he Sunnī claim o consensus h a P ophe Muḥammad did no designa e his successo and/o he
in eg i y o he P ophe ’s companions in such a way as o equi e any objec ionable b eha io epo ed abou hem o
be ein e p e ed in ligh o ha p esumed in eg i y). Tha is, he same co e e en s migh be acknowledged bu

72
[Tha co ne s one is] knowing he in allible Imams; i was he will o he Mas e
139
o
humans and genies – may he blessings o God showe upon him and hem – o hold on o
hem along wi h he Qu ʾān […]
140
A sepa a e ea men is equi ed o del e in o he ypes o concep ual and i ual echnologies al-
Kāshānī deployed/ emo ed in his e sion o he wo k. In his chap e , howe e , I es he
a o emen ioned hypo hesis by examining legal-mo al
141
impe a i es ela ed o an ea ly e en in
Muslim his o y, as emembe ed by p ima y sou ces e e enced by Sunnī as well as Shīʿī au ho s
( hus, ep esen ing he o e whelming majo i y o su i ing Muslim na a i e). By analyzing
ac ions and a ionalizing ac ics employed in he quo es a ibu ed o igu es on he ba le ield o
Ka balāʾ, on he day o ʿĀshū āʾ 61 AH / 680 CE, he heo e ical disag eemen o e compliance
due o
142
Ulū al-Am ( hose es ed wi h he Am
143
o hose o whom he Am belongs) is mobilized
in his “a chi e” as a subjec - o ming echnology. This echnology is po ayed as being pa ially
esponsible o he cou se o ac ion aken on he ba le ield ( hus o ming he soldie o a gi en
side) o a leas esponsible o he jus i ica o y ac ic employed ollowing he ba le (hence,
con ibu ing o he imagined (im)mo al sensibili y o he subj ec ’s a ionaliza ion). Pu di e en ly,
a ionaliza ion/jus i ica ion is i sel po ayed as an ac pe o med by a pa icula ype o subjec .
di e en in e p e a ions/signi icance a e laye ed on o hose e en s. Hence, i is plausible ha al-Ghazālī w o e
compa able con en o ha which is in Si al-ʿĀlamayn, e en i no ha speci ic ex i sel , wi hou ha ing adop ed
Shīʿī iews. This is no o say ha exposu e o al e na i e na a i es/a gumen s would be com o able o gene al
Sunnī/Shīʿī eade sh ip, bu i is o highligh ha inding con en common o one na a i e emphasized in a gi en ex
does no necessa ily su ice o judge ha such a ex has been w i en by an au ho who adop s ha associa ed
na a i e.
139
This is e e ing o P ophe Muḥammad.
140
al-Kāshānī, al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʾ ī Tahdhīb al-Iḥyāʾ, ol. 1, 1.
141
Fo he pu poses o his wo k, I do no del e in o a dis inc ion be ween he mo al and he e hical.
142
A dis inc ion can be made be ween “obedience o / c ompliance due o” an d me ely “compliance wi h” Ulū al-
Am . Fo he la e may be jus i ied by o e iding conside a ions e en when no “ igh ” o he o me is du e. I do no
ea his dis inc ion in de ail he e, howe e .
143
The A abic oo AMR, and mo e speci ically he noun Am , has i s own web o in e connec ed conno a ions in
he Qu ʾān, as I will a emp o hig hligh wi h e e ences b ie ly la e on; e.g. command, au ho i y, ma e , a ai ,
hing, e c…
73
The pic u e pain ed is a guably ha di e en ypes o ac s equi e di e en ypes o subjec s, and
di e en ypes o subjec s equi e di e en ypes o subjec - o ming echnologies. I a gue, hen,
ha he au ho o he accoun s ames he o ma ion o he subjec , in pa , due o he e lexi e
pe o mance o speci ic subjec - o ming pa e ns o p ac ice. I e a i e a ionaliza ion, no me ely
physical exe cise, is can be modeled in his con ex as leading o habi /in e naliza ion, cul i a ing
a habi us and hus o ming he subjec . Indi iduals may ha e pe o med appa en ly “ he same”
echnologies o he sel , such as p aye , as ing, obedience o Ulū al-Am , e c… and ended up on
opposi e sides o he ba le ield (o he legal/mys ical communi y spec um). Howe e , he so-
called “same” echnologies could no ha e subs an i ely led o diame ically opposed esul s,
acco ding o his eading o he accoun s. The e o e, he echnologies a e mean o be unde s ood
as subs an i ely di e en . Pa o he di e ence is a guably modeled in a commi men o di e en
o ms o disciplined a ionaliza ion, esul ing in he in e naliza ion o a concep ual amewo k.
Be o e p esen ing e e ences o ea ly exege ical wo ks, some key usages o he oo AMR
in he Qu ʾān i sel can be use ul o conside as po en ially connec ed. I am no so much claiming
o p esen an exegesis o he Qu ʾānic e se in ques ion h ough o he Qu ʾānic e ses, bu mo e
so d awing a en ion o po en ially in e nalized connec ions made by hose amilia wi h he en i e
Qu ʾān.
144
This se es as a window in o he sha īʿah-go e ned communi y, possibly explaining
why subsequen gene a ions o Islamic schola ship o e whelmingly opposed unquali ied
obedience o immo al commands by hose claiming o be Ulū al-Am .
145
144
See my me hodological no e in he In oduc ion on he quali ied e sion o a sī al-Qu ʾān bil-Qu ʾān.
145
A leas in heo y, his was he ideal, as he coming e e ences a es o.
74
1.1 Qu ʾānic Mo al Go e nmen ali y o Ulū al-Am
Hallaq’s “Qu ʾānic Cons i u ionalism and Mo al Go e nmen ali y” o e s a sho bu
signi ican ake on he in e connec edness o he AMR oo as i appea s h oughou he Qu ʾān.
As Hallaq w i es,
[…] As in he case wi h ḥukm and ḥaqq, am is applied o a wide spec um o meanings,
anging om an o de o c ea e he wo ld ex nihilo o he mos speci ic o commands abou
a na owly de ined beha io al o “legal” ma e . He e as always, he e is no e minologi cal
dis inc ion be ween and among he cosmological, me aphysical, physical, mo al o legal
domains […]
146
In a sense, his obse a ion summa izes wha I am abou o sugges conce ning he appea ance o
Am as a noun in a ious Qu ʾānic e ses. The demons a ion ha ollows b ings o he o e he
connec ion o Ulū al-Am o b oade indic a ions o he Qu ʾānic Am . I Qu ʾānic usages o he
same wo d (Am ) we e in e nalized as meaning ully in e connec ed
147
, hen, a he e y leas ,
“ hose Ves ed wi h Am / hose o whom Am belongs” (Ulū al-Am ), would ha e been assumed
o be es ed no only wi h a legal au ho i y o be obeyed bu some minimum mo al quali ica ion
a guably jus i ying ha au ho i y. As such, obedience o Ulū al-Am would no ha e been
unde s ood o be blind obedience (i.e. obedience i espec i e o he quali ica ions o he one o be
obeyed). Ra he , ei he he obedience was o be limi ed wi hin he scope o commands no known
o be immo al o he Ulū al-Am mus ha e been known o be in allible.
The main e se in ques ion eads as ollows in chap e 4 o he Qu ʾān,
146
Wael Hallaq, "Qu ’ānic Co ns i u ionalism and Mo al Go e nmen ali y : Fu he No es on he Founding P inciples
o Islamic Socie y and Poli y," Compa a i e Islamic S udies [Online], 8, no. 1-2 (July 8, 2014): 17-18.
147
This will become clea by no ing he simila ph ases/meanings in di e en e ses o he Qu ʾān, wi h each
subsequen e se adding a di e en a ibu e o laye o meaning.
75
َأَ
و ََّ
للَّا ْاوُعيي
طَأ ْاوُنَ
مآ َ
نيي
ذَّلا اَ
هُّ يَأ َ
يا
ُتنُ
ك نيإ ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلاَ
و يَّ
للَّا َ
لَيإ ُهوُّ
دُ
رَ
ف ٍ
ءْ
يَ
ش ي
في ْ
مُتْعَ
زاَنَ
ت نيإَف ْ
مُ
كني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأَ
و َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا ْاوُعيي
ط َ
نوُني
مْ
ؤُ ت ْ
م
ًليي
وَْ
تَ ُ
نَ
سْ
حَأَ
و ٌْ
يرَ
خ َ
كيلَذ ي
ري
خلآا ي
مْ
وَ
يْلاَ
و يَّ
للَّي
بِ
O you who ha e ai h! Obey God and obey he Messenge and Ulū al-Am among you.
And i you dispu e ega ding any hing, e e i o God and he Messenge , i you ha e ai h
in God and he Las Day. Tha is be e and mo e a o able in ou come.
148
In his e se, hose who ha e ai h a e commanded o obey God, on he one hand, and o obey he
Messenge and Ulū al-Am , on he o he hand. The dis inc ion be ween he obedience due on each
o he wo “hands” is a guably signi ican . Tha is, God designa es obedience o Ulū al-Am on he
same “hand” as obedience o he Messenge . I dispu es a ise, he ma e is o be e u ned back o
God and he Messenge . I will e e o exegesis li e a u e on his e se in he nex sec ion, bu in
his sec ion my ocus is on po en ial in e connec ed usages o he noun Am h oughou he Qu ʾān.
Ve se 83 o he same chap e eads,
ْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأ َ
لَيإَ
و ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلا َ
لَيإ ُهوُّ
دَ
ر ْ
وَلَ
و ي
هيب ْاوُعاَذَأ ي
فْ
وَْ
لخا ي
وَأ ي
نْ
مَلأا َ
ني
ّ
م ٌ
رْ
مَأ ْ
مُ
هَءاَ
ج اَذيإَ
و َلاْ
وَلَ
و ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م ُهَنوُطيبنَتْ
سَي َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُهَ
ميلَعَل ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م ي
ر
ًلييلَق َّلايإ َ
ناَطْيَّشلا ُمُتْعَ
بَّ تَلا ُهُتَْ
حمَ
رَ
و ْ
مُ
كْيَلَع يَّ
للَّا ُلْ
ضَف
When an Am o sa e y o ala m comes o hem, hey immedia ely b oadcas i ; bu had
hey e e ed i o he Messenge and o Ulū al-Am among hem, hose o hem who
in es iga e would ha e asce ained i . And we e i no o God’s g ace upon you and His
me cy, you would ha e su ely ollowed Sa an, [all] excep a ew.
149
148
Qu ʾān 4:59
149
Qu ʾān 4:83.
76
Rega dless o he o he elemen s in his e se, i is clea ha Ulū al-Am a e coupled wi h he
Messenge he e, as in he ea lie e se. Howe e , in his e se, he Messenge and Ulū al-Am a e
bo h e e ence poin s o be e u ned back o (i.e. obeyed as e e ence poin s on ques ions, no
me ely as hose who issue commands).
150
An asso men o o he e ses, lis ed he e in sequen ial o de as hey appea in he Qu ʾān,
highligh s he cosmological, me aphysical, physical, mo al and/o legal domains o Am . Chap e
7 eads,
َُّ
ثم ٍ
مَّ
ياَأ ي
ةَّتي
س ي
في َ
ضْ
رَلأاَ
و ي
تاَ
واَ
مَّ
سلا َ
قَلَ
خ يي
ذَّلا َُّ
للَّا ُمُ
كَّبَ
ر َّ
نيإ َ
سْ
مَّشلاَ
و اًثييثَ
ح ُهُبُلْطَي َ
راَ
هَّ نلا َ
لْيَّللا يي
شْغُ ي ي
شْ
رَعْلا ىَلَع ىَ
وَ
تْ
سا
َ
يني
مَلاَعْلا ُّ
بَ
ر َُّ
للَّا َ
كَ
راَبَ
ت ُ
رْ
مَلأاَ
و ُ
قْلَْ
لخا ُهَل َلاَأ يهي
رْ
مَي
بأ ٍ
تاَ
رَّ
خَ
سُ
م َ
موُ
جُّنلاَ
و َ
رَ
مَ
قْلاَ
و
Indeed, you Lo d is God, who c ea ed he hea ens and he ea h in six days
151
, and hen
se led on he Th one. He d aws he nigh ’s co e o e he day, which pu sues i swi ly,
and [He c ea ed] he sun, he moon, and he s a s, [all o hem] disposed by His Am . Look!
All c ea ion and Am belong o Him. Blessed is God, he Lo d o all he wo lds.
152
The la e pa o his e se e e s o how a ious cosmological sys ems a e a he disposal o God’s
Am . The khalq (c ea ion) and he Am belong o God. Ano he e se indica es ha he la e can
150
This connec ion has been used o a gue ha he la e pa o e se 4:59 does no limi he obedience due o Ulū
al-Am . Acco ding o ha a gumen , Ulū al-Am a e o be obeyed in an un es ic ed sense, hem hemsel es
becoming e e ence poin s o knowing he will o God and he Messenge . On he ques ion o obedience, conside
he e e ence o he no ion o “majo i y” he e, as well as he highligh ing o God’s knowledge ega ding who is mos
guided,
َ
نوصُ
رَ
يخ ّ
لايإ مُ
ه نيإَ
و َّ
نَّظلا َّ
لايإ َ
نوعيبَّتَ ي نيإ يَّ
للَّا ي
ليبَ
س نَع َ
كوّلي
ضُي ي
ضرَلأا ي
في نَ
م َ
رَ ثكَأ عي
طُت نيإَ
و ؛ َأ َ
وُ
ه َ
كَّبَ
ر َّ
نيإ َ
نيدَتهُلمي
بِ ُ
مَلعَأ َ
وُ
هَ
و ۖ يهيليبَ
س نَع ُّلي
ضَي نَ
م ُ
مَلع ؛
َ
ينني
مؤُ
م يهيتياي
بِ مُتنُ
ك نيإ يهيَلَع يَّ
للَّا ُ
مسا َ
ريكُذ اّي
مم اولُ
كَف ؛ ُ
تُري
رُطضا اَ
م ّ
لايإ مُ
كيَلَع َمَّ
رَ
ح ام مُ
كَل َلَّ
صَف دَقَ
و يهيَلَع يَّ
للَّا ُ
مسا َ
ريكُذ اّي
مم اولُ
كَ
تَ ّ
لاَأ مُ
كَل امَ
و اًيرثَ
ك َّ
نيإَ
و يهيَليإ
َ
نيدَتعُلمي
بِ ُ
مَلعَأ َ
وُ
ه َ
كَّبَ
ر َّ
نيإ ٍ
مليع ي
يرَغيب مي
هيئاوهَي
بأ َ
نوّلي
ضُيَل .[]..
Qu ʾān 6:116-119.
151
In he sense o ime pe iods, no necessa ily equi alen o 24 Ea hly hou s.
152
Qu ʾān 7:54

77
e e o an ins an aneous o m o b inging abou exis ence (as opposed o he g adual o m
indica ed by khalq). As e ses 49-50 o chap e 54 ead,
ٍ
رَ
دَ
قيب ُهانقَلَ
خ ٍ
ءيَ
ش َّ
لُ
ك ّ
نايإ
ي
رَ
صَبلي
بِ ٍ
حمَلَ
ك ٌةَ
دي
حاو ّ
لايإ ناُ
رمَأ امَ
و
Indeed, We ha e c ea ed e e y hing in a measu e,
and Ou Am is bu one, like he winkling o an eye.
153
Chap e 16 indica es ha God sends down he angels wi h some hing
154
ela ed o His Am un o
whom He wills among His se an s. As e se 2 eads,
ّ
رلي
بِ َةَ
كيئلَلما ُ
ليّ
زَ
نُ ي ي
نوقَّتاَف ناَأ ّ
لايإ َهٰليإ لا ُهَّنَأ اوري
ذنَأ نَأ يهي
دابيع ني
م ُءاشَي نَ
م ٰ
ىلَع يهي
رمَأ ني
م ي
حو
He sends down he angels wi h he spi i o His Am o whome e He wishes o His
se an s: ‘Wa n [ he peo ple] ha he e is no god excep Me; so be wa y o Me.’
155
The descending o hese angels wi h some hing ela ed o God ’s Am may be ela ed o he
descending angels in chap e 97 owa d he end o he Qu ʾān, as I will no e below.
God’s Am appea s in ano he e se ha men ions how speci ic leade s, Imams, guide by
His Am . The e se in Chap e 21 eads,
لا ءاَتييإَ
و يةلَّ
صلا َ
ماَقيإَ
و ي
تاَْ
يرَْ
لخا َ
لْعيف ْ
مي
هْيَليإ اَنْ
يَ
حْ
وَأَ
و َ
ناي
رْ
مَي
بأ َ
نوُ
دْ
هَ ي ًةَّ
ميئَأ ْ
مُ
هاَنْلَعَ
جَ
و َ
نيي
ديباَع اَنَل اوُناَ
كَ
و يةاَ
ك
َّ
ز
153
Qu ʾān 54:49-50
154
Al-Rūḥ; o en ansla ed as “ he spi i ”.
155
Qu ʾān 16:2
78
We made hem imams, guiding by Ou Am , and We e ealed o hem [conce ning] he
pe o mance o good deeds, he main enance o p aye s, and he gi ing o alms (zakā ),
and hey used o wo ship Us.
156
In his e se, Am belongs o God and, h ough/by i , a g oup o Imams a e designa ed o ac as
guides. These Imams a e inspi ed by God o pe o m good deeds, among o he hings. Ye , he e
is a clea indica ion ha hese Imams wa an ed God’s designa ion as ha ing been “lanā ʿābidīn
(se an s o Us / wo shipping Us)” in a dis inc sense. The Am o God in ela ion o Imams appea s
again in Chap e 32,
َ
نوُنيقوُي اَنيتَ
ياي
بِ اوُناَ
كَ
و اوَُ
برَ
ص اَّ
مَل َ
ناي
رْ
مَي
بأ َ
نوُ
دْ
هَ ي ًةَّ
ميئَأ ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م اَنْلَعَ
جَ
و
When hey had been pa ien and had con ic ion in Ou signs, We appoin ed amongs hem
imams o guide [ he people] by Ou Am .
157
He e he designa ed Imams also guide h ough/by God’s Am , bu hey appea o ha e only been
designa ed as such in connec ion wi h achie ing a h eshold o pa ience and ce ain y. Thus, he e
is a sugges ion ha hose ha ing he Am associa ed wi h God a e deeply connec ed o, and a he
become quali ied by, mo al a ibu es.
The subsequen e ses I quo e he e hin a ano he dimension o he Am as i appea s in
ela ion o Layla al-Qad ( he Nigh o O dainmen ), which has been desc ibed as he nigh o he
Qu ʾān’s e ela ion and, “khay min al shah (be e han a housand mon hs).” Chap e 44 eads,
َل ي
في ُهاَنْلَ
زنَأ َّ
نايإ َ
نيي
ري
ذنُ
م اَّنُ
ك َّ
نايإ ٍ
ةَ
ك
َ
راَبُّ
م ٍ
ةَلْ
ي
ٍ
مييكَ
ح ٍ
رْ
مَأ ُّ
لُ
ك ُ
قَ
رْ
فُ ي اَ
هييف
156
Qu ʾān 21:73
157
Qu ʾān 32:24
79
َ
ينيلي
سْ
رُ
م اَّنُ
ك َّ
نايإ َ
ناي
دنيع ْ
ني
ّ
م اً
رْ
مَأ
We sen i down on a blessed nigh ; We ha e been wa ning.
E e y de ini i e/wise Am is made dis inc on [ ha nigh ],
[as] an Am om Us. We ha e been sending
158
Chap e 97, he Chap e o al-Qad , sheds u he li gh on he connec ion be ween he Qu ʾān’s
e ela ion and a speci ic nigh du ing which an Am descends om and is issued by God. The
desc ip ion o his Am seems o ha e cosmological and mo al implica ions in a ecu ing ashion
(i.e. as he p esen ense [ a] anazzal, o “descend,” en ails). Ve ses 3-4 ead,
ٍ
رْ
هَ
ش ي
فْلَأ ْ
ني
ّ
م ٌْ
يرَ
خ ي
رْ
دَ
قْلا ُةَلْ
يَل
ي
نْذيي
بِ اَ
هييف ُ
حوُّ
رلاَ
و ُةَ
كيئلَ
مْلا ُ
لَّ
زَ
نَ
ت
ٍ
رْ
مَأ ي
ّ
لُ
ك ني
ّ
م ميي
ّ
بهَ
ر
The Nigh o O dainmen is be e han a housand mon hs.
In i he angels and he Spi i descend, by he lea e o hei Lo d, wi h/ o e e y Am .
159
Coupled wi h e se 16:2, quo ed ea lie , a eade amilia wi h he en i e Qu ʾān would ha e
po en ially seen connec ions be ween hose associa ed wi h Am and he annually descending
angels du ing Layla al-Qad . Ra he , i is no a - e ched o assume, in ligh o his
in e connec edness, ha sha īʿah-minded subjec s would ha e seen Ulū al-Am (whoe e hey
may be) as pa o a cosmic o de – ecipien s o he Am descending annually du ing Layla al-
Qad . Hence, o e e y age he e would be someone om Ulū al-Am quali ied as such. This
possibili y is likely ela ed o Sunnī ṣū ī and Shīʿī concep ions o a li ing Quṭb/Imam.
160
158
Qu ʾān 44:3-5
159
Qu ʾān 97:3-4
160
See Chap e 4 o his wo k.
80
A leas o he pu poses o his chap e , howe e , i is likely ha sha īʿah-minded subjec s,
amilia wi h he en i e Qu ʾān ( eci ing i equen ly as a iyāḍah, i no memo izing i ), would
ha e in e nalized he in e connec edness be ween hose o be obeyed o ha ing Am (Ulū al-Am )
and he inhe en mo ali y de ining hei eligibili y and/o di ec i es. In o he wo ds, he Qu ʾān
does no e e o he Am wi h mo ally-neu al language. The language used o desc ibe he place
o Am in he cosmos as well as in he li e o human beings is pa o he g and scheme o Di ine
guidance, a ca e o he mo ali y o one’s choice-making. Those es ed wi h he Am , he Ulū al-
Am o be obeyed, a e connec ed h ough ha Am o he Di ine Am by which ce ain Imams
(leade s) guide o he s. Those lead e s had o be knowledgeable and pa ien , “leading” hemsel es
p ope ly, be o e leading o he s. Immo al commands and/o immo al commande s would likely
ha e been seen as an i he ical o he spi i o he in e ela ed usages o God’s Am in he Qu ʾān.
This conclusion will p o e use ul as a concep ual amewo k o unde s anding he p edominan
exege ical posi ions on he obedience o Ulū al-Am , beginning wi h Sunnī hough , bu segueing
in o he c oss oads o Sunnī, Shīʿī and Ṣū ī hough in subsequen chap e s. In o he wo ds, his
amewo k o ecas s a pa adigma ic ea u e o “leade ship” su i ing in la e mani es a ions o
Islamic hough .
87
ةعاطب رمأ لَاعت الله نأ كلذ ىلع ليلدلاو ، ةجح ةملأا عاجمإ نأ ىلع نادنع لدي * ) مكنم رملأا لِوأو ( * : هلوق نأ ملعا
، أطلخا نع اموصعم نوكي نأو دب لا عطقلاو مزلجا ليبس ىلع هتعاطب الله رمأ نمو ةيلآا هذه في مزلجا ليبس ىلع رملأا لِوأ
نكي لم ول ذإ أطلخا كلذ لعفب ارمأ كلذ نوكيف ، هتعباتبم الله رمأ دق نوكي أطلخا ىلع همادقإ ريدقتب ناك أطلخا نع اموصعم
تبثف ، لامُ هناو ، دحاولا رابتعلابِ دحاولا لعفلا في يهنلاو رملأا عامتجا لَإ يضفي اذهف ، هنع يهنم أطخ هنوكل أطلخاو
س ىلع رملأا لِوأ ةعاطب رمأ لَاعت الله نأ نوكي نأ بجو مزلجا ليبس ىلع هتعاطب الله رمأ نم لك نأ تبثو ، مزلجا ليب
]...[ اموصعم نوكي نأو دب لا ةيلآا هذه في روكذلما رملأا لِوأ نأ ًاعطق تبثف ،أطلخا نع اموصعم
Know ha when God says, “and Ulū al-Am om among you,” in ou opini on his indica es
ha he consensus (ijmāʿ) coun s as p oo [ o es ablishing he u h o claims]. The p oo
o his is ha God Almigh y o de ed obedience o Ulū al-Am in a de ini i e ashion
[wi hou any es ic ion o quali ie ] in his e se. Whoe e God o de s obedience o in a
de ini i e and decisi e ashion [wi hou any es ic ion o quali ie ] mus be in allible. Fo
i he we e no in allible, hen, i he we e o make a mis ake, God would ha e o de ed ha
one ollow him. Thus, ha would be a command o make he mis ake. Bu a mis ake is
some hing one is o bidden om doing. Hence, he esul is ha commanding and
o bidding would apply o he same ac ion om he same aspec o conside a ion, which is
impossible. So i is es ablished ha God Almigh y has o de ed obedience o Ulū al-Am in
a de ini i e ashion [wi hou any es ic ion o quali ie ]; i is also es ablished ha whoe e
God o de s obedience o in a decisi e ashion [wi hou any es ic ion o quali ie ] mus be

88
in allible; he e o e, i is de ini i ely es ablished ha he Ulū al-Am [as a uni ] men ioned
in his e se mus be in allible […]
173
Al-Rāzī dismisses he Imāmī Shīʿī eading o Ulū al-Am being he se ies o in allible Imams
appoin ed by God because equi ing obedience o hem assumes ha hey a e known and ha hey
can be eached. Al-Rāzī s a es his con ic ion ha ,
ةدافتسا نع نوزجاع ، مهيلإ لوصولا نع نوزجاع ، موصعلما ماملاا ةفرعم نع نوزجاع اذه اننامز في ناأ ةرورضلبِ ملعن ننحو
]...[ مهنم ملعلاو نيدلا
And we know – sel -e iden ly
174
so – ha we, in his ime o ou s, a e incapable o knowing
he in allible imam, incapable o eaching hem
175
, incapable o bene i ing he dīn and
knowledge om hem […]
176
Because al-Rāzī does no belie e he has he abili y o iden i y he in allible Imam o bene i om
his knowledge, he Ulū al-Am mus be a di e en g oup – Ahl al-ḥall wa al-ʿaqd.
177
Chap e 2
and 3 demons a e how Shīʿī in e locu o s engage wi h hei Sunnī coun e pa s on his e se’s
implica ion o in allibili y.
178
This pa ly e eals a sha ed pa adigm, e en when he “cen al” Sunnī
domain elega es Shīʿī eadings o he “pe iphe y.”
A common h ead in he a o emen ioned exege ical eadings om he Sunnī adi ion is he
unde lying assump ion o mo ali y: ei he in he domain o Ulū al-Am ’s commands (i.e. only
173
Ibid.
174
O necessa ily.
175
I seems ha he plu al o m is e e ing o he po en ial o in e p e Ulū al-Am no as an in allible uni bu as
mul iple in allible imams.
176
Fakh al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Ta sī al-Kabī , ol. 10, 144.
177
Ibid.
]...[ا ذإو ناك رملأا كلذك انملع نأ موصعلما يذلا رمأ الله يننمؤلما هتعاطب سيل اضعب نم ضاعبأ ةملأا ، لاو ةفئاط نم مهفئاوط .المو لطب اذه بجو نأ
نوكي كلذ موصعلما يذلا وه دارلما هلوقب ( * :لِوأو رملأا * )لهأ للحا دقعلاو نم ةملأا ، كلذو بجوي عطقلا نبأ عاجمإ ةملأا ةجح .
178
Fo a con empo a y example, see Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s al-Mīzān and Makā im’s al-Am hal on e se 4:59.
89
wi hin he sphe e o he mo ally accep able); o in Ulū al-Am ’s quali ica ions (i.e. ʿulamāʾ;
pe haps e en in allible); o bo h. The p eceding sec ion which sugges ed a model o ea ly
in e nalized Qu ʾānic eadings esona es well wi h he mo ali y-embedded Sunnī in e p e a ions o
hese la e gene a ions. Wi h his backg ound in mind, I now u n o an “a chi e” o ea ly Islamic
his o ical memo y, examining obedience o Ulū al-Am as i mani es s in ela ion o he memo y
o a pa icula episode – ʿĀshū āʾ 61 AH / 680 CE.
90
1.3 Concep ual Technologies: The Obedience o Yazīd’s Soldie s
The o e whelming majo i y o su i ing Muslim memo y (Sunnī and Shīʿī ) emembe he
mu de o Ḥusayn (d. 61 AH / 680 CE) on he day o ʿĀshū āʾ as a agedy. He was he P ophe
Muḥammad’s p ized g andson, known o his knowledge and iconic spi i uali y, as ecoun ed in
bo h Sunnī and Shīʿī classical li e a u e. In an appa en a emp o consolida e powe and se an
example o po en ial dissiden s, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah (d. 64 AH / 683 CE) had Ḥusayn and his
as ly ou numbe ed ellows killed in he ba le o Ka balāʾ. In addi ion o his news, by he end o
he yea 63 AH he people o Madīnah, whe e P ophe Muḥammad had ound e uge ea ly on and
in which he is bu ied, had become con inced o Yazīd’s co up ion in Damascus up close ––
co up ion o such a disquali ying deg ee ha one o he pious no ables o Madīnah epo edly
in o med he people ha he had, “come back om seeing a man [i.e. Yazīd] whom, I swea by
God, e en i I only had ound hese sons o mine [as suppo e s o igh him wi h] I would engage
in a s uggle [wa ing] agains him.”
179
Acco ding o Muḥammad ibn Ja ī al-Ṭaba ī’s (d. 310 AH
/ 923 CE) accoun , people allied a ound his ba le c y, p omp ing Yazīd o send an a my o o ce
hem in o submission. In he mids o he igh ing on he ou ski s, Yazīd’s a my manag ed o en e
he own om behind, w eaking ha oc in he co e o he ci y, and causing he igh e s o e ea .
When he commande o Yazīd’s a my, Muslim ibn ʿUqbah (d. 63 AH / 683 CE), en e ed Madīnah
he called people o pledge allegiance o Y azīd, no as denizens o subjec s, bu as, “khawal
(p ope y/sla es)” o Yazīd –– hei li es, weal h, and amilies a his disposal (i.e. “legi ima e”
a ge s o pillaging and ape).
180
The e a e hus, a leas , wo opposing schemes o obedience in
179
Muḥammad ibn Ja ī al-Ṭaba ī, Tā īkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, ol. 4, 8 ols. (Qum: Maṭbaʿa al-Is iqāmah bil-
Qāhi ah , 1939 CE), 380.
180
Al-Ṭaba ī, Tā īkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, ol. 4, 381.
]...[ةيواعم نب ديزيل لوخ منهأ ىلع ةعيبلل سانل ا اعدف ةنيدلما ةبقع نب ملسم لخدف ام مهيلهأو ملهاومأو مهئامد في مكيح.ءاش
91
hese ea ly days as emembe ed in ex an sou ces: [1] people, like Ḥusayn, who ejec ed obedience
o hose wi h Yazīd’s qu ali ica ions and/o ej ec ed some o Yazīd’s commands; and [2] hose who
obeyed Yazīd in killing Ḥusayn and/o a aging Madīnah.
While i may be a gued ha he soldie s ca ying ou Yazīd’s o de s had no been ained
in sha īʿah-minded mo al echnologies, and hus hei ac ions a e explainable exclusi ely in
ma e ialis ic e ms, a ew snapsho s ecoun ed he e imply ha ea ly Islamic au ho s elaying he
accoun ell a di e en s o y. Repo s indica e ha bo h sides pe o med he i ual p aye on he
day o ʿĀshū āʾ.
181
The e is li le eason o doub ha a leas mili a y discipline and pee p essu e
would ha e made i ual p aye in cong ega ion a ou ine. Bu ega dless o he ac ual ac o he
ma e , wha conce ns he a gumen o his chap e is ha he his o ical w i ing econs uc ing he
accoun makes ha ou o be he case. Pa icula ly, al-Ṭaba ī (d. 310 AH / 923 C E), quo ing Abū
Mikhna (d. 157 AH / 774 CE), epo s ha , on he day o ʿĀshū āʾ, a man on Yazīd’s side named
ʿAm ibn al-Ḥajjāj called ou ,
يا نم قرم نم لتق في اوبتارت لاو مكتعاجمو مكتعاط اومزلا ةفوكلا لهأ ماملاا فلاخو نيدلا
O’ people o Kū ah, s ick o you obedience and you cong ega ion and d o no hesi a e in
killing hose who ha e dese ed he ai h (dīn) and opposed he imam.
182
I ʿAm ibn al-Ḥajjāj’s wo ds a e ep esen a i e o an a my -wide sen imen , hose igh ing Ḥusayn
we e emembe ed as a leas claiming o ha e seen hei obedience o Yazīd’s chain o command
as an ac o ai h. Bu , again, whe he o no his accoun speaks o he eali y on he g ound o he
Also see:
Khay al-Dīn al-Zi iklī, al-Aʿlām, 5 h ed., o l. 8, (Bei u : Dā al-ʿIlm lil-Malāyīn, 1980 CE), 189.
181
Fo example:
Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyá al-Balādhu ī (d. 279 AH / 892 CE), Ansāb al-Ash ā , ed. Muḥammad Bāqi Al-Maḥmūdī, 1s ed.,
ol. 3 (Bei u : Dā al-Taʿā u Lil-Maṭbūʿā , 1977 CE), 187.
182
Al-Ṭaba ī, Tā īkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, ol. 4, 331.
92
ba le ield, al-Ṭaba ī engages his eade s by p ojec ing he s a k con as on he ba le ield as being
due – a leas in pa – o compe ing concep ual amewo ks ega ding obedience o Ulū al-Am .
The wo ds quo ed he e in oke i e a i e “ṭāʿah” (obedience) and s icking o he “jamāʿah”
(g oup/cong ega ion). Mo eo e , hese wo ds po ay Ḥusayn and his ellows as he e ics who
dese e o be pu o dea h because hey ha e opposed “ he imam” (i.e. Yazīd). In esponse o his
s a emen , Ḥusayn is desc ibed o ha e said,
مكلامعأ ىلع متمو مكحاورأ تضبق دق ول نملعتل اللهو امأ هيلع متبث متنأو انقرم ننحأ سانلا ضرتح يلعأ جاجلحا نب ورمع يا
رانلا يلصب لَوأ وه نمو نيدلا نم قرم انيأ
O ʿAm ibn al-Ḥajjāj, is i agains me ha you inci e he people? Is i us who ha e dese ed
while you ha e been s ead as on [ he pa h o ai h]? By God, indeed, once you souls a e
aken and you ha e died while engaged in you deeds, you will know which o us has
dese ed he ai h and whom mos dese es o bu n in hell i e.
183
Al-Ṭaba ī ecoun s his as a p elude o ʿAm ibn al-Ḥajjāj a acking Ḥusayn and his companions
wi h he igh lank o Yazīd’s a my (commanded by ʿUma ibn Saʿd). A e some ime o comba ,
“ he i s o Ḥusayn’s companions,” Muslim ibn ʿAwsajah, is said o ha e allen.
184
The esponse
o Ḥusayn lends c edence o he a gumen ha in oking he line o easoning and/o concep ual
amewo k was no signi ican me ely o i s o m bu also o i s con en . I s con en is po ayed
as se ious enough o subjec - o ma ion no only on he ba le ield bu also in h e encoun e wi h
dea h and beyond.
183
Ibid.
184
Ibid.
See also:
Al-Balādhu ī, Ansāb al-Ash ā , ol. 3, 193.

93
Al-Ṭaba ī epo s ha one o Ya zīd’s men by he name o Kaʿb ibn Jābi , a e killing
Bu ay ibn Khuḍay , Ḥu sayn’s companion who was known as he “mas e o [Qu ʾān] eci e s
(sayyid al-qu āʾ),” was scolded by his wi e o sis e , who p omised ne e o speak o him again
o doing so.
185
Kaʿb is quo ed saying,
...[] ةفيلخلل عيطم نيبأ * هتيقل امإ الله ديبع غلبأفعماس ]...[ .
[…] So ell ʿUbayd Allāh [Yazīd’s go e no o e Kū ah] i you mee him –
– ha I am obedien o he Caliph, all ea s […].
186
La e in li e, he is desc ibed as ha ing made he ollowing supplica ion,
دق نمك بر يا انلعتج لف انيفو دق ناإ بر يا ردغ .
O’ Lo d, indeed we we e loyal, so do no make us, O’ Lo d, like hose who ha e
be ayed.
187
In o he wo ds, Kaʿb claimed o be loyal o his imam, Yazīd, and p ayed ha God no ea him as
He would ea hose who be ayed Yazīd (and God, he would claim). Whe he his indi idual and
his likes uly belie ed hey we e in he igh o no is a guably beyond he poin . Repea ing his
a ionaliza ion is po ayed as ha ing yielded he necessa y iyāḍah desensi izing he subjec o he
immo ali ies unde lying hei decisions. By such an accoun , al-Ṭ aba ī ein o ces he image ha
he guise o sha īʿah-mindedness, coupled wi h he commonplace echnologies o i ual p aye ,
supplica ion and s icking o he cong ega ion, we e he h eshold o be o e come o his end.
This poin is exempli ied in epo s by o he au ho s desc ibing Shim ibn Dhī al-Jawshan
(d. 66 AH / 686 CE), one o he majo igu es esponsible o killing Ḥusayn, ollowing he ba le
185
Al-Ṭaba ī, Tā īkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, ol. 4, 329; al-Balādhu ī, Ansāb al-Ash ā , ol. 3, 191-192.
186
Al-Ṭaba ī, Tā īkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, ol. 4, 329.
187
Ibid, 330.
94
o ʿĀshū āʾ. In his Mīzān al-Iʿ idāl, al-Dhahabī (d. ca 748 AH / 1348 CE) epo s ha Abū B ak
ibn ʿAyyāsh (d. ca 194 AH / 810 CE) elayed ha Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī (d. ca 127 AH / 745 CE)
said,
ىلصي رشم ناك . لِ رفغاف فيرش نىأ ملعت كنإ مهللا : لوقي ثم ، انعم
؟ ملسو هيلع الله ىلص الله لوسر نبا لتق ىلع تنعأ دقو كل الله رفغي فيك : تلق
ولو ، مهفلانخ ملف رمبأ ناورمأ ءلاؤه ناءارمأ نإ ؟ عنصن فيكف ! كيحو : لاق اخ .]ءاَّ
قَّشلا[ رملحا هذه نم ارش انك مهانفل
. فورعلما في ةعاطلا انمإف ، حيبق رذعل اذه نإ : تلق
Shim used o p ay wi h us and hen would say, “O’ God, indeed you know ha I am noble,
so o gi e me.”
[To which] I said, “How will God o gi e you when you ha e helped kill he g andson o
God’s Messenge , peace and blessings be upon him?”
He hen said, “Woe un o you! Wha a e we o ha e done? Indeed, hose commande s o
ou s ga e us an Am (o de ), so we did no oppose hem. Had we opposed hem, we would
ha e been wo se han hese all
188
donkeys.”
188
This is likely he co ec wo d as oppo sed o “al-suqāh,” i he wo d “ḥumu ” is a plu al o m o “ḥimā ”
(donkey). Fo an “ashaqq” ho se is a all h o se. The eminine o m o “ashaqq” is “shaqqāʾ.” Hence, he non-ʿāq il
plu al (e.g. donkeys) would be e e ed o as “shaqqāʾ.” See:
Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād al-Jawha ī (d. 393 AH / 1003 CE), Tāj al-Lughah wa Ṣiḥāḥ al-ʿA abīyah, ed. Aḥmad ʿAbd al-
Gha ū ʿAṭṭā , 4 h ed., ol. 4, 6 ols. (Cai o: Dā al-ʿIlm lil-Malāyīn, 1987 CE), 1503.
Howe e , i he wo d “ḥumu ” is a p lu al o m o “a ḥma /ḥam āʾ” ( ed), hen i is possible ha Shim is d esc ibing
he complexion o se an s who se ed as “suqāh” (wa e /d ink ca ie s). “Aḥma ” was unde s ood as a e e ence o
some peoples om he Le an , he Roman lands and he Pe sian lands, and was dis inguished: om “abyaḍ” (whi e),
which e e ed o a, “whea -like colo wi h [somewha ] da k/black beau y ea u es”; om “asma ” o “ādam ”
( anned/b own), which e e ed o he, “colo o people om India”; and om “aswad” (black), which e e ed o a
mos ly [in ensely/da ke ] black complexion. On hese dis inc ions, see:
Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dhahabī (d. ca 748 AH / 1348 CE), Siya Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, ed. Shuʿayb al-A naʾūṭ, 9 h
ed., ol. 2, 23 ols. (Bei u : Muʾassasa al-Risālah, 1993 CE), 168.
95
I hen said (qul u), “Indeed, hi s is an ugly excuse; o , indeed, obedience is only due in he
[domain o he mo ally] accep able.”
189
Ibn ʿAsāki (d. 571 AH / 1176 CE) epo s a simila accoun in his Tā īkh Madīna Dimashq, bu
includes se e al addi ional igu es in his chain o ansmission.
190
Being a much ea lie
compila ion, i is possible ha al-Dhahabī bene i ed om Ibn ʿAsāki ’s accoun , i no some o he
los ex . Bu since Ibn ʿAsāki ’s accoun does no include he las s a emen by he epo e abo e,
al-Dhahabī was likely quo ing om a sepa a e sou ce o making his own commen . In any case,
he use o he combina ion “kāna” along wi h he e bs “yuṣallī” and “yaqūl” implies a habi ual
equency o p aye in he pas ollowed by he subsequen supplica ion. Fu he mo e, he
supplica ion quo ed and a ibu ed o Shim gi es insigh in o he a ionaliza ion echnology ha
Shim is po ayed as likely ha ing ained himsel o in e nalize. Gi en ha he accoun po ays
him as loud enough o be hea d and eco ded, his jus i ica o y ac ic is p obably mean o be
unde s ood as ha ing se ed o help ind Shim a space o sha īʿah-legi imacy (a leas in his own
mind) despi e he b oad opposi ion o his decision. Abū Isḥāq’s eply mo dels he cha ac e is ic
mo al sen imen ha las s as he p edominan unde s anding amongs Muslim sha īʿah mas e s,
bo h S unnī and Shīʿī: Obedience is ei he due o he mo ally in allible indi idual/g oup o i mus
be limi ed o he domain o mo ally accep able commands. Di e en concep ual amewo ks, hus,
could pa ially o m he subjec in ways ha mo ph he no ion o e inemen ( ahdhīb/ azkiyah), o
I his la e eading is co ec , Shim may be making a acis (o o he wise condescending) commen , adding an
addi ional laye o immo ali y o he easoning he uses o jus i y killing P ophe Muḥammad’s p ized g andson,
Ḥusayn. This eading is suppo ed by he use o he wo d “hāʾulāʾ,” a e e ence ypically ese ed o a p lu al
including ʿāqil males ( ins ead o he “hādhih i”), which appea s in an edi ion o Ibn ʿAsāki ’s accoun :
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hiba Allāh Ibn ʿAsāki (d. 571 AH / 1176 CE), Tā īkh Madīna Dimashq, ed. ʿAlī Shī ī, ol.
23, 70 ols. (Bei u : Dā al-Fik lil-Ṭib āʿah wa al-Nash wa al-Tawzīʿ, 1995 CE), 189.
189
Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Dhahabī, Mīzān al-Iʿ idāl ī Naqd al-Rijāl, ed. ʿAlī Muḥammad Al-Bajāwī, 1s ed.,
ol. 2, 4 ols. (Bei u : Dā al-Maʿā i lil-Ṭib āʿah wa al-Nash , 1382 AH / 1963 CE), 280.
190
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hiba Allāh ibn ʿAsāki , Tā īkh Madīna Dimashq, ed. ʿAlī ʿĀshū , ol. 2 5, 38 ols.
(Bei u : Dā Iḥyāʾ al-Tu ā h al-ʿA abī, 2001 CE), 128.
96
sel -ca e, in o i s an i hesis.
191
The concep ual amewo ks anima ed se e no only as po en ial
d i es o choosing sides on a ba le ield bu as jus i ica o y ac ics o ming (and o med by) he
subjec in he a e ma h. The subjec /agen makes choices h oughou li e ha con ibu e o he
o ma ion o his/he habi us and, in u n, subjec i i y/agency. I e a i e p ac ices ha he agen
applies o him/he sel can be physical, making a cou se o ac ion mo e habi ual, and – I p opose
he e – hey can be concep ual, making ce ain lines o easoning mo e ag eeable.
Th ough accoun s by Islamic au ho s o his o y, he eade is led o concei e ha e en i
ma e ial in e es s we e he p ima y mo e s o Yazīd’s soldie s, hey we e s ill clo hed wi h a ga b
o obedience o God. Tha is, some subjec s/agen s make an e o o jus i y hei ac s in he name
o God. O he s do no . Yazīd’s soldie s, in he snapsho s p esen ed he e, appea o be subjec s who
yea n o a Di ine co e o hei choices, e en i hose choices a e d i en pu ely by ma e ialis ic
conside a ions in ac uali y. The ype o subjec o med by i e a i e jus i ica o y ac ics, appealing
o sha īʿah-minded sen imen s, is no he same as one lacking such appeal. The la e was a guably
doomed o be sel -de ea ing in a sha īʿah-minded communi y, one in which he sha īʿah had
become embedded as a way o li e. Fo any chance a being e ec i e, de ia ion om he sha īʿah
mo ali y would s ill ha e equi ed a leas lip-se ice o he sha īʿah’s au ho i a i e ex s and
p inciples.
1.4 Conclusion
Au ho s o ea ly Islamic his o y, like al-Ṭaba ī, gi e us a peek in o hei own ime’s cen al
domain, in e ms o which ma e s o he pe iphe y a e esol ed. Fo example, his cen al domain
equi es quali ied obedience o Ulū al-Am , one ha is limi ed o he mo ally accep able, o
191
See Qu ʾān 29:69; 79:35-41; 83:14; and 91:1-10
103
2.2 A Window in o he Classical Reading: al-Ṭūsī’s al-Tibyān
As I will ci e in he nex sec ion, ex an Imāmī exege ical ḥadī h li e a u e appea s o po ay
Ulū al-Am as speci ically e e ing o he wel e designa ed Imams om P ophe Muḥammad’s
household/p ogeny (i.e. Imam ʿAlī, and ele en Imams om his child en and subsequen
gene a ions o descendan s h ough P ophe Muḥammad’s daugh e F āṭimah). The e a e se e al
indica ions ha hese indi iduals a e ega ded as immacula e (maʿṣūm), one o which being ha
he obedience due o hem in his e se is un es ic ed and on pa wi h obedience o God’s
messenge . To si ua e his eading in he con ex o a b oade Islamic discussion on he e se, i is
in o ma i e o summa ize a common Sunnī posi ion. Muḥammad ibn Id īs al-Shā iʿī (d. 204 AH /
820 CE), is epo ed o ha e said he ollowing when commen ing on e se 4:59,
]...[
َّ
مَأ نيذلا رملأا لِوأ اوعيي
طُي نأ اوري
مُأف ْ
نيإَف " :لاقف ،مهيلعو مله اميف ،ةانْثَ
تْ
سُ
م ةعاط لب ،ةقلطم ًةعاط لا ،الله لوسر مهَ
ر
ءاسنلا[ "يَّ
للَّا َ
لَيإ ُهوُّ
دُ
رَ
ف ٍ
ءْ
يَ
ش ي
في ْ
مُتْعَ
زاَنَ
ت :59.ءيش في متفلتخا نإ :نيعي ، ] اذهو- الله ءاش نإ- ،رملأا لِوأ في لاق امك
ُتْعَ
زاَنَ
ت ْ
نيإَف " :لوقي هَّنأ لاإ نيعي ،" ْ
م - ملعأ اللهو- نيعي ،" ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلاَ
و يَّ
للَّا َ
لَيإ ُهوُّ
دُ
رَ
ف " ،مهتعاطب اوري
مُأ نيذلا مهؤارَ
مُأو مه -
ملعا اللهو - .هيلإ مكنم َ
لَ
صَ
و نم وأ ،متلصو اذإ هنع َ
لوسرلا متلأس هوفرعت لم نإف ،هومتفرع نإ لوسرلاو الله لاق ام لَإ نلأ
َنُ
م لا يذلا ُ
ضرفلا كلذ
َُ
له َ
نوُ
كَي ْ
نَأ اً
رْ
مَأ ُهُلوُ
سَ
رَ
و َُّ
للَّا ىَ
ضَق اَذيإ ٍ
ةَني
مْ
ؤُ
م َ
لاَ
و ٍ
ني
مْ
ؤُ
ميل َ
ناَ
ك اَ
مَ
و " :الله لوقل ،هيف مكل ةَعَ
زا ُةََ
يريْ
لخا ْ
م
بازحلأا[ ْ
مي
هي
رْ
مَأ ْ
ني
م :36 . ]
195
195
Muḥammad ibn Id īs al-Shā iʿī (d. 204 AH / 820 CE), al-Risālah, ed. Aḥmad Shāki , 1s ed . (Mak aba al-Ḥalabī,
1940 CE), 80-81.

104
In o he wo ds, i obedience due o Ulū al-Am in his e se is un es ic ed (as Imāmīs, o example,
say), hen why does he e se only e e he ai h ul back o God and he Messenge in he case o
dispu es? Acco ding o al-Shā iʿī, i is because he e se commands belie e s o se le hei
dispu es by e e ing back o God and he Messenge (omi ing any men ion o Ulū al-Am ) ha
he obedience due o Ulū al-Am mus be a es ic ed o m o obedience. Tha is, al-Shā iʿī
p oposes ha he occu ence o dispu e men ioned in he e se e e s o dispu es wi h he same Ulū
al-Am people we e commanded o obey. Such dispu es a e hen add essed by e e ence o he
wo d o God and he Messenge –– o he e is no dispu ing he dec ee o God and he Messenge .
As an example o leading Twel e Shīʿī au ho i y discussing he iden i y o Ulū al-Am in
e se 4:59, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (d. 460 AH / 1067 CE) w i es he ollowing in his al-
Tibyān ī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān,
لَاعت الله بجوأ كلذلف هلآو هيلع الله ىلص دممُ لآ نم ةمئلأا منهأ ) ع ( الله دبع بِأو رفعج بِأ نع انباحصأ ىورو ]...[
اموصعم ناك نم لاإ اقلطم دحأ ةعاط بايجا زويج لاو . كلذك هسفن ةعاطو هلوسر ةعاط بجوأ امك ،قلطلابِ مهتعاط
ابح كلذ سيلو ، طلغلاو وهسلا هنم ناومأم ىلع ةلدلأا تلد نيذلا ةمئلأا في بجاو وه انمإو ، ءاملعلا لاو ، ءارملاا في لص
سيلو ، رملاا هل نم اوعيطأ هانعم )رملأا لِوأو ( هلوق نلا ، ديعب هلوقف ، ءاملعلا هب دارلما لاق نم اماف ، متهراهطو مهتمصع
ف ، ينقمُ اوناك اذإ مهتعاط انيلع بيج : اولاق ناف ، ءاملعلل كلذ صيصتخ اذه : انلق . انيلع مله ةعاط لف قلحا نع اولدع اذإ
نود ءيشب ةعاطلا صيصتخ نم لَوأ هيف كلذ حضي نميف ، مومعلا ىلع ةيلآا لحمو . ليلد هيلع لدي لم ةعاطلا بايجا مومعل
في متعزانت ناف ( : هلوقو . ءيش نود ءيش في الله ةعاطو لوسرل ا ةعاط بوجو صيصتخ زويج لا امك ءيش لَإ هودرف ءيش
نارهم نب نوميمو ، ةداتقو ، دهامج لوقو . هتنس لَإ درلا وه هلوسر لَإ درلاو هباتك لَإ وه الله لَإ درلا نىعمف ) لوسرلاو الله
105
لِوأ لَإو لوسرلا لَإ هودر ولو " ىرخأ ةيآ في لاق كلذلو ، لوسرلاو الله لَإ درلا ىرمج يريج ةمئلأا لَإ درلاو : يدسلاو ،
ملاا " مهنم هنوطبنتسي نيذلا هملعل مهنم ر :ءاسنلا[83 ] عرشلل ينظفاح ينموصعم اوناك ثيح نم ةجح ملهوق ناك اذإ هنلأو
]...[ .بابلا اذه في لوسرلا ىرمج اورج
196
This exce p om al-Ṭūsī di ec ly ollows his summa y ha Ulū al-Am ha e been in e p e ed (by
leading non-Shīʿī au ho i ies) o be ei he he uma āʾ (commande s and go e no s) o he ʿulamāʾ
(e udi e schola s). In opposi ion o hose posi ions, al-Ṭūsī si ua es he ecognized Imāmī
unde s anding: Ulū al-Am a e none o he han he immacula e Imams. The e appea o be wo
lines o easoning in al-Ṭūsī’s exegesis: [1] he epo s a ibu ed o he Imams indica e ha his is
he co ec in e p e a ion o he e se in ques ion; and [2] he Qu ʾānic language in his e se is
un es ic ed/unquali ied and, hus, he Ulū al-Am o whom obedience is due in such an absolu e
ashion mus be, “immacula e, sa egua ded om absen mindedness and e o ; and hose [quali ies]
a e no p esen in he uma āʿ o he ʿulamāʾ; a he , hey a e necessa y in he Imams whose
immacula eness and pu i y has been es ablished by he e idence.”
197
I is, hus, possible o delinea e wo exege ical me hodologies in al-Ṭūsī’s eading o he
e se. One o he app oaches elies mainly on he epo s a ibu ed o he Imams, om he ge -go,
in o de o iden i y he in ended meaning o applica ion o he e se, wi hou needing o make a
claim abou wha he Qu ʾānic language alone ells he eade abou Ulū al-Am ’s immacula e
na u e. The second app oach eads he Qu ʾānic language alone o indica e he equi emen o
ʿiṣmah (immacula eness/in allibili y) in he Ulū al-Am (some hing some Sunnī schola s, such as
196
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (d. 460 AH / 106 7 CE), al-Tibyān ī Ta sī al-Qu ʾān, ed. Aḥmad
Ḥabīb Qaṣī al-ʿĀmilī, 1s ed., ol. 3, 10 ols. (Mak ab al-Iʿlām al-Islāmī, 1409 AH / 1989 CE), 235-236.
197
T ansla ion om exce p abo e.
106
Fakh al-Dīn al-Rāzī, la e a gue
198
), and hen use o he e idence o iden i y he his o ical
pe sonali ies who i his desc ip ion. When i comes o he second app oach, al-Ṭūsī add esses an
a gumen simila o, bu sligh ly di e en om, he one a ibu ed o al-Shā iʿī ea lie : he Ulū al-
Am do no ha e o be immacula e because obedience o hem is es ic ed (i.e. con ingen on hem
being igh eous o only wi hin he sphe e o igh eous commands). Al-Ṭūsī’s a gumen esponds
saying ha he e is no e idence o suppo his es ic ion and ha i uns coun e o he appa en ly
gene al language o he command o obey Ulū al-Am , coupled wi h obeying he Messenge and
wi h obeying God. As o he command o e e o God and he Messenge in he case o dispu es,
al-Ṭūsī unde s ands his me ely o mean ha he Qu ʾān and he Sunnah (P ophe ic adi ion) a e
he e e ence poin s (i.e. a ma e o ag eemen ac oss Shīʿī and Sunnī schools o hinking).
Howe e , al-Ṭūsī poin s ou ha e e ing ma e s back o he Ulū al-Am (which he unde s ands
o be he wel e Imams) is an amoun o e e ing hings back o God and he Messenge , as
e idenced by e se 4:83 (in which ma e s a e e e ed back o he Messenge as well as o Ulū al-
Am ) and gi en ha he a o emen ioned Imams immacula ely sa egua d he message o he
Messenge .
Bo h me hodologies de ec able in al-Ṭūsī’s discussion p o ide an in ellec ual con ex o
unde s anding Sunnī exege ical in e en ions econs uc ed in Chap e 1. By con ex , he e, I am
e e ing o he implied dialec ic nu u ed by a pe iphe y’s engagemen wi h he cen al domain –
e en hough a gi en cen al domain does no quo e he pe iphe y’s li e a u e di ec ly. In o he
wo ds, he iews exp essed by al-Māwa dī (d. 450 AH / 1058 CE), quali ying he sphe e o
obedience o Ulū al-Am , and al-Juwaynī (d. 478 AH / 1085 CE), iden i ying Ulū al-Am wi h
198
Fakh al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Ta sī al-Kabī , ol. 10, 144.
107
he ʿulamāʾ who hemsel es ein e p e he sha īʿah, can be unde s ood as esponses o Shīʿī
eadings iden i ying Ulū al-Am as he immacula e, exempla s o sha īʿah knowledge ( he
Imams).
199
Fu he mo e, he in luence o he Shīʿī eading seems o make i s mos p onounced
appea ance in al-Rāzī’s ( d. 606 AH / 1209 CE) acquiescence ega ding he in allibili y o Ulū al-
Am in 4:59. C oss- e e ences wi hin he Qu ʾān, amilia o a id eade s o he book, as well as
hese cen al-pe iphe al dialec ics, appea o ha e pa ed he way o he mo al conside a ions
ega ding Ulū al-Am obedience.
200
Wha ollows u he demons a es he plausibili y o
dialec ic in luence by econs uc ing ea ly Imāmī Shīʿī exege ical li e a u e on Ulū al-Am .
199
I is no ha he Shīʿī iews a e en i ely igno ed. I ha we e he case, he Shīʿī iew would likely belong o a
di e en pa adigm. Ra he , he Shīʿī iews appea ma ginally, wi hin he same pa adigma ic discussion, ye
a guably mis ep esen ed and/o wi hou ull co e age, such as in he in oduc ion o Ghiyā h al-Umam by al-
Juwaynī. Beyond such engagemen , I am a guing ha Shīʿī iews shaped (and we e no only shaped by)
con em po aneous Sunnī discou se. The e idence o his p esen ed he e is he appa en ly sha ed pa adigms assumed,
on he one hand, and he alignmen o concep ual de elopmen s, on he o he hand.
200
See Chap e 1.
108
2.3 Rep esen a i e Su ey o Ea ly Imāmī Shīʿī Exege ical Li e a u e on Obedience
o Ulū al-Am
In his sec ion, ou ca ego ies o exege ical ḥadī h li e a u e a e compiled as hey ha e
su i ed in wo ks associa ed wi h he ea lies Imāmī ḥadī h compila ions: [1] epo s ha limi
Ulū al-Am o he Imāmī Imams explici ly; [2] epo s ha iden i y Ulū al-Am wi h he Imāmī
Imams bu do no explici ly limi Ulū al-Am o hem; [3] epo s ha speci ically name Ulū al-
Am ; [4] miscellaneous epo s ea u ing dis inc quali ies o Ulū al-Am . While isnād analysis is
a use ul clue o be aken in o conside a ion when asce aining he his o ici y o an o iginal
quo a ion, i su ices o he pu poses o his chap e ’s a gumen o econs uc he ele an
e e ences as hey a e belie ed o ha e been accessible o schola s app oxima ely be ween he
10 h and 13 h cen u ies CE. Hence, he p esence o hese epo s in epu able ea ly Shīʿī ḥadī h
collec ions aceable o he pe iod in ques ion makes an isnād analysis unnecessa y. This
ep esen a i e su ey lends s ong suppo o he dominan Imāmī eading o Ulū al-Am in e se
4:59 as being limi ed o he 12 Imams o Twel e Shīʿī hough , assuming a ḥadī h-cen ic
app oach. This ollows om he ac ha ca ego ies 2 and 3 a e quali ied by ca ego y 1 and
expounded u he by ca ego y 4.
I goes wi hou saying ha he au ho i ies being quo ed in hese epo s a e no necessa ily
cla i ying he meaning signi ied by he wo ds o he Qu ʾān – o such signi ica ion is a con en ion
o usage in he A abic language, ypically al eady unde s ood by na i e speake s amilia wi h he
con ex . Ra he , he au ho i y is a guably: ei he de ining he sphe e o ins ances/applica ions o
which he con en ional linguis ic usage is being applied; o e ealing a deepe laye o
in e p e a ion, such as by making c oss- e e ences and connec ions whe e hey may be accessible
bu ha e no been su icien ly a ended o, o by au ho i a i ely iden i ying symbolic laye s o

109
meaning. This does no p eclude ha , a imes, he au ho i y being quo ed may cla i y a linguis ic
usage ha has been obscu ed o e ime o due o o he ac o s, bu i is a guably unnecessa y, by
de aul , so long as he e is an appa en (ẓāhi /ẓuhū ) con en ional usage accessible o one
su icien ly amilia wi h A abic language usage.
201
In addi ion o he main ḥadī h compila ions o al -Kulaynī (d. ca 329 AH / 941 CE), al-
Ṣadūq (d. 381 AH / 991 CE), and al-Ṭūsī (d. 460 AH / 1067 CE), e e ences he e include one o
he ea lies ex an exegesis wo ks in he Imāmī adi ion wi h commen a y on e se 4:59 – he
ḥadī h-based Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī. Acco ding o he ecen Imāmī exegesis au ho i y Muḥammad
Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī (d. 1981 CE), Imāmī au ho i ies ha e p aised and passed down he exegesis
wo k a ibu ed o Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿAyyāsh (d. ca 320 AH / 932 CE), o he wise known
as al-ʿAyyāshī, e e since i was w i en. In hose (app oxima ely) 11 cen u ies, acco ding o al-
Ṭabāṭabāʿī, Imāmī exegesis au ho i ies ha e made no no ewo hy c i icism o he book’s
c edibili y, despi e he ac ha he second olume o he wo- olume manusc ip has no ye been
loca ed, and ha some copyis s abb e ia ed he o iginal chains o ansmission o he epo s.
202
Finally, I ha e also included a limi ed numbe o e e ences o al-Iḥ ijāj by al-Ṭab isī (d. ca 6 h
cen u y AH / 12 h cen u y CE), no as much as an au ho i a i e e e ence
203
bu mo e so o loca e
201
See Chap e 5 o a b ie syn hesis and exposi ion o hese dis inc ions in he wo ds o a con empo a y Twel e
Shīʿī schola , discussing hem no in e ms o his Shīʿī a ilia ion bu in e ms o a legal heo y (uṣūl al- iqh) on
app oaching cons i u ional ex s.
202
Muḥammad ibn Masʿūd al-ʿAyyāshī (d. ca 320 AH / 932 CE), Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ed. Hāshim al-Rasūlī al-
Maḥallā ī, ol. 1, 2 ols. (Teh an: al-Mak abah al-ʿIlmīyah al-Islāmīyah), 4-5.
203
Because he chains o ansmission o i s epo s we e gene ally omi ed, mainly because i s con en s we e
supposed o ha e been la gely es ablished h ough o he means (e.g. consensus, a ional a gumen a ion, al e na i e
sou ces, e c...). See:
Abū Manṣū A ḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭ ālib al-Ṭab isī (d. ca 6 h cen u y AH / 12 h cen u y CE), al-Iḥ ijāj, ed.
Muḥammad Bāqi al-Kh a sān, ol. 1, 2 ols. (Naja : Dā al-Nuʿmān lil-Ṭibāʿ ah wa al-Nash , 1966 CE), 4.
110
an elabo a e applica ion o he Qu ʾānic c oss- e e encing app oach o in e p e ing he mul i-
dimensional “Am ”
204
(as seen in Chap e 1) and i s bea ing on he iden i y o Ulū al-Am .
205
2.3.1 Repo s ha Limi Ulū al-Am o he Imāmī Imams Explici ly
اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ " الله لوق نع هتلأسف ملسلا هيلع رفعج بِأ دنع تنك : لاق ةيواعم نب ديرب نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[
" مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرلا :ءاسنلا[59 ]
ًبيصن اوتوأ نيذلا لَإ رت لمأ " : لاق نا هباوج ناكف : لاق نونمؤي باتكلا نم ا
" توغاطلاو تبلجبِ : ءاسنلا[51] نلفو نلف ً
ليبس اونمآ نيذلا نم ىدهأ ءلاؤه اور فك نيذلل نولوقيو " " :ءاسنلا[51 ]
ً
ليبس مهئايلوأو دممُ لآ نم ىدهأ ءلاؤه رانلا لَإ ةاعدلاو ةلاضلا ةمئلأا ] لوقيو [ الله نعلي نمو الله مهنعل نيذلا كئلوأ "
" كللما نم بيصن مله مأ ايرصن هل دتج نلف :ءاسنلا[52 -53 ]
ًذإف " ةفللخاو ةماملإا نىعي
ًيرقن سانلا نوتؤي لا ا " ا :ءاسنلا[
53 ] الله نىع نيذلا سانلا ننح " هلضف نم الله مهيتآ ام ىلع سانلا نودسيح مأ " ةاونلا طسو في تيأر تيلا ةطقنلا يرقنلاو
:ءاسنلا[54 ]
ًعيجم الله قلخ نود ةماملإا نم الله ناتاأ ام ىلع نودوسلمحا نحنف ا ةمكلحاو باتكلا ميهاربإ لآ انيتآ دقف "
ُ
م مهانيتآو ً
كل ً
ميظع ا " ا :ءاسنلا[54 ] ميهاربإ لآ في كلذب نورقي فيكف ةمئلأاو ءايبنلأاو لسرلا مهنم انلعجف : لوقي
204
See he ca ego y 4 epo e e enced om al-Iḥ ijāj.
205
Ulū al-Am , acco ding o his Qu ʾānic app oach, a e no only o b e obeyed, bu a e he ecipien s o he descending
angels ca ying he Am on he blessed nigh o Layla al-Qad , and he Imams who guide o he s by God’s Am a e
ha ing been quali ied as dis inc ly pa ien and ce ain o God’s signs.
Fo a mo e comp ehensi e compila ion o epo s, see:
Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Riḍā Al -Qummī al-Mashhadī (d . ca 1125 AH / 1713 CE) , Ta sī Kanz al-Daqāʿiq wa
Baḥ al-Gha āʾib, ed. Ḥusayn Da gāhī, 1s ed., ol. 3-12, 14 ols. (Muʾassasa al-Ṭabʿ wa al-Nash Wizā a al-
Thaqā ah wa al-I shād al-Islāmī, 1 407 AH / 1366 SH).
111
و ] ي[
ًيرعس منهبج ىفكو هنع دص نم مهنمو هب نمآ نم مهنمف " هلآو هيلع الله ىلص دممُ ل آ في هنوركن " ا :ءاسنلا[55] لَإ
" ليلظ لظ مهلخدنو " هلوق :ءاسنلا[57 ] ً
كلم مهانيتآو " ميهاربإ لآ في : هلوق تلق : لاق ً
ميظع ا " ا :ءاسنلا[54] ام
ثم : لاق ميظعلا كللما وهف ، الله ىصع مهاصع نمو ، الله عاطأ مهعاطأ نم ، ةمئأ مهنم لعج نأ : لاق ؟ ميظعلا كللما
" ايرصب اعيسم " لَإ " اهلهأ لَإ تنااملأا اودؤت نا مكرميأ الله نا " :لاق :ءاسنلا[58] دؤي نا نىع ناياإ : لاقي انم لولأا
كلا هدعب يذلا ماملاا لَإ لدعلبِ اومكتح نا سانلا ينب متمكح اذإو " حلسلاو ملعلاو بت :ءاسنلا[ "58] مكيديأ في يذلا
يقلا موي لَإ يننمؤلما عمجف " اونمآ نيذلا اهيأ يا " سانلل لاق ثم ،]ا [ " مكنم رم لأا لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ " ةم
:ءاسنلا[59 ] في اعزانت متفخ ناف ةصاخ نىع ناياإ فيكو تلزن اذكه ، مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرل ا لَاو الله لَإ اوعجراف رملاا
مله ليق نيذلا نيرومأملل كلذ ليق انمإ ، مهتعزانم في مله صخريو رملأا لِوأ ةعاطب مهرم يأ" لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ
مكنم رملأا :ءاسنلا[ "59 ]
206
This epo includes he ph ase, “He mea n us, speci ically (iyyānā ʿaná khāṣṣah),”
indica ing ha he Ulū al-Am o be obeyed in his e se a e none o he han he Imams o Ahl al-
Bay , p esumably ep esen ed a he ime by Abū Jaʿ a [Muḥammad al-Bāqi ] (d. 114 AH / 733
CE). The plu al i s pe son in Shīʿī ḥadī h is ypically unde s ood as a e e ence o he igh ul
leade ship o P ophe Muḥammad’s household, unless he e is eason o i o be unde s ood in a
206
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, 246-247.
See also:
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī (d. ca 329 AH / 941 CE), al-Kā ī, ed. ʿAlī Akba al -Gha ā ī, 4 h ed.,
ol. 1, 8 ols. (Teh an: Dā al-Ku ub al-Islāmīyah, 1984 CE), 205.
112
b oade sense. The explici and exclusi e indica ion comes om he wo d “speci ically (khāṣṣah).”
Hence, when he epo me ely says, “He mean us (iyyānā ʿaná),” wi hou he wo d “khāṣṣah,”
as in he explana ion o 4:58, he indica ion is no explici ly exclusi e. Tha is, he la e case allows
o a eading in which he Imams o Ahl al-Bay a e mean bu no only hey a e mean – hey
would be clea ins ances o which he e se applies, bu he e a e o he ins ances besides hem. As
o he o me cas e, in which he wo d “khāṣṣah” is used, i explici ly gi es he indica ion o
exclusi i y, appa en ly in he absolu e sense.
207
Fu he mo e, he epo appea s o add ess he line o a gumen ad anced by al-Shā iʿī. Fo
while al-Shā iʿī ook he e se o mean dispu e wi h Ulū al-Am was possible, and absolu e de e al
was o God and he Messenge alone, his epo a gues ha i would be nonsensical o God o
command hem o obey Ulū al-Am and simul aneously allow hem o dispu e wi h hem
(disobeying hem). Ra he , his epo a gues, in he case o a dispu e, he de e al is o God and
he Messenge – who commanded ha obedience be God, His Messenge , and he designa ed Ulū
al-Am . I is likely ha he epo was add essing he subs an i e a gumen o al-Shā iʿī in an ea lie
o m ci cula ing a he ime. I he a gumen was known o al-Shā iʿī hen ei he he was
uncon inced by i o his wo ld iew commi men s p e en ed him om accep ing i s implica ions.
I goes wi hou saying ha e en i he his o ici y o his epo comes unde ques ion, al hough
po en ially no p e-Shā iʿī, i emains an ea ly Shīʿī esponse o al-Shā iʿī.
207
I is possible o a gue ha his exclusi i y is only appa en ly in he absolu e sense and ha he exp ession could
be me ely e e ing o a ela i e sense o exclusi i y (i.e. ha God mean hem speci ically – a ha ime – as
opposed o o he s who alsely assumed he posi ion agains hei will). The implica ion o such a eading would be
o allow o Ulū al-Am , in p inciple, o e e o hose besides he wel e Imams, so long as hey a e no excluded by
he ela i e exclusion unde s ood. This line o a gumen may se e he ype o mo e ecen Shīʿī app oach discussed
la e in his chap e . Howe e , such a eading would equi e su icien clues wi hin and/o beyond he ex o di e
he indica ion away om i s appa en ly absolu e exclusi i y o he Imams o Ahl al-Bay .
119
makes he ou o be an example o a membe o ha ca ego y o ollow – simila o how one
would ollow he Messenge o God. Fu he mo e, he epo desc ibes Fāṭimah no only as such
a g ea example o all in a gene al sense, bu speci ically o he 12 h Imam who is w i ing.
Al hough some migh a gue ha he 12 h Imam is me ely looking o Fāṭimah’s example in a
limi ed ashion, ega ding a dispu e o e inhe i ance, such a posi ion is di icul o main ain
gi en he b oad/unquali ied language used in he le e . Mo eo e , jus as Fāṭimah’s posi ion
ega ding Fadak is in e p e ed as symbolic o he succession o Muḥammad in Shīʿī ci cles, i is
no a - e ched ha an analogical applica ion o he calipha e is being alluded o he e by he 12 h
Imam. A schola ly Shīʿī eade ship would ha e easonably ecognized he simila i y be ween
Fāṭimah’s e o s o sa egua d he a he ’s legacy whe he in public o behind he scenes, and he
12 h Imam being busy wi h add essing he y anny o his ime behind he scenes.
ْيَ
رُ ب ْ
نَع َةَنْ يَذُأ ي
نْب َ
رَ
مُع ْ
نَع ٍْ
يرَ
مُع ي
بَِأ ي
نْبا ي
نَع هييبَأ ْ
نَع َ
ميي
هاَ
رْ بيإ ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَع ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ٍ
رَ
فْعَ
ج وُبَأ َ
لَت َ
لاَق َةَيي
واَعُ
م ي
نْب ي
د
* : ع ( * ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ :ءاسنلا[ 59] َ
لَيإو َّ
للَّا َ
لَيإ هوُعي
جْ
رَأَف ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
في ًاعُ
زاَنَ
ت ْ
مُتْ
في
خ ْ
نيإَف
اََّ
نميإ ْ
مي
هيتَعَ
زاَنُ
م ي
في ُ
صي
ّ
خَ
رُ يو ْ
مي
هيتَعاَطيب ُ
رُ
مَْ
يأ َ
فْيَ
ك َ
لاَق َُّ
ثم ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأ َ
لَيإو ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلا ْ
مَُ
له َ
لييق َ
نيي
ذَّلا َ
نيي
روُ
مْأَ
مْليل َ
كيلَذ َ
لاَق ( * :
* ) َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ
214
214
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 8, 184-185.
I is no ewo hy ha wo simila epo s appea ed in ca ego y 1. Howe e , because his epo does no use he ph ase,
“iyāna ʿaná khāṣṣah,” I ha e included his epo in ca ego y 2.

120
ينضغبم في متببحأو يرثك نيركنم في متفرع دق : لاق ملسلا هيلع الله دبع بِأ نع ناهدلا يرشب نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[
فيو لله ابح نوكي دقو يرثك مو ، الله ىلع هباوثف هلوسرو الله في ناك امف ايندلا في ابحو هلوسرو الله في سيلف ايندلا في ناك ا
انمإ مكناو ، قلحا ىلع هنأ ىري لاا دحأ مهنم سيل جراولخا هذهو ةيردقلا هذهو ةئجرلما هذه نا : لاق ثم هدي ضفن ثم ءيش
مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ " لت ثم ، الله في ناومتببحأ :ءاسنلا[ "59 ] ،"تآ امو]ا[ امو هوذخف لوسرلا مك
نه]ا[ اوهتناف هنع مك :رشلحا[ "7] ، " الله عاطأ دقف لوسرل ا عطي نمو :ءاسنلا[ "80] ، " نيوعبتاف الله نوبتح متنك نا
الله مكببيح " :نارمع لآ[31 ]
215
نىعي هوذج نم رملاا اذه تُذخأ مكنا : لوقي ملسلا هيلع الله دبع بِأ تعسم : لاق بيللحا نارمع نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[
" مكنم رملاا لَوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ " الله لوق نع ،هلصأ نم :ءاسنلا[59 ] هيلع الله ىلص الله لوسر لوق نمو
ولضت نل هب متكستم نا ام : هلآو . نلف لوق نم لاو نلف لوق نم لا ، ا
216
215
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 167.
The la e pa o his epo , like o he s quo ed h oughou his sec ion, appea s o assume ha Ulū al-Am applies o
he Imams ( in he Imāmī Shīʿī sense) and employs he me hodology o explaining Qu ʾān ic e ses by c oss- e e encing
o he Qu ʾānic e ses wi h he same o synonymous ph ases. I is also no ewo hy he e ha he epo de ines he
applica ion o Ulū al-Am no me ely in e ms o u h-claims – as hose a e claimed by a ious g oups – bu in e ms
o ha ing since e lo e o he sake o God as opposed o wo ldly aims.
216
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 251-252.
121
الله لوق نع هتلأسف : لاق ملسلا هيلع اضرلا نسلحا بىأ ىلع لخد هنا نبِأ نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[ اونمآ نيذلا اهيأ يا "
" مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرل ا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ :ءاسنلا[59 ]بِأ نب يلع كلذ : : لاقف ثم ملسلا هيلع بلاط لاق ، تكس
، نسلحا ثم : لاق ؟ نم ثم : تلق هتوكس لاط املف : : تلق ، ينسلحا : لاق ؟ نم ثم : تلق هتوكس لاط املف تكس ثم
؟ نم ثم ديعأ تىح دحاو لك دنع تكسي لزي ملف ، تكسو ينسلحا نب يلع ثم : لاق لَإ مهاسم تىح لوقيف ، ةلأسلما
) ع ( .مهرخآ
217
نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[ رملأا لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ " هلوق في ملسلا هيلع رفعج بِأ نع نلجع نب الله دبع
" مكنم :ءاسنلا[59 ] فيو يلع في يه :لاق هنومريح لاو ائيش نوليح لا منهأ يرغ ءايبنلأا عضاوم الله مهلعج ةمئلأا
218
هيلع الله دبع بِلأ تلق : لاق ميكح نع ]يشايعلا يرسفت نع[ الله رمأ نيذلا رملأا لِوأ نع نيبرخأ كادف تلعج : ملسلا
الله اودحماف ناأ رفعجو يلع نب دممُو ينسلحا نب يلعو ينسلحاو نسلحاو بلاط بِأ نب يلع كئلوأ : لِ لاقف ؟ مهتعاطب
. سانلا مهدحج ينح مكتداق و مكتمئأ مكفرع يذلا
219
217
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 251.
Al hough he epo iden i ies he applica ion o Ulū al-Am in he pe sons o he Shīʿī Imams, i does no explici ly
limi he applica ion o hem.
218
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 252.
219
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 252.
122
َّ
مَُ
مُ ُ
نْب ُ
دَْ
حمَأ ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ي
في اَنَلْ
وَ
ق ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِلأ ُ
تْ
رَ
كَذ َ
لاَق ي
ءَ
لَعْلا ي
بَِأ ي
نْب يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ي
نَع ي
مَ
كَْ
لحا ي
نْب يّ
ييلَع ْ
نَع ٍ
د
َّ
نيإ ي
ءاَيي
صْ
وَلأا ا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ ( * َ
لَاَعَ
ت َّ
للَّا َ
لاَق َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُمُ
ه ْ
مَعَ ن َ
لاَ
قَ
ف َ
لاَق ٌةَ
ضََ
ترْ
فُ
م ْ
مُ
هَ
تَعاَط * ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رل
:ءاسنلا[59]
ُمُ
هو ) اوُنَ
مآ َ
نيي
ذَّلاو هُلوُ
سَ
رو الله ُمُ
كُّييلَ
و اَّ
نميإ ( * َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لاَق َ
نيي
ذَّلا * :ةدئالما[55 ]
220
يع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ي
نْب َ
دَْ
حمَأ ْ
نَع َ
يَْ
يح ُ
نْب ُ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ي
ّ
يي
رَ
هْ
وَْ
لجا ٍ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ي
نْب ي
مي
ساَ
قْلا ي
نَع يّ
ييقَْ
برْلا ٍ
ديلاَ
خ ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ْ
نَع ىَ
سي
ْ
مَعَ ن َ
لاَق ٌةَ
ضََ
ترْ
فُ
م ْ
مُ
هُ
تَعاَط ُءاَيي
صْ
وَلأا ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِلأ ُ
تْلُ ق َ
لاَق ي
ءَ
لَعْلا ي
بَِأ ي
نْب يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ي
نَع َ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لاَق َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُمُ
ه ( * َّ
ل
* ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ :ءاسنلا[59] َ
نيي
ذَّلاو هُلوُ
سَ
رو الله ُمُ
كُّييلَ
و اَّ
نميإ ( * َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َ
لاَق َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُمُ
هو
َ
نوُعيكار ْ
مُ
هو َةاك
َّ
زلا َ
نوُتْ
ؤُ يو َةلَّ
صلا َ
نوُ
ميي
قُي َ
نيي
ذَّلا اوُنَ
مآ* ) :ةدئالما[55 ]
221
َُ
مُو َ
يَْ
يح ُ
نْب ُ
دَّ
مَُ
مُو ىَ
سييع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ْ
نَع ٍ
لْ
هَ
س ْ
نَع هُْ
يرَغو يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ُ
نْب ُ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ْ
نَع ًاعييَ
جم يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ُ
نْب ُ
دَّ
م
َع ْ
نَع وٍ
رْ
مَع ي
نْب ي
يمي
رَ
كْلا ي
دْبَعو ٍ
ريباَ
ج ي
نْب َ
لييعاَْ
سميإ ْ
نَع ٍ
ناَني
س ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ َ
لاَق ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع ي
مَلْ يَّ
دلا ي
بَِأ ي
نْب ي
ديي
مَْ
لحا ي
دْب]...[
220
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 1, 187.
221
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol.1, 189.
123
]...[ * ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َ
لاَقو :ءاسنلا[59 ] هوُّ
دَ
ر ْ
وَلو ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َ
لاَقو
ْ
ني
م هَنوُطيبْنَ
تْ
سَي َ
نيي
ذَّلا هَ
ميلَعَل ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأ لَيإو ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلا ( * َ
لَيإو َّ
للَّا * ) َ
لَيإ * )ْ
مُ
ه :ءاسنلا[83 ] َ
لَيإ ي
ساَّنلا َ
رْ
مَأ َ
رْ
مَلأا َّ
دَ
رَ
ف
ي
ةَّ
جَ
ح ْ
ني
م ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
عَ
جَ
ر اَّ
مَلَ
ف ْ
مي
هْيَليإ يّ
دَّ
رلي
بِو ْ
مي
هيتَعاَطيب َ
رَ
مَأ َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُمُ
هْ
ني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأ يا ( * َ
لاَ
قَ
ف ع ُلييئَْ
برَ
ج هْيَلَع َ
لَ
زَ ن ي
عاَ
دَ
وْلا
ُ
سَّ
رلا اَ
هُّ يَأ
يإ ي
ساَّنلا َ
ني
م َ
كُ
مي
صْعَ ي اللهو هَتَلاسي
ر َ
تْغَّلَ ب امَف ْلَعْ
فَ
ت َْ
لم ْ
نيإو َ
كي
ّبَ
ر ْ
ني
م َ
كْيَليإ َ
لي
زْنُأ ام ْ
غيّلَ ب ُ
لو َ
مْ
وَ
قْلا يي
دْ
هَ ي لا الله َّ
ن
* )َ
نيي
ريفاكْلا :ةدئالما[67] َّ
نُ
هُ
كْ
وَ
ش َّ
مُ
قَ
ف ٍ
تاَ
رُ
مَ
سيب َ
رَ
مَأو اوُعَ
مَتْ
جاَف َ
ساَّنلا ىَ
داَنَ
ف ْ
مُ
كيب َ
لَْ
وَأو ْ
مُ
كُّييلَ
و ْ
نَ
م ُ
ساَّنلا اَ
هُّ يَأ َ
يا ص َ
لاَق َُّ
ثم
َعو هلااَ
و ْ
نَ
م ي
لاَ
و َّ
مُ
هَّللا ه َ
لاْ
وَ
م ٌّ
ييلَعَ
ف ه َ
لاْ
وَ
م ُ
تْنُ
ك ْ
نَ
م َ
لاَ
قَ
ف هُلوُ
سَ
رو َّ
للَّا اوُلاَ
قَ
ف ْ
مُ
كي
سُ
فْ نَأ ْ
ني
م ٍ
تاَّ
رَ
م َ
ثَ
لَث هاَ
داَع ْ
نَ
م ي
دا ]...[
222
In his epo , he “Am ” in Ulū al-Am is associa ed wi h he “Am ” o he people –
appa en ly me aning, “ he a ai ” o he people. They a e iden i ied by c oss- e e encing 4:59 and
4:83 as he poin s o be de e ed o o add essing dispu es and o be obeyed on pa wi h obedience
o God’s Messenge . The speci ic applica ion o he e se a he ime o Muḥammad is associa ed
wi h he a ewell pilg image, du ing/a e which Muḥammad designa es ʿAlī as he gua dian
(mawlá) o he people.
223
ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَع ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع ٍ
قوُ
رْ
سَ
م ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع ٍ
مييكَ
ح ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ْ
نَع ٍْ
يرَ
مُع ي
بَِأ ي
نْبا ي
نَع هييبَأ ْ
نَع َ
ميي
هاَ
رْ بيإ ع
لا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ي
لْ
وَ
قيب ْ
مي
هْيَلَع ُّ
جَتْ
حَنَ
ف َ
ساَّنلا ُميّلَ
كُن َّ
نايإ ُ
تْلُ ق َ
لاَق
َّ
ر* ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
س :ءاسنلا[
222
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol.1, 293-296.
223
Sunnī epo s also gen e ally con i m his e en bu in e p e i di e en ly.
124
59 ] الله ُمُ
كُّييلَ
و اَّ
نميإ ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع هيلْ
وَ
قيب ْ
مي
هْيَلَع ُّ
جَتْ
حَنَ
ف َ
يااَ
رَّ
سلا ي
ءاَ
رَ
مُأ ي
في ْ
تَلَ
زَ ن َ
نوُلوُ
قَ
يَ
ف ي
ةَيلآا ي
ري
خآ َ
لَيإ * ) هُلوُ
سَ
رو :ةدئالما[
55 ] ْ
ؤُ
مْلا ي
في ْ
تَلَ
زَ ن َ
نوُلوُ
قَ
يَ
ف ي
في َةَّ
دَ
وَ
مْلا َّ
لايإ ًارْ
جَأ هْيَلَع ْ
مُ
كُلَ
ئْ
سَأ لا ْلُق ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ي
لْ
وَ
قيب ْ
مي
هْيَلَع ُّ
جَتَْ
نحو َ
ينيني
م * ) بىْ
رُ
قْلا
:ىروشلا[23] ي
م هُ
رْ
كي
ذ ي
نيَ
رَ
ضَ
ح اَّي
مم ًائْيَ
ش ْعَ
دَأ ْ
مَلَ
ف َ
لاَق َ
يني
ميلْ
سُ
مْلا َ
بىْ
رُ ق ي
في ْ
تَلَ
زَ ن َ
نوُلوُ
قَ
يَ
ف اَذيإ ي
لِ َ
لاَ
قَ
ف هُتْ
رَ
كَذ َّ
لايإ هي
هْبي
شو هي
ذَ
ه ْ
ن
ْ
مُ
صو َ
لاَق هُّنُظَأو ًثاَ
لَث َ
كَ
سْ
فَ ن ْ
حيلْ
صَأ َ
لاَق ُ
عَنْ
صَأ َ
فْيَ
كو ُ
تْلُ ق ي
ةَلَ
هاَبُ
مْلا َ
لَيإ ْ
مُ
هُعْداَف َ
كيلَذ َ
ناَ
ك ي
ناَّبَْ
لجا َ
لَيإ َ
وُ
هو َ
تْنَأ ْ
زُ
رْ باو ْلي
سَتْغاو
ْ
ني
م َ
كَعيباَ
صَأ ْ
كيّبَ
شَف َلأا َّ
بَ
رو ي
عْبَّ
سلا ي
تاَ
واَ
مَّ
سلا َّ
بَ
ر َّ
مُ
هَّللا ي
لُقو َ
كي
سْ
فَ
نيب ْأَ
دْباو هْ
في
صْنَأ َُّ
ثم هيعيباَ
صَأ ي
في َ
نىْ
مُيْلا َ
كي
دَي َي
لماَع ي
عْبَّ
سلا َ
يني
ضَ
ر
ي
طَ
بِ ىَعَّ
داو ًاّ
قَ
ح َ
دَ
حَ
ج ٍ
قوُ
رْ
سَ
م وُبَأ َ
ناَ
ك ْ
نيإ َ
ميي
حَّ
رلا َ
نَْ
حمَّ
رلا يةَ
داَ
هَّشلاو ي
بْيَغْلا َُّ
ثم ًامييلَأ ًبِاَ
ذَع ْ
وَأ ي
ءاَ
مَّ
سلا َ
ني
م ًنااَبْ
سُ
ح هْيَلَع ْ
لي
زْنَأَف ًل
َّ
سلا َ
ني
م ًنااَبْ
سُ
ح هْيَلَع ْ
لي
زْنَأَف ًلي
طَ
بِ ىَعَّ
داو ًاّ
قَ
ح َ
دَ
حَ
ج ٌ
نَ
لُف َ
ناَ
ك ْ
نيإو ْلُ
قَ
ف هْيَلَع َةَ
وْعَّ
دلا َّ
دُ
ر
َّنيإَف ي
لِ َ
لاَق َُّ
ثم ًامييلَأ ًبِاَ
ذَع ْ
وَأ ي
ءاَ
م َ
ك
.هْيَليإ ي
نيُبييُ
يج ًاقْلَ
خ ُ
تْ
دَ
جَ
و اَ
م َّ
للَّاَ
وَ
ف هييف َ
كيلَذ ىَ
رَ
ت ْ
نَأ ُ
ثَبْلَ
ت َ
لا
224
This epo sheds ligh no only on he ci a ion o 4:59 as pa o a Shīʿī a gumen in he
ea ly ḥadī h li e a u e, bu also alongside a numbe o o he e ses ha he Shīʿī u ilized in sec a ian
deba es. S ill, he epo indica es a ecogni ion o an i-Shīʿī (i no Sunnī) coun e a gumen s, in
he ace o which in ellec ual engagemen may come o a s ands ill. Fo example, he epo
indica es a coun e a gumen iden i ying Ulū al-Am as he mili a y commande s. The companion
o he 6 h Imam, who is being asked o guidance he e, complains ha a imes he u ilizes all he
a gumen s he has in his oolbox and ye is s ill aced wi h some o m o a coun e a gumen . In
such a si ua ion, his epo eso s o a es /challenge o since i y and spi i uali y whe e he Shīʿī
224
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 2, 513-514.

125
in e locu e in i es he o he pa y o a mubāhalah, o a o m o in oki ng God’s w a h upon he
one who, “denies wha is igh and claims wha is alse.”
2.3.3 Repo s ha Speci ically Name Ulū al-Am
225
َع ٍ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَعو َ
سُنوُي ْ
نَع ىَ
سييع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ْ
نَع َ
ميي
هاَ
رْ بيإ ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَع ]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ْ
نَع ٍ
دييعَ
س ي
بَِأ ٍ
دَ
ياي
ز ي
نْب ي
لْ
هَ
س ْ
ن
ا ي
لْ
وَ
ق ْ
نَع ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع َ
بَِأ ُ
تْلَأَ
س َ
لاَق ٍ
يري
صَب ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع َ
ناَ
كْ
سُ
م ي
نْبا ي
نَع َ
سُنوُي ْ
نَع ىَ
سييع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ الله اوُعيي
طَأ( * : َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّ
)ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو* :ءاسنلا[59 ] َ
ساَّنلا َّ
نيإ هَل ُ
تْلُ
قَ
ف ع يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحاو ي
نَ
سَْ
لحاو ٍ
بيلاَط ي
بَِأ ي
نْب يّ
ييلَع ي
في ْ
تَلَ
زَ ن َ
لاَ
قَ
ف
َّ
نيإ ْ
مَُ
له اوُلوُق َ
لاَ
قَ
ف َ
لاَق َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ي
باَتيك ي
في ع هيتْيَ ب َ
لْ
هَأو ًاّييلَع ي
ّ
مَ
سُي َْ
لم هَل اَ
مَف َ
نوُلوُ
قَ ي ْ
تَلَ
زَ ن ص َّ
للَّا َ
لوُ
سَ
ر َْ
لمو ُةَ
لَّ
صلا هْيَلَع
َلَع ْ
تَلَ
زَ نو ْ
مَُ
له َ
كيلَذ َ
رَّ
سَف يي
ذَّلا َ
وُ
ه ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
ناَ
ك َّ
تىَ
ح ًاعَبْ
رَأ َ
لاو ًثاَ
لَث ْ
مَُ
له َّ
للَّا ي
ّ
مَ
سُي َ
ينيعَبْ
رَأ ي
ّ
لُ
ك ْ
ني
م ْ
مَُ
له ي
ّ
مَ
سُي َْ
لمو ُةاَ
ك
َّ
زلا هْي
َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
ناَ
ك َّ
تىَ
ح ٌ
مَ
هْ
ري
د ًاَ
همْ
ري
د ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
ناَ
ك َّ
تىَ
ح ًاعوُبْ
سُأ اوُفوُط ْ
مَُ
له ْلُ
قَ ي ْ
مَلَ
ف ُّ
جَْ
لحا َ
لَ
زَ نو ْ
مَُ
له َ
كيلَذ َ
رَّ
سَف يي
ذَّلا َ
وُ
ه ص
ْ
تَلَ
زَ نو * ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ ( * ْ
تَلَ
زَ نو ْ
مَُ
له َ
كيلَذ َ
رَّ
سَف يي
ذَّلا َ
وُ
ه
َع ي
في َ
لاَ
قَ
ف يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحاو ي
نَ
سَْ
لحاو ٍّ
ييل
يإَف ي
تيْيَ ب ي
لْ
هَأو َّ
للَّا ي
باَتيكيب ْ
مُ
كيي
صوُأ ص َ
لاَقو ه َ
لاْ
وَ
م ٌّ
ييلَعَ
ف ه َ
لاْ
وَ
م ُ
تْنُ
ك ْ
نَ
م ٍّ
ييلَع ي
في ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
لا ْ
نَأ َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ُ
تْلَأَ
س ي
ّ
ني
َّ
يَلَع اَُ
همَ
دي
روُي َّ
تىَ
ح اَ
مُ
هَ
نْ
يَ ب َ
قيّ
رَ
فُ ي َ
بِ ْ
ني
م ْ
مُ
كوُ
جي
رُْ
يخ ْ
نَل ْ
مَُّ
نهيإ َ
لاَقو ْ
مُ
كْني
م ُمَلْعَأ ْ
مُ
هَ
ف ْ
مُ
هوُ
ميّلَعُ ت َ
لا َ
لاَقو َ
كيلَذ ي
نياَطْعَأَف َ
ضْ
وَْ
لحا ىً
دُ
ه ي
ب
اَ
هاَعَّ
دَ
لا هيتْيَ ب ُلْ
هَأ ْ
نَ
م ْي
ّ
ينَبُ ي ْ
مَلَ
ف ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
تَ
كَ
س ْ
وَلَ
ف ٍ
ةَلَ
لَ
ض ي
بَ
بِ ي
في ْ
مُ
كوُلي
خْ
دُي ْ
نَلو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا َّ
نيكَلو ٍ
نَ
لُف ُ
لآو ٍ
نَ
لُف ُ
لآ
ْيَ
بْلا َ
لْ
هَأ َ
سْ
جيّ
رلا ُمُ
كْنَع َ
بي
هْ
ذُييل الله ُ
ديي
رُي اَّ
نميإ ( * : ص هيّييبَنيل ًاقيي
دْ
صَت هيباَتيك ي
في هَلَ
زْ نَأ َّ
لَ
جو* ) ًايري
هْطَت ْ
مُ
ك
َ
ريّ
هَطُيو ي
ت :بازحلأا[
225
Besides he ea lie ep esen a i e epo s ha name hem.
126
33] ُْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحاو ُ
نَ
سَْ
لحاو ٌّ
ييلَع َ
ناَ
كَف ُ
كيل َّ
نيإ َّ
مُ
هَّللا َ
لاَق َُّ
ثم َةَ
مَلَ
س ي
ّ
مُأ ي
تْيَ ب ي
في ي
ءاَ
سيكْلا َ
تَْ
تح ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر ْ
مُ
هَلَ
خْدَأَف ع ُةَ
مي
طاَفو ي
ّ
ل
يإ ي
كَّنيإ َ
لاَ
قَ
ف َ
كيلْ
هَأ ْ
ني
م ُ
تْ
سَلأ َةَ
مَلَ
س ُّ
مُأ ْ
تَلاَ
قَ
ف ييلَ
قَ ثو ي
تيْيَ ب ُلْ
هَأ ي
ءَ
لاُ
ؤَ
هو ًلَ
قَ ثو ًلْ
هَأ ٍ
ّي
بيَن َ
لَ اَّ
مَلَ
ف ييلْ
قيثو ييلْ
هَأ ي
ءَ
لاُ
ؤَ
ه َّ
نيكَلو ٍْ
يرَ
خ
يل هيتَ
ماَقيإو ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر هييف َ
غَّلَ ب اَ
م يةَ
رْ ثَ
كيل ي
ساَّنلي
بِ ي
ساَّنلا َ
لَْ
وَأ ٌّ
ييلَع َ
ناَ
ك ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
ضيبُق ٌّ
ييلَع ىَ
ضَ
م اَّ
مَلَ
ف هي
دَييب هي
ذْ
خَأو ي
ساَّنل
يلَع ُ
عيي
طَتْ
سَي ْ
نُ
كَي َْ
لم َ
لاو ٍّ
ييلَع َ
نْب َ
ساَّبَعْلا َ
لاو ٍّ
ييلَع َ
نْب َ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ َ
لي
خْ
دُي ْ
نَأ َ
لَعْ
فَ
ييل ْ
نُ
كَي َْ
لمو ٌّ
ي[
ًادي
حاَ
و] ُ
نَ
سَْ
لحا َ
لاَ
قَل ًاذيإ هي
دْلُ
و ْ
ني
م
َ
مَ
ك اَنيتَعاَطيب َ
رَ
مَأَف َ
كييف َ
لَ
زْ نَأ اَ
مَ
ك اَنييف َ
لَ
زْ نَأ َ
لَاَعَ
تو َ
كَ
راَبَ
ت َّ
للَّا َّ
نيإ ُْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحاو َ
كييف َ
غَّلَ ب اَ
مَ
ك ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر اَنييف َ
غَّلَ بو َ
كيتَعاَطيب َ
رَ
مَأ ا
اَّ
مَلَ
ف هيَ
بريكيل اَي
به َ
لَْ
وَأ ع ُ
نَ
سَْ
لحا َ
ناَ
ك ع ٌّ
ييلَع ىَ
ضَ
م اَّ
مَلَ
ف َ
كْنَع هَبَ
هْذَأ اَ
مَ
ك َ
سْ
جيّ
رلا اَّنَع َ
بَ
هْذَأو َْ
لمو هَ
دْلُ
و َ
لي
خْ
دُي ْ
نَأ ْ
عي
طَتْ
سَي َْ
لم َي
ّ
فيُ
وُ ت
َي* ) الله ي
باتيك ي
في ٍ
ضْعَ
بيب لَْ
وَأ ْ
مُ
هُ
ضْعَ ب ي
ماحْ
رَلأا اوُلوُأو ( * : ُ
لوُ
قَ ي َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّاو َ
كيلَذ َ
لَعْ
فَ
ييل ْ
نُ
ك :بازحلأا[6 ] ي
في اَ
هَلَعْ
جَيَ
ف
َ
كييبَأ ي
ةَعاَطو َ
كيتَعاَطيب َ
رَ
مَأ اَ
مَ
ك ي
تيَعاَطيب َّ
للَّا َ
رَ
مَأ ُْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
لاَ
قَل ًاذيإ هي
دْلُ
و َ
بَ
هْذَأو َ
كييبَأ ي
فيو َ
كييف َ
غَّلَ ب اَ
مَ
ك ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َّي
في َ
غَّلَ بو
ْ
هَأ ْ
ني
م ٌ
دَ
حَأ ْ
نُ
كَي َْ
لم ع يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
لَيإ ْ
تَ
راَ
ص اَّ
مَلَ
ف َ
كييبَأ ْ
نَعو َ
كْنَع َ
بَ
هْذَأ اَ
مَ
ك َ
سْ
جيّ
رلا ي
ّ
نيَع َّ
للَّا هْيَلَع َ
ييعَّ
دَي ْ
نَأ ُ
عيي
طَتْ
سَي هيتْيَ ب ي
ل
َ
ك اَ
مَ
كاَ
ص َُّ
ثم َ
لَعْ
فَ
ييل َ
ناوُ
كَي َْ
لمو هْنَع َ
رْ
مَلأا اَفي
رْ
صَي ْ
نَأ اَ
داَ
رَأ ْ
وَل هييبَأ ىَلَعو هيي
خَأ ىَلَع ييعَّ
دَي َ
وُ
ه َ
نا ع يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
لَيإ ْ
تَ
ضْفَأ َ
يني
ح ْ
تَ
ر
يك ي
في ٍ
ضْعَ
بيب لَْ
وَأ ْ
مُ
هُ
ضْعَ ب ي
ماحْ
رَلأا اوُلوُأو ( * : ي
ةَيلآا هي
ذَ
ه ُليي
وَْ
تَ ىَ
رَ
جَف* ) الله ي
بات :بازحلأا[6 ] يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ي
دْعَ ب ْ
ني
م ْ
تَ
راَ
ص َُّ
ثم
ُ
سْ
جيّ
رلا َ
لاَقو ع ٍّ
ييلَع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ َ
لَيإ يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ي
نْب يّ
ييلَع ي
دْعَ ب ْ
ني
م ْ
تَ
راَ
ص َُّ
ثم يْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا ي
نْب يّ
ييلَعيل اَني
ّبَ
ر ي
في ُّ
كُ
شَن َ
لا َّ
للَّاو ُّ
كَّشلا َ
وُ
ه
.ًادَبَأ
226
226
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 1, 286-288.
See also:
Al-ʿAyyāshī, Ta sī al-ʿAyyāshī, ol. 1, 249-251.
127
I ha e included his leng hy epo in i s en i e y, wi hou exce p ing, because i includes
se e al ea u es o wha becomes known as he Imāmī Shīʿī concep ion o Imama e. The e appea
o be di e en dimensions o he Imama e emphasized by e e ence o he e ses o ḥadī hs quo ed.
The epo quo es e se 4:59 and iden i ies Ulū al-Am wi h ʿAlī, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn bu no wi h
Fāṭimah. The pu i y/immaculacy o Ahl al-Bay in e se 33:33, and who ne e sepa a e om he
Book o God, is iden i ied wi h he h ee, in addi ion o Fāṭimah, bu o he exclusion o P ophe
Muḥammad’s wi e Umm Salamah (despi e he being commended). The epo uses he wo d “awlá
(o g ea e igh /p io i y),” alluding o a ph ase in e se 33:6, in which he P ophe is desc ibed as
being awlá wi h ega d o he ai h ul han hey a e wi h ega d o hei e y own souls and Ulū al-
A ḥām ( hose o kinship ela ions) being awlá wi h ega d o one ano he . A e iden i ying he
i s h ee gene a ions o Ulū al-Am , immacula ely insepa able om he Book o God,
227
he
epo desc ibes how subsequen applica ions o Ulū al-Am (in he sense o awlá al-nās bil-nās)
become mani es ia he p inciple ha Ulū al-A ḥām a e awlá wi h ega d o one ano he .
228
Hence,
227
Wi h Ḥasan aking p ecedence o e Ḥusayn because o “kiba ih.” While his “g ea ness” gi es he indica ion o
being “olde ,” o an A abic speake , clues in he ex a guably allow o his g ea ness o e e mo e o a g ea ness o
excellence han o age alone. Fo he d esc ip ion o being “awlá” in he sense ha he P ophe was “awlá” does no
deal wi h age pe se. In any case, i is clea a leas om his epo ha he age conside a ion – i i is in ended he e
– is only conside ed a e bo h Ḥasan and Ḥusayn ha e been deemed awlá han o he s in e ms o hei immaculacy
as membe s o he designa ed Ahl al-Bay in 33:33. As such, i age is in ended, i is likely in ended only as a
sho hand iden i ie o he one appoin ed by God as he subsequen membe o Ulū al-Am , no as a subs an i e
quali ica ion o Di ine selec ion.
In suppo o his eading, conside he ollowing epo ed exchange wi h Jaʿ a al-Ṣādiq, in which he emphasizes
he Di ine am /command, as opposed o age,
]...[ َّ
للَّا َ
مي
حَ
ر ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع وُبَأ َ
لاَ
قَ ف ي
نَ
سَْ
لحا ْ
ني
م اَي
به َّ
قَ
حَأ ُْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
ناَ
ك ٍ
ءْ
يَ
ش ي
ّ
يَي
بأ هيلْ
وَ ق ْ
ني
م َ
ناَ
كو َ
نَ
سَْ
لحا ع َْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َّ
نَلأ َ
لاَق اَ
ذَ
ه َ
تْ
رَ
كَذ َ
فْيَ
كو َْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
مي
حَ
رو
َّ
للَّا َّ
نيإ ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع وُبَأ َ
لاَ
قَ ف ي
نَ
سَْ
لحا ي
دْلُ
و ْ
ني
م يّ
نَ
سَلأا ي
في اَ
هَلَعَْ
يج ْ
نَأ َ
لَ
دَع اَذيإ هَل ييغَبْ
نَ ي َ
ناَ
ك
ٍ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ َ
لَيإ ىَ
حْ
وَأ ْ
نَأ اَّ
مَل َ
لَاَعَ تو َ
كَ
راَبَ ت َْ
لمو َءاَ
ش اَي
بم هْيَليإ ىَ
حْ
وَأ ص
َّ
لايإ هييف ُ
لوُ
قَ ن اَنْ
سَلو هيب َ
ري
مُأ اَ
م َلَعَ
فَ ف َءاَ
ش اَي
بم ع ًاّييلَع ص ٌ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ َ
رَ
مَأو هي
قْلَ
خ ْ
ني
م ًادَ
حَأ ْ
ري
ماَ
ؤُ ي ْ
نَأ َْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
رَ
مَأ َ
ناَ
ك ْ
وَلَ ف هي
قيي
دْ
صَتو هيليي
جْبَ ت ْ
ني
م ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
لاَق اَ
م
ُ
مْلي
بِ َ
وُ
ه اَ
مو ُْ
ينَ
سُْ
لحا َ
كيلَذ َلَعَ
فَل َةَّيي
صَ
وْلا ي
نيْعَ ي اَي
همي
دْلُ
و ي
في اَ
هَلُ
قْ
نَ ي ْ
وَأ يّ
نَ
سَلأا ي
في اَ
هَي
ّ
يرَ
صُيهيب َ
ري
مُأ اَ
ميل ىَ
ضَ
م هَّنيكَلو َ
كيلَذ َ
كَ
رَ تو َّ
لََ
و ْ
دَ
قَلو هي
سْ
فَ
نيل يةَيري
خَّ
ذلا ي
في َ
ناَ
دْنيع ي
مَ
هَّ
ت
]...[
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 1, 359.
228
This a guably does no con lic wi h o he epo s ha pu po edly quo e he P ophe Muḥammad naming all he
wel e Imams. Fo he Twel e Shīʿī would a gue, o ins ance, ha : (1) he names only p o ided signpos s ha s ill
128
Ḥusayn and he subsequen Ulū al-Am gene a ions iden i y awlá al-nās bil-nās who happen o be
nu u ed om among hei descendan s and who a e pu e/immacula e ins ances o Ahl al-Bay in
e se 33:33. I is no ewo hy he e ha he epo explains he pu i y o e se 33:33 o be one ee
om he impu i y o doub . Tha is, his g oup is desc ibed as ha ing impeccable awa eness o
God, id o he heedlessness o igno ance ha leads o sin. Fu he mo e, al hough his epo
ou lines he p ocess by which he b oade communi y becomes awa e o each subsequen
gene a ion o Ulū al-Am , i only names hem up o Jaʿ a al-Ṣādiq (d. 148 AH / 765 CE), who is
being quo ed.
قودصلا[ ]لوقي نيدلا لامك في نب رفعج نع ، ماهم نب دممُ انثدح : اولاق انباحصأ نم دحاو يرغ انثدح- نب دممُ
كلامثرالحا نب دحمأ نع ، ةعاسم نب دممُ نب نسلحا نيثدح : لاق يزارفلا نب سنوي نع ، رمع نب لضفلما نيثدح : لاق
: لاق يفعلجا ديزي نب رباج نع ، نايبظ دممُ هيبن ىلع لجو زع الله لزنأ الم : لوقي يراصنلأا الله دبع نب رباج تعسم
عيطأ اونمآ نيذلا اهيأ يا "هلآو هيلع الله ىلص لوسر يا " تلق " مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله او ، هلوسرو الله انفرع الله
: ملسلا هيلع لاقف ؟ كتعاطب مهتعاط الله نرق نيذلا رملاا ولوأ نمف يدعب ) نم ( ينملسلما ةمئأو ، رباج يا يئافلخ مه
نسلحا ثم ، بلاط بِأ نب يلع ملهوأ ثم ، ينسلحا نب يلع ثم ، ينسلحاو هكردتسو ، رقابلبِ ةاروتلا في فورعلما يلع نب دممُ
ىسوم ثم ، دممُ نب رفعج قداصلا ثم ، ملسلا نيم هئرقأف هتيقل اذإف ، رباج يا نب دممُ ثم ، ىسوم نب يلع ثم ، رفعج نبا
ثم ، يلع نب نسلحا ثم ، دممُ نب يلع ثم ، يلع با هدابع في هتيقبو ، هضرأ في الله ةجح يينكو ييسم ، يلع نب نسلحا ن
equi ed iden i ica ion and applica ion o pa icula his o ical pe sonali ies; and (2) wha an inne ci cle knew abou
he names, and success ully elayed o la e gene a ions, may no ha e been known o he b oade communi y a all
imes, in he in e es o p o ec ing he li es o subsequen Imams due o he secu i y si ua ion.
135
َتَ ي َ
لاَ
و َ
ضَ
رَ
فو َ
لاَ
قَ
ف هيّييبَنو هي
سْ
فَ
نيب َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا ُمَُ
نهَ
رَ
ق َ
نيي
ذَّلا َ
لاَ
قَ
ف ي
لِ ْ
مُ
هْ
في
ص َ
ينيني
مْ
ؤُ
مْلا َيري
مَأ َ
يا ُ
تْلُ ق ه اوُنَ
مآ َ
نيي
ذَّلا اَ
هُّ يَأ يا ( * :
* ) ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو الله اوُعيي
طَأ :ءاسنلا[59 ] ي
مَأ َ
يا ُ
تْلُ ق َ
نيي
ذَّلا َ
لاَ
قَ
ف ي
لِ ْ
حي
ضْ
وَأ َ
كاَ
ديف َّ
للَّا َي
نيَلَعَ
ج َ
ينيني
مْ
ؤُ
مْلا َير
ي
نْيَ
رْ
مَأ ْ
مُ
كييف ُ
تْ
ك
َ
رَ
ت ْ
دَق ي
ّ
نييإ هْيَليإ َّ
لَ
جو َّ
زَع َّ
للَّا هَ
ضَبَ
ق َ
مْ
وَ ي هيتَبْطُ
خ ي
ري
خآ ي
في ص َّ
للَّا ُ
لوُ
سَ
ر َ
لاَق اَ
ميي
به ْ
مُتْ
كَّ
سََ
تم ْ
نيإ اَ
م يي
دْعَ ب اوُّلي
ضَت ْ
نَل
- َّ
تىَ
ح اَقيَ
ترْ
فَ ي ْ
نَل اَ
مَُّ
نهَأ ََّ
لِيإ َ
دي
هَع ْ
دَق َيريبَْ
لخا َ
فيي
طَّللا َّ
نيإَف ي
تيْيَ ب َ
لْ
هَأ ي
تَِْ
تريعو َّ
للَّا َ
باَتيك هْيَ
تَ
حيّبَ
سُ
م َْ
ينَب َ
عََ
جمو يْ
ينَتاَ
هَ
ك َ
ضْ
وَْ
لحا َّ
يَلَع اَ
دي
رَي
ْلاو ي
ةَ
حيّبَ
سُ
مْلا َْ
ينَب َ
عََ
جمو يْ
ينَتاَ
هَ
ك ُ
لوُقَأ َ
لاو اوُّلي
ضَتَ
ف ْ
مُ
هوُ
مَّ
دَ
قَ
ت َ
لاو اوُّلي
ضَت َ
لاو اوُّلي
زَت َ
لا اَ
ميي
به اوُ
كَّ
سَ
مَتَ
ف ىَ
رْ
خُلأا اَُ
هماَ
دْ
حيإ َ
قيبْ
سَتَ
ف ىَطْ
سُ
و
234
Al hough his epo does no explici ly name Ulū al-Am as he 12 Imams, i desc ibes
hem in e ms ha i well wi h he model o in allibili y/immacula eness. Fo ins ance, no
ecognizing and obeying hem a e su icien g ounds o being deemed “misguided (ḍāll).”
Fu he mo e, when asked o cla i ica ion, he au ho i y quo ed desc ibes hem as he close kin o
Muḥammad who will no sepa a e om he Book o God un il hey mee Muḥammad in he
a e li e. Hence, hey a e no quali ied and/o iden i ied simply by being ela i es o Muḥammad
bu by being embodimen s o widely ecognized Qu ʾānic eachings and guidepos s in cases o
disag eemen s o e Qu ʾānic eadings. Holding on o hem is desc ibed, he e, as a gua an ee agains
[inad e en ly] slipping and agains misguidance, while ailing o ollow hei lead is desc ibed as
wande ing in o misguidance. In he con ex o hese in e connec ed desc ip ions, hen, he Ulū al-
Am e e ed o in 4:59 would likely ha e been unde s ood as ailsa e e e ences o guidance. The
b oade pic u e o con empo aneous o subsequen Sunnī heo e ical in e en ions in e p e ing his
234
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 2, 414-415.

136
e se wi h (some o m o an) in allibili y model, hus, should no be di o ced om he backd op
o hese ea ly eadings in Shīʿī li e a u e.
2.3.4 Miscellaneous Repo s Fea u ing Dis inc Quali ies o Ulū al-Am
]نع فياكلا في نييلكلا[ ٍ
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ُ
نْب ُّ
ييلَع ي
نَ
كَّ
سلا ي
نْب ي
لْ
ضَ
فْلا ي
نَع َ
ناَ
رُْ
حم ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ْ
نَع ىَ
سييع ي
نْب ي
دَّ
مَُ
مُ ي
نْب َ
دَْ
حمَأ ْ
نَع هَ
رَ
كَذ ْ
نَّ
مَع
ي
لِوُأو ي
ةَلاَ
سيّ
رلي
بِ َ
لوُ
سَّ
رلاو َّ
للَّي
بِ َّ
للَّا اوُفي
رْعا ع َ
ينيني
مْ
ؤُ
مْلا ُيري
مَأ َ
لاَق َ
لاَق ع َّ
للَّا ي
دْبَع ي
بَِأ ْ
نَع ي
رْ
مَلأا [ َلأي
بِ ي
رْ
م] ي
لْ
دَعْلاو ي
فوُ
رْعَ
مْلي
بِ
ي
ناَ
سْ
حي
لإاو .
235
The implica ion o his epo appea s o be ha he e a e subs an i e a ibu es/iden i ie s
by which one is o ecognize Ulū al-Am (besides he epo s o Di ine appoin men ). Tha is,
e en wi hin he Imāmī concep ual amewo k ha an icipa es Di ine appoin men /designa ion,
he e a e s ill ecognizable me i s o hose whom God chooses as Ulū al-Am . The epo quo es
Jaʿ a al-Ṣādiq who in u n quo es ʿAlī, enjoining he add esse e o, “ ecognize God h ough God,
he Messenge h ough he message, and Ulū al-Am h ough [ he enjoining o ] wha is igh ,
jus ice and he doing o good.”
235
Al-Kulaynī commen s on he epo as ollows,
َ
راَ
وْ نَلأاو َ
صاَ
خْ
شَلأا َ
قَلَ
خ َّ
للَّا َّ
نَأ ي
نيْعَ ي َّ
للَّي
بِ َّ
للَّا اوُفي
رْعا ع هيلْ
وَ ق َ
نىْعَ
مو َ
لاو ًامْ
سي
ج هيبْ
شُي َ
لا َّ
زَعو َّلَ
ج َ
وُ
هو ُ
حاَ
وْ
رَلأا ُ
ري
هاَ
وَْ
لجاو ُ
ناَ
دْبَلأا ُ
ناَيْعَلأاَف َ
ناَيْعَلأاو َ
ري
هاَ
وَْ
لجاو
ي
حاَ
وْ
رَلأا ي
قْلَي
بخ ُديّ
رَ
فَ
تُ
مْلا َ
وُ
ه ٌ
بَبَ
س َ
لاو ٌ
رْ
مَأ ي
كاَّ
رَّد لا ي
ساَّ
سَْ
لحا ي
حوُّ
رلا ي
قْلَ
خ ي
في ٍ
دَ
حَلأ َ
سْيَلو ًاحوُ
ر ْ
جَلأاو ْ
دَ
قَ ف ي
حاَ
وْ
رَلأا هَبَ
شو ي
ناَ
دْبَلأا هَبَ
ش يْ
ينَ
هَ
بَّشلا هْنَع ىَ
فَ ن اَذيإَف ي
ماَ
س
َّ
للَّي
بِ َّ
للَّا ي
في
رْعَ ي ْمَلَ ف ي
روُّنلا ي
وَأ ي
نَ
دَبْلا ي
وَأ ي
حوُّ
رلي
بِ هَ
هَّ
بَ
ش اَذيإو َّ
للَّي
بِ َّ
للَّا َ
فَ
رَع .
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kā ī, ol. 1, 85. Also see:
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, 285-286.
137
ماكحلأا بيذته في يسوطلا[ ملسلا هيلع قداصلا نع نأ انترمأو كرمأ ةلاو ةعاطب انترمأ كنا انبر ]...[ ] ] ن[ عم نوك
مكنم رملأا لِوأو لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ : تلقف ، ينقداصلا :ءاسنلا[59] ينقداصلا عم اونوكو الله اوقتا تلقو ، :ةبوتلا[
119]ت لاو كئايلولأ ينقدصم ينملسم انفوتو انمادقأ تبثف انبر انعطأو انعمسف ، كندل نم انل بهو انتيده ذإ دعب انبولق غز
في انل كرابت نا اعيجم ينلماعلا ىلع مهتلضف يذلبِو مهدنع هتلعج يذلا قلحبِ كلأسأ نيإ مهللا ، باهولا تنأ كنا ةحمر
نإف ، اعدوتسم هلعتجو ادبأ هانبلست لاو ارقتسم نادنع هلعتجو كتمعن انيلع متت ناو ، هيف انتمركأ يذلا اذه انموي رقتسم تلق ك
عدوتسمو :ماعنلأا[98 ] ، كيبن تيب لهأ نم روصنم داه لِو عم كنيد رصن انقزراو ، اعدوتسم هلعتج لاو ارقتسم هلعجاف
كنيد ةرصن ىلعو كليبس في ينقيدص ءادهش هتيار تتحو هعم انلعجاو
236
This epo p esen s an addi ional ins ance equa ing Ulū al-Am wi h Wulā al-Am ,
pa icula ly in he con ex o a Ghadī day p aye . S uch examples demons a e how commen a y
upon Qu ʾānic e ses can be mined beyond he speci ic gen e o Qu ʾānic exege ical ḥadī h and
should also include supplica ion li e a u e (al e na i ely, he Qu ʾānic exege ical ḥadī h should
include ele an epo s o supplica ion li e a u e). The “da a” p esen in supplica ions/ isi a ions
is use ul o unde s anding he ecep ion as well as he ( e)pu posing o Qu ʾānic and ḥadī h- ela ed
ci a ions.
236
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, ed. Ḥasan al-Mūsawī al-Kha sān, 4 h ed., ol. 3 ,
10 ols. (Teh an: Dā al-Ku ub al-Islāmiyyah, 1985 CE) , 147.
138
]لوقي عئارشلا للع في قودصلا[نب يلع انثدح : لاق هنع الله يضر لكوتلما نب ىسوم نب دممُ انثدح يدبِآ دعسلا ينسلحا
نبا نع ىسيع نب داحم نع هيبأ نع الله دبع بِأ نب دحمأ نع تعسم لاق سيق نب ميلس نع شايع بِأ نب نبِأ نع ةنيذأ
لوقي " ع " يننمؤلما يرمأ منهلأ رملأا لِوأ ةعاطب رمأ انمإو رملاا ةلاولو هلوسرلو لجو زع لله ةعاطلا انمإ نورهطم نوموصعم
. هتيصعبم نورميأ لاو
237
The language o his epo no only equa es Ulū al-Am wi h Wulā al-Am , bu explains
ha he eason o he Di ine command ega ding obedience o Ulū al-Am is ha hey a e
in allible/immacula e (maʿṣūmūn) and do no issue a command ha would be disobedien o God.
Ano he epo compiled by al-Ṣadūq in ʿIlal al-Sha āʾiʿ also emphasizes in allibili y/immaculacy
(ʿiṣmah) while connec ing i o he eason why such an Imam is needed a all imes. As he epo
s a es,
]لوقي عئارشلا للع في قودصلا[انثدح لاق هنع الله يضر نياقلاطلا قاحسإ نب ميهاربإ نب دممُ انثدح ييح نب زيزعلا دبع
ورمع نع ةملس نب ءاجر انثدح لاق دممُ نب ةيرغلما انثدح لاق رفعج بِلأ تلق : لاق ، يفعلجا ديزي نب رباج نع ، رشم نبا
رقابلا يلع نب دممُ امهيلعش يلأ ملسلا ءي هحلص ىلع لماعلا ءاقبل لاقف ؟ ماملااو هلآو هيلع الله ىلص بينلا لَإ جاتيح
لاق مامأ وأ بين اهيف ناك اذإ ضرلأا لهأ نع باذعلا عفري لجو زع الله نأ كلذو تنأو مبهذعيل الله ناك امو لجو زع الله
لهلأ نامأ موجنلا هلآو هيلع الله ىلص بينلا لاقو مهيف مسلا لهأ ىتأ موجنلا تبهذ اذإف ضرلأا لهلأ نامأ تييب لهأو ءا
نوهركي ام ءامسلا نرق نيذلا ةمئلأا هتيب لهبِ نيعي نوهركي ام ضرلأا لهأ ىتأ تييب لهأ بهذ اذإو مهتعاط لجو زع الله
237
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al-Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-Sha āʾiʿ, ol. 1, 123.
139
لوسرلا اوعيطأو الله اوعيطأ اونمآ نيذلا اهيأ يا ( لاقف هتعاطب وموصعلما مهو ) مكنم رملأا لِوأو نوبنذي لا نيذلا نورهطلما ن
مهو نوصعي لاو رطقلا لزني مبهو هدلب رمعت مبهو هدابع الله قزري مبه نوددسلما نوقفولما نوديؤلما تاكرب جريخ مبهو ءامسلا نم
مهيلع لجعي لاو يصاعلما لهأ لهيم مبهو ضرلأا رقلا نوقرافي لاو هنوقرافي لاو سدقلا حور مهقرافي لا باذعلاو ةبوقعلبِ لاو نآ
. ينعجمأ مهيلع الله تاولص مهقرافي
238
While his epo would i unde he ca ego y o epo s ha limi Ulū al-Am o he Imāmī Imams
explici ly, i makes sense o ha e i lis ed unde he miscellaneous epo s sec ion o a couple o
easons: (1) limi ing Ulū al-Am o he Imāmī Imams is unde s ood in ligh o he dis inc ea u es
o hese Imams, as opposed o a gene al e e ence o p io knowledge o who a e mean by “us,”
o ins ance; and (2) he e a e dis inc ea u es men ioned he e ha should be highligh ed in he
con ex o he o he epo s in his sec ion.
The “ahl al-bay ” in he wo ds a ibu ed o P ophe Muḥammad in he epo is explained
as meaning, “ he Imams,” bu speci ically he Messenge and Ulū al-Am whom one is commanded
o obey in e se 4:59. The epo con inues o desc ibe hei seemingly unique quali ies, such as
being in allible/immacula e.
239
The quali y ha he, “ ūḥ al-qudus (holy spi i ) ne e pa s wi h
hem and hey ne e pa wi h i ,” is pe haps only supe seded by he desc ip ion ha , “ he Qu ʾān
ne e pa s wi h hem and hey ne e pa wi h i .”
240
This would appea o con ey wha e e sense
o immaculacy ha h e Qu ʾān has ––no only do hey no in en ionally pa ways wi h he Qu ʾān,
238
Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al -Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-Sha āʾiʿ, ol. 1, 123-124.
239
Fu he analysis o he meaning o ʿiṣmah in his epo migh del e deepe in o po en ial linguis ic di e ences
be ween, “lā yudhnibūn,” and, “lā yaʿṣūn.” Bu he subsequen desc ip ions appea o su ice in con eying he
highes o m o ʿiṣmah imaginable.
240
A simila exp ession appea ed in some o he epo s quo ed p e iously.
140
he Qu ʾān is wi h hem in an un es ic ed sense (as i by g ace, ega dless o hei human
limi a ions). Some o he emaining ea u es a ibu ed o he Ulū al-Am he e a e o en associa ed
wi h God’s iends (awliyāʾ), as will be discussed in Chap e 4. In he Shīʿī con ex , hese
e ec s/bene i s o a P ophe ’s and an Imam’s exis ence a e amed as explaining why he exis ence
o a P ophe and o an Imam a e a necessi y, he eby connec ing he legal-mo al dimension o he
Imam’s ole o angible e ec s in he na u al wo ld.
هيقفلا هرضيح لا نم في قودصلا[ ملسلا هيلع يدالها نع ةمئلأا ىلع ملسلا ]...[ ] ،ةلاولا ةداسلاو ، ةادلها ةداقلاو ، ةاعدلا
هتاكربو الله ةحمرو ، هرونو هطارصو هتجحو ، هملع ةبيعو ، هبزحو هتيرخو الله ةيقبو ،رملأا لِوأو ، ركذلا لهأو ، ةاملحا ةداذلاو
]...[
241
This exce p is om a isi a ion (ziyā ah) g ee ing di ec ed owa d he Imams. Al hough
he e is no di ec quo a ion o e se 4:59 a leng h, he ph ase Ulū al-Am is a clea e e ence o
he Qu ʾānic usage o Ulū al-Am in e se 4:59. I also includes e e ence o he Imams as Ahl al-
Dhik ( he people o he ememb ance – o en unde s ood o be a e e ence o he Qu ʾān and/o
o he Di ine e ela ions), which appea s in e ses 16:43 and 21:7. Mo eo e , he emaining
ph ases also allude o in e connec ed Qu ʾānic e e ences, pain ing a pic u e o he mul i- ace ed
legal-mo al-cosmic leade ship embodied in he Imams, acco ding o he Shīʿī li e a u e.
241
Abū Jaʿ a Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī Ibn Bābawayh al-Qummī al -Ṣadūq, Man Lā Yaḥḍu uh al-Faqīh, ed. ʿ Alī Akba
al-Gha ā ī, 2nd ed., ol. 2, 4 ols. (Qum: Muʾassasa al-Nash al-Islāmī al-Tābiʿah li-Jamāʿa al-Muda isīn, 1404
AH), 610-611.

141
يلع نع جاجتحلاا في يسبرطلا[ ملسلا هيلع نم هَّلمُ ّ
لح نمو َّ
للَّا لوسر مه : لاق ؟ ججلحا ءلاؤه نم :لئاّ
سلا لاق ]...
ةلاو مهو ،هسفنل اهنم مهيلع ضرف يذلا لثم مهتعاط نم دابعلا ىلع ضرفو ، هلوسرو هسفنب الله منهرق نيذلا َّ
للَّا ءايفصأ
ُ
سَّ
رلا اوُعيي
طَأو ًَّ
للَّا اوُعيي
طَأ « : مهيف َّ
للَّا لاق نيذَّلا رملأا » ْ
مُ
كْني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأو َ
لو :ءاسنلا[59 ] ي
لوُ
سَّ
رلا َ
لَيإ ُهوُّ
دَ
ر ْ
وَلو : مهيف لاقو
» ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م ُهَنوُطيبْنَ
تْ
سَي َ
نيي
ذَّلا ُهَ
ميلَعَل ْ
مُ
هْ
ني
م ي
رْ
مَلأا ي
لِوُأ لَيإو :ءاسنلا[83] لاق ؟ رملأا كاذ ام : لئاّ
سلا لاق- ملّ
سلا هيلع - :
ئللما لزنت هب يذَّلا ميكح رمأ لك اهيف قرفي تيلا ةليللا في ةك :ناخدلا[4] تومو ةايحو رمعو لمعو لجأو قزرو قلخ نم ،
]...[ هقل خ ينبو هنيب ةر فّ
سلاو هئايفصأو َّ
للَّ َّ
لاإ يغبنت لا تيَّلا تازجعلماو ضرلأاو تاوامّ
سلا بيغ ملعو
242
The exce p om he epo elayed is a ibu ed o he i s Imam, ʿAlī. He e, he e
a guably exis s an ins ance o he me hodology which assumes ha (a leas some) Qu ʾānic e ses
can be explained h ough a web o in e connec ed and c oss- e e enced ph ases and synonyms. In
his case, he e m Am , he Am possessed by Ūlū al-Am , is explained as he Am wi h which he
angels descend on he nigh desc ibed in e ses 44:4 and 97:4. I is desc ibed as ela ed o he
cosmic (annual) e en in which e e y de ini i e/wise Am is made dis inc – including c ea ion,
sus enance, longe i y, deeds, knowledge and mi aculous demons a ions au ho ized by God o
con i m he emissa ies be ween Him and he es o c ea ion. Thus, his ins ance in he Shīʿī
li e a u e po ays Ulū al-Am as gua dians o some hing a beyond poli ical, legal and mo al
leade ship alone. By e e encing he usages o Am h oughou he Qu ʾān, he epo depic s Ulū
al-Am as keepe s o a cosmic-mo al sys em, as in e media ies o dained by God in he e y o de
o na u e, only one o hei oles being desc ibed as objec s o obedience (4:59 and 4:83).
242
Al-Ṭab isī, al-Iḥ ijāj, ol. 2, 375.
142
Th ough di ec engagemen wi h ep esen a i e exce p s om ea ly Shīʿī exege ical
li e a u e ela ed o e se 4:59, his sec ion has demons a ed ha he ea ly Shīʿī li e a u e, ead
holis ically, p esen s Ulū al-Am as e e ing o he 12 Imams commonly associa ed wi h Twel e
Imāmī Shīʿī Islam. This is despi e he ac ha indi idual epo s may no make his exclusi e
applica ion explici and may no name all o he his o ical pe sonali ies i applies o in e e y
ins ance. Mo eo e , he analysis o key ea u es in hese epo s econs uc s a con incing
backd op o con empo aneous and/o subsequen Sunnī in e p e a ions o Ulū al-Am h ough
some model o in allibili y ( o be discussed u he in chap e 3). Fully app ecia ing how he
in e en ions o Sunnī au ho s de eloped would be bes in o med by conside ing such a
econs uc ion o Shīʿī exege ical li e a u e, paying pa icula a en ion o he unde lying hemes
no ed ea lie . This analysis does no equi e an explici men ion o in allibili y/immacula eness
(ʿiṣmah), o ins ance, bu does equi e su icien ex ual clues, including c oss- e e encing, ha
he ea u es being pain ed subs an i ely co ela e o a no ion o in allibili y bea ing esemblance
wi h S unnī concep ual amewo ks applied o ela ed discussi ons. This sec ion has also
demons a ed ha , besides ca ego izing ele an epo s in e ms o how explici ly hey iden i y
he his o ical pe sonali ies in ended by Ulū al-Am , opening up o li e a u e beyond he gen e o
Qu ʾānic commen a y o ḥadī h dialogue o include supplica o y/ isi a ion de o ional li e a u e
e eals insigh s abou he ecep ion and ( e)pu posing o Qu ʾānic and ḥadī h ci a ions.
2.4 A Recen Shi : al-Ṣad En e aining Ano he Possibili y
The nex chap e will discuss how Sunnī concep ual amewo ks appea o de elop in
esponse o his Shīʿī li e a u e, modeling a o m o in allibili y o Ulū al-Am and he Islamic
143
legal specialis , i no he imam o a poli y. Bu be o e mo ing on, in o de o comple e he pic u e
o dialec ic in luence as i mani es s in he mode n pe iod, I e e in his hi d sec ion o a no able
– albei mino i y – posi ion in Shīʿī hough pe aining o e se 4:59.
Some ecen leading Imāmī au ho i ies ha e a guably en e ainedan al e na i e eading o
Ulū al-Am .
243
This eading can be unde s ood as a b oade one, no applying only o he appoin ed
Imāmī Imams, bu also mo e gene ally. In his discussion on a Qu ʿānic e se used o suppo he
Di ine p esc ip ion o equi ed p ecau ion when in doub (wujūb al-iḥṭiyā sha ʿan), Muḥammad
Bāqi al-Ṣad (d. 1980 CE) inds an occasion o no e wo in e p e a ions ela ed o e se 4:59,
لِوأو لوسرلاو الله اوعيطأ ( لَاعت هلوق دعب تدرو انهلأ ةماعلا روملأا في رملأا لِوو ةملأا ينب عازنلا ةدارإ ياوق لمتيحو ]...[
انت ناف مكنم رملأا ، تاعزانلما في لوسرلاو الله ميكتح موزلو ةعاطلا ديزلم اديكتَ نوكيف ) لوسرلاو الله لَإ هودرف ءيش في متعز
عرفلما في مهتعاطبِ رملأاو مهتيلاو مغر عيرفتلا في رملأا لِوأ فذح عم طقف لوسرلاو الله لَإ ذئنيح درلا صيصتخ في هجولاو
: ينضاترفا دحأ نوكي نا نكيم هيلع
243
I is impo an o no e ha he mo e ecen case in poin he e, al-Ṣad , does no adop his al e na i e possibili y as
his posi ion, appa en ly. Howe e , he seems o conside i as a iable posi ion, bu whe he he would accep i in ligh
o he compe ing easoning and/o ḥadī h-based coun e -a gumen s equi es close examina ion. Because o he
he i age o exegesis and ḥadī h li e a u e in he Twel e Shīʿī communi y on e se 4:59, a se ious depa u e om he
classical posi ion is p one o in i e judgmen s o e o and e en excommunica ing he esy ( ak i ) by some p ominen
schola s amilia wi h ha he i age. G an ed, some Shīʿī schola s may e ain om elaying such accoun s o pious
easons, such as o a oid unnecessa y backbi ing, especially i hey belie e he pe son in ques ion o ha e epen ed o
been misunde s ood. O he s may ind i pe missible o e en necessa y o elay such accoun s in o de o c i ique he
he e ical belie s in ques ion o subsequen gene a ions, o se he eco d s aigh wi h academic igo /in eg i y and
ela ed issues o o e iding impo ance. The pa icula s o hese so s o con o e sies may be con es ed as
misunde s andings and /o mis akes ha we e amended, b u he gene al e hos among adi ional Shīʿī schola s is ha
such depa u es –– e en i esul ing om a misunde s anding, and/o a e only ic i ious ales wi h didac ic aims ––
speak o he Shīʿī sen si i i y o and g a i y o he issue. Fo ins ance, see:
Hossein Moda essi Taba aba’ i, Zamīn Da Fiqh-i Islāmī, ol. 2, 2 ols. (Teh an: Da a -i Nash -i Fa hang-i Islāmī,
1362 SH), 222-223. (Foo no e 84).
144
1 - ا وه ابم رملأا لِوأ لا طقف لوسرلاو الله عجرلما نوكي كلذ لثم فيو ةيمكلحا تاهبشلاو تيابركلا في عازنلا هيلإ روظنلما ن
. رملأا لِوأ
2 - ةملأا نم يأ مكنم رملأا لِوأ ةعاطبِ رملأا هيلع عرفلما في روكذلما ناف ، ةملأا نم رملأا لِوأو ةملأا ينب عزانتلا دارلما نا
ب دايرف في ارصحنم اضيأ عازنلا اذه لثم لح نوكيف ياورغص وأ ياوبرك متهاراي تخاو ةلاولا طورش في عقي دق يذَّلا عز انتل ا كلذ
لوسرلاو الله لبق نم ددتح ةيلاولا نا ةلدأ نم ةيلآا نوكتف ةعزانتلما ةملأا نم ءزج ذئنيح رملأا لِوأ نوكيو لوسرلاو الله ةعجارم
، مهسفنأ سانلا لبق نم لا في طايتحلاا ةلأسم نع ةرلمبِ ةيبنجأو بهذلما لوصأ نم ةماه ةلأسلم ةضرعتم ةيلآا نوكت كلذبو
. ةيعرفلا تاهبشلا
244
Al-Ṣad ’s passing e e ence o e se 4:59 can be ega ded as a commen on al-Shā iʿī’s ea ly
esponse
245
o he Imāmī unde s anding o Ulū al-Am . Al-Ṣad unde s ands he e e al back o
God and he Messenge as an emphasis on he p e iously s a ed obedience due o hem, gi ing
hem he inal say in he case o con lic /dispu e. Then why elimina e Ulū al-Am om men ion
despi e he ac ha obedience o hem is equi ed? How does al-Ṣad add ess his ques ion?
Al-Ṣad o wa ds wo possibili ies: [1] he dispu es in ques ion a e in ma e s o Islamic
legisla ion, which comes only om God and he Messenge in his capaci y as a legisla o , no om
Ulū al-Am in hei capaci y as Ulū al-Am ; o [2] he dispu es in ques ion pe ain o disag eemen s
be ween he communi y and he Ulū al-Am o e quali ica ions o hose in posi ions o au ho i y
244
Muḥammad Bāqi al-Ṣad , Buḥū h ī ʿIlm al-Uṣūl - Taq ī Baḥ h al-Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqi al-Ṣad lil-Sayyid
Maḥmūd al-Shāh ūdī, comp. Maḥ mūd al-Shāh ūdī, 3 d ed., ol. 5, 7 ols. (Mu ʾassasa Dāʿi a al-Maʿā i al-Fiqh al-
Islāmī Ṭibqan li Madhhab Ahl al-Bay (ʿ), 1426 AH / 2 005 CE), 85-86.
245
In e ec , ha is, ega dless whe he he mean o i o be a esponse o no .
247
in oca ion o a physical o m. Howe e , I a gue ha a hi d in e p e i e model, econciling he
o me wo, be e explains he ou look o au ho s om he “a chi e”: p oposing ha con en
deemed o be ue (o con en o he wise ha monious wi h human na u e, iṭ ah), i e a i ely
in oked, is subjec - o ming, while alse con en (o con en o he wise unha monious wi h he
iṭ ah), i e a i ely in oked, is me ely supe imposed on physically subjec - o ming echnologies.
This in e p e a ion i s well wi h ex ual e idence om he lib a y o he au ho s examined in his
disse a ion, including Qu ʾānic e e ences.
470
A inal exe cise o his disse a ion is o b ing o he o e on a con empo a y inside
analysis o his heo e ical ques ion, posed by al-Ishkiwa ī in he con ex o iden i ying ac o s ha
lead he masses o be ooled by alse claims. Fo he sake o demons a ion, I will quo e only wo
o he se en ac o s al-Ishkiwa ī lis s,
]...[
[2او ،رقفلبِ ساسحلإا وه أشنلما اَّ
نمإو ،أشنم سيل رقفلا سفن َّ
نكل ،رقفلا ] ىلع هباستحاو هليجستو نامرلحاو ،ةيمولظلم
.يسفنلا موهولما ساسحلإا وأ ،ةينيدلا ةسسؤلما يه ةيسايسلا ةسسؤلما َّ
نأ رابتعا وأ ،ةينيدلا ةسسؤلما
]...[
470
Fo example, see:
Qu ʾān 30:30; 39:53; and 75:14-15.
These e ses appea o assume ha he e is an inna e human na u e su i ing wha e e damage may esul om
i e a i e in oca ions. This can be jux aposed wi h e ses indica ing ha hose wi h u h ul claims and consis en
up igh beha io a e esilien in he ace o ypical causes o wo ldly ea and so ow. Fo example, see:
Qu ʾān 41:30; and 46:1 3.

248
[5 لقعلا بولسأ لامعتساو ديلقتلاو راركتلا قيرط نع كلذو ،كولسلاو ميق لاو دقتعلماو راكفلأا في ةيصخشلل يجهنلما مدلها ]
ا .ةيركفلا دفاورلا ىلع دّ
رمتلا حور قلخو ،ينقلتلاو ،ىمعلأا دايقنلااو ،يعملج
]...[
[2] Po e y. Bu po e y i sel is no he cause. Ra he , he cause is: o eel poo ,
opp essed and dep i ed; o eco d i and blame i on he eligious es ablishmen ; o
o conside ha he poli ical es ablishmen is he eligious es ablishmen ; o [ he
cause is] an illusiona y psychological eeling.
Fo , indeed, o eel poo – wi h a nega i e ou look – can be a cause o he
in il a ion o his hinking. This is done ei he : by pumping in masses o weal h
and buying people’s souls; o by ha ing po e y be an assis ing ac o in de eloping
phony spi i ual connec ions – e en i only ha ing a numbing e ec ; o by being
incapable o igh ing po e y [by elimina ing] he na u al causes [o po e y] –
causing he pe son o seek ou supe na u al means, o na u al means, in o de o
o e come [ he e ec s o ] po e y o o sea ch o a pa on o igh po e y, like a
knigh in shining a mo .
[…]
[5] Sys ema ic des uc ion o one’s pe sonali y – hough s, belie s, alues and
conduc . Tha is done by epe i ion, [blind] ollowing, employing he ac ic o he
249
he d men ali y
471
, blind compliance, indoc ina ion
472
, and c ea ing a spi i o
ebellion agains [ ue] in ellec ual sou ces.
[…]
473
This con empo a y Islamic au ho i y is clea ly s a ing ha alse ideologies can ool he masses
when coupled wi h such physical subjec - o ming echnologies. Do he said ac o s lead o
des uc ion beyond epai ? Pe haps he no i on o “sys ema ic des uc ion o one’s pe sonali y”
gi es ha imp ession. Howe e , since he con ex is one o add essing a p oblem by iden i ying
i s causes, i is mo e likely ha he au ho unde s ands he alse ideologies as being supe imposed
on he physical subjec - o ming echnologies and no ha he alse ideologies a e subjec - o ming
on hei own. P esumably, once such physical p essu es a e e e sed, one would no be mo e
a ached o one ideology o ano he excep due o inhe en ly appealing ea u es, such as u h.
Thus, wi h ue con en , subjec - o ma ion due o i e a i e in oca ion is concei able because o he
na u al a ini y owa d he ue con en . The ecogni ion o ue claims and sys ema ically
app oaching ma e s in ligh o hem a o ds a o m o immuni y, as al-Ishkiwa ī a gues.
474
5.6 Conclusion
This chap e has ea ed a case s udy on a ex wi h echnologies o subjec - o ma ion
ela ed o he Mahdī in Mode ni y, which in u n se ed as a case s udy o he b oade hesis o
his disse a ion: Recons uc ing Islamic hough deba es on o ms o leade ship e eals
pa adigma ic ea u es a Sunnī, Shīʿī and Ṣū ī c o ss oads, concep ual di e ences be ween which
471
al-ʿAql al-jamʿī; In a di e en con ex , his e m migh be used in he sense o collec i e in elligence.
472
al-Talqīn.
473
Al-Ishkiwa ī, al-ʿAqīdah al-Mahdawīyah, 202-203.
474
Al-Ishkiwa ī, al-ʿAqīdah al-Mahdawīyah, 205-206.
250
can be modeled as in ellec ual subjec - o ming mo al echnologies o ideologies supe imposed on
physical subjec - o ming mo al echnologies. This a chi al econs uc ion has demons a ed he
wo cen al con en ions o his wo k by showing: he ac ha and he means by which in luen ial
Islamic au ho s use concep ual amewo ks/lines o easoning in de o ional con ex s whe e hey
expec edly se e a subjec - o ming unc ion; and ha he discussions o leade ship o ms
coalescing in he Mahdī o mode ni y e eal he cen ali y o subjec - o ma ion in an o e a ching,
pa adigma ic de ini ion o “leade ship,” whe e e dis inc om au ho i y. The e o e, he conce n
o Islamic hinke s wi h o ming mo al subjec s (s a ing om wi hin) p o ides a con incing model
explaining hei employmen o compe ing concep ual amewo ks o sa is y pa adigma ic mo al
equi emen s, on he one hand, and hei au ho ial ac i i y is one o m among he di e en o ms
o his leade ship which a e dis inc om au ho i y and e ol e a ound subjec - o ma ion, on he
o he hand.
The pa adigma ic ea u es o subjec - o ma ion ela ed o he Mahdī in mode ni y o ecas s
u u e wo k on case s udies suppo ing hese indings and expanding he ca ego iza ion o subjec -
o ming s a egies. Ten a i e implica ions o hese indings ela e o he classi ica ion o s a egies
employed, ealizing hei in e disciplina y and las ing ele ance o unde s anding ex s and
communi ies in e ac ing wi h hose ex s (in his s udy i has been abou au ho s and eade s bu
u u e esea ch can examine how hose ex s a e ans o med in o speeches, podcas s, sho clips,
a , i ual, e c…).
251
Conclusions and Coun e a gumen s
Conclusions
In ai ness o he con en analyzed h oughou his disse a ion, a inal conclusions sec ion
seems o me no only ine i ably educ i e bu abusi e o he aims o di ec engagemen wi h
econs uc ed ma e ial in each chap e . The conclusions sec ion a he end o each chap e aces a
simila dilemma, albei pe haps o a lesse deg ee. The e a e also nuanced me hodological
in e en ions in he In oduc ion, and in oo no es, which would no be sui ably con eyed i me ely
summa ized he e. Bu conclusions mus be accoun ed o , e en i only o cohe en ly eign in he
mos ep esen a i e h eads o analysis in his disse a ion. Wi h his disclaime , some o he key
conclusions I can summa ize a e as ollows:
-The e we e pa adigma ic ea u es sha ed by compe ing concep ual amewo ks ad anced by
exce p s om Islamic au ho s examined be ween he 10 h and 13 h cen u ies CE. In pa icula ,
econs uc ion o Chap e 1’s his o ically-speci ic a chi es e eals Ulū al-Am obedience as a o m
o “leade ship,” wi h a subs an i ely mo al equi emen : ei he in he domain o Ulū al-Am ’s
commands o in Ulū al-Am ’s quali ica ions o bo h. Po en ially in e nalized Qu ʾānic c oss-
e e ences esona e well wi h he mo ali y-embedded concep ual amewo ks o Sunnī au ho s
om his pe iod. Based on he Qu ʾānic e e ences, i was no he no ion o God’s caliph equi ing
absolu e obedience ha would ha e been ega ded as exogenous o he discu si e adi ion, bu he
equi emen o absolu e obedience e en o immo al commands and/o om hose lacking he
Qu ʾānic quali ica ions o be God’s depu y, ha would likely ha e been ega ded as exogenous.
-Holis ic su eying o Twel e Shīʿī (Imāmī) ḥadī h li e a u e in Chap e 2 lends c edence o he
no ion ha he emphasis in he ea lies ex an sou ces iden i ying Ulū al-Am was no on blood-
252
line/lineage in and o i sel bu on Di ine selec ion, subs an i ely based on wha e e ac o s
explain Di ine ac ion (e.g. humanly ecognizable good/wisdom). Lineage would, hus, be be e
unde s ood in such epo s as an iden i ying ea u e only a e he ac o Di ine selec ion as people
we e di ec ed o iden i y/ ecognize he Di inely in ended Ulū al-Am by he ex en o hei
subs an i e me i s as well.
-The classical Shīʿī eading a guably dis inguished he absolu e obedience o, and implied
in allibili y o , Ulū al-Am o e se 4:59 om he lesse -o - wo-e ils compliance wi h
adminis a i e/mili a y au ho i ies expec ed mo e gene ally and lacking an implica ion o
in allibili y. Bu al-Ṣad en e ains ano he eading by epu posing a Sunnī line o easoning o
make he Shīʿī conclusion ha Ulū al-Am a e o be iden i ied by naṣṣ o Di ine appoin men .
-Chap e 3 discusses Sunnī concep ual amewo ks ha we e no ably dis inc when compa ed o
one ano he , le alone when con as ed wi h he Shīʿī no ion o in allibili y. Fo some, p essu es
ou side he Sunnī collec i e o ma ion o his pe iod (bu likely wi h ea lie p ecu so s as well)
appea o ha e induced he adop ion o concep ual amewo ks pa icula ly sui ed o p i ilege a
pe cei ed in allibili y o ha collec i e o ma ion (i.e. ia ijmāʿ). The di e se in e en ions,
whe he by excep ion o by ca ego y, can be modeled as sha ing he a emp o elimina e e o ,
he eby ma king he de elopmen (i no unco e ing o ) a sha ed pa adigma ic ea u e in Islamic
hough on a o m o “leade ship” a e P ophe M uḥammad.
-The Sunnī Ṣū ī cosmology o awliyāʾ allowed o he eplacemen o he li ing quṭb such ha he
wo ld is ne e id o one, while he Imāmī Shīʿī no ion o he Twel h immacula e Imam’s long
li e du ing his incogni o exis ence gua an eed he pe sis en p esence-in-absence o he immacula e
“leade ” behind he scenes. The concep ualized exempla y na u e o hese en isioned leade s

253
e eals a mo e p o ound pe cei ed need in he Islamic wo ld iew ha canno be summed up in
in allibili y ––con inui y o impeccable guidance a e P ophe Muḥammad.
-The mo al echnologies en isioned by Islamic au ho s as o ming and being o med by he subjec
o hei habi us anged om i ual p aye and Ulū al-Am obedience o he indi idual and social
exe cise o jus i ying he ange o ha due obedience. The signi icance o he la e mo al
echnology is ha i s con en , no only i s o m, is en isioned as ha ing an in luence on
subjec /agen - o ma ion. Such concep ual amewo ks, hen, we e a guably no concei ed me ely
as poli ical ideologies supe added o a physical exe cise o so s, bu we e a guably hough o as
being essen ial o a di e en subjec - o ming exe cise. Using he “lib a y” Qu ʾānic concep o
esonance wi h human na u e ( iṭ ah) as an indica o o u h/ alsehood, howe e , may be e
accoun o how hese Islamic au ho s iewed he ela ionship be ween i e a i e in oca ion o
concep ual con en and o he wise physical echnologies in di e en “a chi al” ins ances.
-Islamic au ho s used concep ual amewo ks/lines o easoning in de o ional con ex s whe e hey
likely expec ed hem o se e a subjec - o ming unc ion. Discussions o “leade ship” o ms,
coalescing in he Mahdī o mode ni y, e eals he cen ali y o subjec - o ma ion in an o e a ching,
pa adigma ic de ini ion o “leade ship” (whe e e dis inc om au ho i y). This a guable
p eoccupa ion p o ides a model o hei employmen o he a o emen ioned concep ual
amewo ks o sa is y pa adigma ic mo al equi emen s, on he one hand, and a model o
conside ing hei au ho ial ac i i y as one o m among he di e en o ms o subjec - o ming
“leade ship.”
254
En e aining and Add essing Po en ial Coun e a gumen s
One po en ial coun e a gumen pe ains o demons a ing he link be ween concep ual
amewo ks and subjec o ma ion. Has his disse a ion gone beyond me ely asse ing a link o
ac ually showing con incingly ha he link exis s, and in a way speci ic enough o hese case
s udies o be in e es ing? Wha speci ic modali ies o mechanisms con incingly yield he supposed
subjec - o ma ion? I one is o conclude ha he e is such a link, hen a mo e con incing app oach
would ho oughly explo e he a ie y o echniques a play.
Add essing his conce n, I mus unde line my me hodological choices in his p ojec . I is
c ucial no o con la e he ollowing wo in ellec ual ac i i ies: (1) he w i ing o in ellec ual his o y
ega ding he ideas o his o ical ac o s; and (2) assessing he u h o he claims o p esumed belie s
o hose his o ical ac o s. In e e ence o a speci ic ins ance, he o me exe cise is mo e
desc ip i e/analy ical, while he la e is mo e p esc ip i e. The eali y o subjec - o ma ion is no
di ec ly add essed he e –– his disse a ion has aimed o be desc ip i e/analy ical. I has modeled
he in e en ions o his o ical ac o s as being mo i a ed by a conce n o subjec - o ma ion. As o
an explo a ion in o he ac ual mechanisms o subjec - o ma ion and es ing ele an claims abou
hei e icacy, ha would be a p esc ip i e exe cise equi ing in e disciplina y esea ch likely
d awing on and/o emba king on new expe imen s in b ain- ela ed s udies.
Ano he po en ial coun e a gumen migh aise a conce n when i comes o he obus ness
o he model his disse a ion p oposes. I he Sunnī au ho s a e modeled as de eloping di e en
concep ual amewo ks ou o in ellec ual ensions su ounding he collec i es hey belong o and
unc ioning o consolida e communi y o ma ion ia pe cei ed subjec - o ming in luence, hen
how does one explain he ac ha Sunnī communi ies a e no always di ided along he lines o
such amewo ks? Su e, Sunnī communi ies may be di ided along he lines o Ashʿa ī s. Mā ū īdī,
255
in e ms o kalām, o ins ance, o Ḥana ī s. Mālikī o Shā iʿī o Ḥanbalī, in e ms o iqh, bu
e en g an ing such in ellec ual disag eemen s as being hough o as subjec - o ming and
communi y-di iding, he e a e o he heo e ical disag eemen s ha do no yield simila di isions.
Had he model p oposed been alid, one would expec concep ual amewo k di e ences o all
kinds o engende –– a leas g adually –– in ense deba e by au ho s con inced ha hei
di e ences we e subjec - o ming, and subsequen ly communi y- o ming. Fo ins ance, he
di e ences o e aṣwīb and akhṭiʾah discussed in Chap e 3 do no appea o be behind any
signi ican ipples in he b oade Sunnī communi y e en a e many cen u ies, le alone a he ime
such disag eemen s a ose. Some may a gue, hen, ha i makes mo e sense o explain hei
disag eemen s in he e y speci ic e ms o hei social con ex as opposed o an o e a ching,
seemingly essen ialis , pu po edly in ellec ual and psychological disposi ion.
This objec ion is, admi edly, pa ially alid. Concep ual disag eemen s among hese ypes
o Islamic au ho s may no necessa ily yield pa allel di isions in ac uali y. Howe e , he po en ial
o di isions exis s, on he one hand, and, mo e impo an ly o my a gumen , he pe cei ed
po en ial expec edly exis s ––based on he “lib a y” epe oi e o hese Islamic au ho s (se e he
In oduc ion) –– on he o he hand. Taking a s ep back, en e aining he model p oposed in his
disse a ion equi es a bi o e hinking he scope o communi y o ma ion. The di ec sphe e in
which he model p oposed explains he beha io o he disag eeing Islamic au ho s is in he sphe e
o hei mo e immedia e in ellec ual communi ies. This means includes hei pee s, s uden s, and
o he s likely in luenced. Only seconda ily and indi ec ly does he model apply o he b oade
public. Wi h his scope in mind, he disag eemen s do concei ably yield di isions, le alone ha
hey a e a guably pe cei ed o do so by he Islamic au ho s in ques ion.
256
As o he in e media ies h ough whom subjec - o ma ion is concei ed o ex end o he
b oade public, he o a o (khaṭīb) has a guably been unde s ood o se e in he capaci y h oughou
Islamic his o y. An exhaus i e accoun o such media ion and i s mani es a ions would o cou se
equi e a sepa a e s udy. Rega ding he sugges ion o, ins ead, explain Islamic au ho
disag eemen s in he mo e con ingen e ms o hei social con ex , I also accep his pa ially. My
claim has no been ha modeling he beha io o hese Islamic au ho s can be ully accoun ed o
by e e ence o hei sha ed, b oade in ellec ual “lib a y” alon e. I ha e hoped o demons a e
h ough he deba e econs uc ions in his disse a ion ha he e a e laye s o hei lib a ies and ha
some o hese laye s can be des c ibed as mo e con i ngen , “a chi al” e lec ions o a sec a ian
social con ex . Tha being said, I do no claim ha his su ices o an exhaus i e accoun ei he .
Ins ead, I a gue ha analyzing he in ellec ual his o y in his way e eals a model ha an Islamic-
minded au ho akes o be pa adigma ic. Hypo he ical depa u es om i can be easonably
explained as excep ions wi h con incing, his o ically con ingen explana ions. The ully obus ,
g anula accoun s examining in luen ial social eali ies mo e closely will ha e o wai o many
u u e s udies en iched by he insigh s o schola s om mul iple disciplines.
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