Shi‘i Islam

Abstract

In this detailed study of Shi‘i Islam, Najam Haider provides a uniquely new approach, one that excels all other scholarly works available to date on the subject. This book is not just a description of differences between the two major branches of Islam, concluding with the natural outcome of the split within the community – Sunnis (roughly 80 percent) and Shi‘is (20 percent) – as the historical conclusion of two interpretations of Islam. The Sunni interpretation is that immediately after the Prophet’s death the Muslims elected his father-inlaw and elderly Companion Abu Bakr as the community’s political leader, followed by Umar, Uthman, and Ali. The Shi‘i interpretation argues the Prophet’s intention had always been for his son-in-law Ali to succeed him and that this was the wish of the Divine. This, they said, was their strongest claim maintained Book Reviews 131 through various interpretations of the Qur’anic verses and through several incidents from the Prophet’s actions and sermons. In this regard, they prove their claim through the theological tenets proving the necessity of the Imamate, namely, the divinely appointed leadership of the community. Keeping all of this in mind, the author shows that the study of Shi‘i Islam does not stop with this early controversy, but has in fact been a dynamic and evolving stream of thought down to our our own time. Within this evolution he includes the Twelver Shi‘is, the Isma‘ilis, and the Zaydis. The author does not dwell upon the minor differences between Shi‘is and Sunnis; rather, he demonstrates a more detailed critical thinking and comprehensive look at the former’s belief and the prophetic narrations (aḥādīth) concerning Ali’s appointment as not just the community’s political head, but also as the legitimate authority who would have complete leadership in political as well as religious issues. In that sense, the book reveals the clear dichotomy between the political authority possessed by Abu Bakr against the total legitimacy possessed by Ali. Unlike other books on the subject, Haider does not end his thesis by maintaining that Abu Bakr’s election was the main reason for the split and the ensuing intra-community violence. The author looks at Islam’s complete historical record and shows that the main difference was a gradual development. The Shi‘ah were influenced by the theological beliefs of groups like the Mu‘tazilah, which engendered discussions and debates about the nature of God and where legitimate authority lies. Based on this new approach, one that includes the Shi‘i renaissance in the Middle East in the aftermath of 9/11, his book opens up a new dimension in the scholarship that is only now beginning to learn about the Shi‘i history of Islam not only from the traditional Sunni sources. The book enables scholars and political leaders to look at Islam’s complete history through Shi‘i sources ...