"In this comprehensive study of Islamic sects in the contemporary Arab world, Khuri focuses on the Sunni, Shi'a, Alawis, Druze, Ibadis, Zaidis, Yazidis and Maronites (who, although Christian, are included because they share certain distinguishing features). His placement of these groups on a single comparative scale was unprecedented." "Khuri argues that conflicts among Muslims arise from the struggle between two opposing forces: religious, doctrinaire authorities (imams) and leaders who derive their authority from power and coercion (emirs). He discusses the role of dogma but also, uniquely, the critical factors that differentiate sects from religious communities and religions from sects." "Following a thorough review of the structural characteristics of individual sects, Khuri addresses issues of religious change, dealing with the interplay between religions, states and nationalism. Here he explores the contradictions between modern state structures and the Islamic umma, showing how some religious concepts had begun to take on nationalistic meanings."--BOOK JACKET.

In this classic, comprehensive study of Islamic sects in the contemporary Arab world, Khuri focuses on the Sunni, Shi'a, Alawis, Druze, Ibadis, Zaidis, Yazidis and the Maronites (who, although Christian, are included because they share certain distinguishing features). His placements of these groups on a single comparative scale was unprecedented. Khuri argues that conflicts among Muslims arise from the struggle between two opposing forces: religious, doctrinaire authorities (imams) and leaders who derive their authority from power and coercion (emirs). He discusses the role of dogma but also, uniquely, the critical factors that differentiate sects from religious communities and religions from sects. Following a thorough review of the structural characteristi of individual sects, Khuri addresses issues of religious change, dealing with the interplay between religions, states and nationalism. Here he explores the contradictions between modern state structures and the Islamic umma, showing how some religious concepts had begun to take on nationalistic meanings. 'Readers in a variety of fields will find this book a reliable source well researched, amply documented and highly readable.' -- Middle East Journal 'An excellent book.' -- Middle East International 'The relationship of authority and political culture among the Sunni and the Shi'a receives extensive treatment. The author's direct interaction with various ulema and his exposition of their views is useful.' -- International Journal of Middle East Studies

In this classic, comprehensive study of Islamic sects in the contemporary Arab world, Khuri focuses on the Sunni, Shi a, Alawis, Druze, Ibadis, Zaidis, Yazidis and Maronites (who, although Christian, are included because they share certain distinguishing features). His placement of these groups on a single comparative scale was unprecedented. Khuri argues that conflicts among Muslims arise from the struggle between two opposing forces: religious, doctrinaire authorities (imams) and leaders who derive their authority form power and coercion (emirs). He discusses the role of dogma but also, uniquely, the critical factors that differentiate sects from religious communities and religions from sects. Following a through review of the structural characteristics of individual sects, Khuri addresses issues of religious change, dealing with the interplay between religions, states and nationalism. Here he explores the contradictions between modern state structures and the Islamic umma, showing how some religious concepts had begun to take on nationalistic meanings.

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.

A millennium ago, Baghdad was the capital of one of history’s greatest civilizations. A new Islamic era was under way. Yet despite the profound cultural achievements, many Muslims felt their society had gone astray. Shiˀa Muslims challenged the dominant narrative of Islamic success with stories of loss. Faithful Muslims have long debated whether Sunni caliphs or Shiˀa imams were the true heirs of the Prophet Muhammad. More influential has been the way Muslim communities remembered those disputes through stories that influenced how to think and feel about them, Matthew Pierce argues. Twelve Infallible Men focuses on the role of narratives of the imams in the development of a distinct Shiˀa identity. During the tenth century, at a critical juncture in Islamic history, a group of scholars began assembling definitive works containing accounts of the twelve imams’ lives. These collective biographies constructed a sacred history, portraying the imams as strong, beautiful, learned, and pious. Miracles surrounded their birth, and they became miracle workers in turn, but were nevertheless betrayed and martyred by enemies. These biographies inspired and entertained, but more importantly they offered a meaningful narrative of history for Muslims who revered the imams. The accounts invoked shared memories and shaped communal responses and ritual practices of grieving. Mourning the imams’ tragic fates helped nascent Shiˀa communities resist the pressure to forget their story. The biographies of the imams became a focal point of cultural memory, inspiring Shiˀa religious imagination for centuries to come.

Offers fascinating insights into the careers of the first leaders of Twelver Shiʿism: agents who claimed to speak for the 'hidden Imam'.

After the demise of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Muslims were divided regarding whom they should follow as their political and religious leader. The Sunnis followed the Prophet’s companions whilst the Shias followed the 12 Holy Imams chosen by God. The Shia Imams were from the lineage of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from his only surviving daughter, Lady Fatimah (SA). Successive Shia Imams lived amongst the Muslims for generations and guided them to the true Islamic teachings of the Prophet. All of the Shia Imams were respected by the Muslims for their spirituality, divine knowledge, and being the progeny of the Prophet. The Imams were a symbol of resistance against the injustice and oppression of the Umayyads and the Abbasids. As a result, the Imams endured many calamities and hardships. They were harassed, imprisoned, and martyred by the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphs. This book reviews the lives of these 12 Holy Imams and provides an overview of their religious, social, and political achievements. Please visit our website at www.12shiaimams.com to find more about the Shia Imams including our recent videos.

Zarurat-ul-Imam, or The Need for the Imam, spells out in depth the urgency and need for the Imam of the age, and his qualities and hallmarks as the Divinely appointed guide, the voice articulate of the age, and the constant recipient of Divine revelations, and how all these qualities are fully present in the person of the holy author.

THE GREAT EDIFICE of Islamic Law is held up by four towering figures of the early middle ages: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi i, and Ibn Hanbal. Because of their immense dedication and intellectual acuity, these men enjoy recognition to this day as Islam s most influential scholars. By assessing and ranking hadith, by cultivating a deep knowledge of the Arabic language, and by virtue of their great native intelligence, they are credited with having shaped the development of the fundamental systems of Muslim jurisprudence, avoiding the twin pitfalls of subjective rationalism and blind literalism. By doing so they not only protected their religion from chaos and disorder, but showed the Muslims, both ordinary and expert, the safest and most reliable ways of avoiding error in the understanding and practice of the divine law. This detailed study offers biographies of these four men and their leading pupils. It surveys the distinctive features of their jurisprudence, and assesses their achievement. An especially helpful feature is a long and detailed glossary of Islamic technical terms. Meticulously rooted in the core texts of Islamic scholarship, this book will be an important resource for Shari`a students everywhere. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad is the author of the first complete translation of Imam Baydawi's commentary of the Quran in any language. Among his works recently published by ISCA are The Rightly-Guided Caliphs: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī; The Muhammadan Light in the Qurʾan, Sunna, and Companion-Reports; The Prophet Muhammad's Knowledge of the Unseen; and the forty-hadith-through-forty-Sharifs bilingual Hadith compendium The Musnad of Ahl al-Bayt. He is currently working on the first English translation of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani's early Lebanon Sufi associations (1978-1981). He lives with his family in Brunei Darussalam.

In Encounters with the Hidden Imam in Early and Pre-‎Modern Twelver Shīʿī Islam, ‎Omid ‎Ghaemmaghami traces the history of one of the core ideas that animate and form the highly ‎influential and instrumental belief in ‎the Hidden Imam, the central figure of Twelver Shīʿī ‎messianic expectation.‎