‘Alī, son of Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin, is the only Companion of the Prophet who has remained to this day the object of fervent devotion of hundreds of millions of followers in the lands of Islam, especially in the East. Based on a detailed analysis of several categories of sources, this book demonstrates that Shi‘ism is the religion of the Imam, of the Master of Wisdom, just like Christianity is that of Christ, and that ‘Alī is the first Master and Imam par excellence. Shi‘ism can therefore be defined, in its most specific religious aspects, as the absolute faith in ‘Alī: the divine Man, the most perfect manifestation of God’s attributes, simultaneously spiritual refuge, model and horizon. With contributions by Orkhan Mir-Kasimov & Mathieu Terrier Translated from French by Francisco José Luis & Anthony Gledhill

The Imam, the Divine Guide, is the central point around which the Shi'ite religion turns. The power of Shi'ism comes from the actions of the Imam. This title is reserved exclusively for the sucessors of the prophets in their mission. The author shows that from the beginning of Shi'ite Islam until the tenth century, the Imam was primarily a master of knowledge with supernatural powers, not a jurist theologian. The Imam is the threshold through which God and the creatures communicate. He is thus a cosmic necessity, the key and the center of the universal economy of the sacred. The author presents Shi'ism as a religion founded on double dimensions where the role of the leader remains constantly central: perpetual initiation into divine secrets and continued confrontation with anti-initiation forces. Without esotericism, exotericism loses its meaning. Early Imamism is an esoteric doctrine. Historically, then, at the beginning of esotericism in Islam, we find an initiatory, mystical, and occultist doctrine. This is the first book to systematically explore the immense literature attributed to the Imams themselves in order to recover the authentic original vision. It restores an essential source of esotericism in the world of Islam.

Abbreviations Preface Chapter I Introduction: Return to the Earliest Sources Hiero-Intelligence and Reason Esotericism and Rationalization The Sources The Nature and Authority of Imamite Traditions Chapter II The Pre-Existence of the Imam The Worlds before the World. The Guide-Light Adamic Humanity. The "Voyage" of the Light Excursus: "Vision with the Heart" Conception and Birth Chapter III The Existence of the Imam Comments on the "Political" Life of the Imams The Sacred Science Notes on the "Integral Qur’an* " The Sacred Power Chapter IV The Super-Existence of the Imam Imamite Points of View on the Ancientness of the Information The Imam and His Occultation: Esoteric Aspects The Return and the Rising: Esoteric Aspects Conclusions Appendix: Some Implications of the Occultation: Individual Religion and Collective Religion Notes Bibliography General Index

This volume advances the critical study of exegetical, doctrinal, and political authority in Shiʿi Islam. It presents new frameworks for interpreting the diverse modes of rationality and esotericism in Shiʿism and the socio-epistemic values they represent within Muslim discourse.

Abi Talib, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, first Shi'i imam and fourth caliph, is a monumental figure within the Islamic tradition. But despite the immense importance of Ali, there is a dearth of literature in Western languages about his life and thought. This book - the first serious engagement in English with the intellectual principles underpinning his teachings - is therefore a welcome and valuable addition to the sources available. It consists of three parts. Part one introduces the person of Ali in a general manner, and focuses particularly on the spiritual and ethical content of his teachings. Part two evaluates Ali's 'sacred conception of justice'. Part three addresses the theme of spiritual realization through the remembrance of God, the central mystical practice of the Sufis. Justice and Remembrance will be of great value to students and scholars of Islamic thought, as well as to those interested in the relationship between spirituality and ethics.

This volume presents a comprehensive selection from Etan Kohlberg’s research, undertaken over a period of fifty years, on doctrinal and historical developments of Imāmī Shiʿi intellectual tradition with a primary focus on the medieval period.

"The highest honor a philosopher can receive is to be nominated by his peers for inclusion in the series of The Library of Living Philosophers [for which the] latest entry is The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr. And the highest honor a theologian can receive is to be invited to deliver the Gifford Lectures in Glasgow, Scotland. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is the only person ever to have received both of these honors.... This valuable book distills the essence of the thought of one of the most important thinkers or our times." Book jacket.