Description Table of Contents Description Shi‘ite Heritage brings together Western and Muslim scholarship on multiple aspects of the Twelver Shi‘ite tradition, including history, authority, jurisprudence, ritual, and interactions with the Sunnite majority. Nearly half of the two dozen essays included have been translated from Arabic or Persian into English in collaboration with the authors. Both modern views and the classical background are treated in this collection, and each section is introduced in a prefatory essay. Go to Top Table of Contents I. The Community in History Shî‘ism in the Age of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs - Wilferd Madelung Imârah, Khilâfah, and Imâmah: The Origin of the Succession to the Prophet Muhammad - Khalid Yahya Blankinship The Authenticity of Shî‘ism - Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din The Significance of ‘Âshûrâ‘ in Shî‘î History - Sayyid Jafar Shahidi Isnâd, Ambiguity, and the Qur‘ân Commentary of Ja‘far al-Sâdiq - Gerhard Böwering The Resolution of the Shî‘ah - Paul E. Walker II. Charismatic, Epistemic, and Executive Authority The Imâm's Authority during the Pre-Ghaybah Period: Theoretical and Practical Considerations - Ismail K. Poonawala Al-Sharîf al-Murtadâ and the Defense of the Imamate - Mehdi Mohaghegh The Shî‘ite Argument for the Necessity of an Inerrant Imâm - Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Misbah-Yazdi Islamic Juridical Hierarchies and the Office of Marji‘ al-Taqlîd - Devin J. Stewart Supreme Authority (Marji‘îyah) in Shî‘ism - Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Taskhiri Popular Sovereignty in Contemporary Shî‘î Political Thought - Talib M. Aziz III. Jurisprudence: Between Law and Ideology The Role of Time and Social Welfare in the Modification of Legal Rulings - Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Muhaghegh-Damad The Marriage Contract in Iranian Civil Law - Ahmad Mahdavi-Damghani Combining Legal Rulings - Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Taskhiri Religion, Reason, and the New Theology - Ayatollah Muhammad Mujtahid Shabistari IV. Shî‘ism and Sunnism: History and Self-Views The Imâmîs between Rationalism and Traditionalism - Christopher Melchert Evolution in the Biographical Profiles of Two Hadîth Tansmitters - Liyakatali Takim Sunnî-Shî‘î Rapprochement (Taqrîb) - Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi V. Shîism Between Mythos and Logos Rationalism in the School of Bahrain: A Historical Perspective - Ali al-Oraibi Individualism and the Spiritual Path in Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsâ‘î - Juan R.I. Cole Knowledge and Authority in Shî‘î Philosophy - Hossein Ziai Self-Mortification Rituals in the Shî‘î and Christian Traditions - David Pinault Shî‘îsm and Change: Secularism and Myth - Nikki R. Keddie Go to Top