1
The present volume is a selection of Etan Kohlbergâs writings, spanning the period from his doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Oxford in 1971 to an article published in 2013.1 For over fifty years, his work has been consistently marked by two distinctive features: scholarly rigor and unwavering attention to a neglected area of research; the chapters included in this volume attest to both. Professor Kohlbergâs scholarship offers the fruits of historical contextualisation and sober analysis of an extensive body of Arabic sources. His research area chiefly concentrates on ImÄmiÌ ShiÊ¿ism. While Sunni Islam â partly due to its historical prevalence â has had more traction in western academia, the study of ShiÊ¿i Islam remains the domain of the few. This was particularly the case when the topic first attracted Kohlbergâs interest in 1965. Although the state of research has improved over the past four decades, ShiÊ¿i scholarly traditions continue to remain understudied. An approach to the study of Islamic thought based exclusively on a single tradition deprives Islamic intellectual history of some of its dynamism. It also hinders the formation of a more comprehensive understanding of the questions and considerations of thinkers who, while working within their own tradition, developed their ideas in interaction with others. Professor Kohlbergâs contributions have been instrumental in drawing attention to this neglect and enticing others to join him in the task of remedying it.2
2
Writings collected in this volume are arranged in two parts. The eight chapters comprising Part 1 investigate different understandings of the term âCompanionâ (á¹£aḥÄbÄ«), debates concerning the Companionsâ reliability as transmitters of the Prophetâs teachings, and contrasting views among Sunni and ShiÊ¿i scholars as to whether or not a personâs views should be designated a privileged status merely in virtue of being a Companion. Thus far, studies on the Companions in European languages have often focused on the historical narratives regarding the succession conflicts that followed the Prophetâs passing; âCompanionâ as a conceptual category has yet to receive a comprehensive examination. These chapters, it is hoped, will contribute to broadening informed discussions on this topic. The chapters in Part 2 examine various issues pertaining to the ImÄmiÌ intellectual tradition such as the intertwined relationship between the historical and doctrinal developments (9â12); theological beliefs (13â19); hadith (20â22); law and jurisprudence (23â25). As Kohlbergâs list of publications illustrates, his contribution to the study of Islam extends far beyond the chapters included in this volume. Besides various articles, critical editions, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews, his monograph on Ibn TÌ£aÌwuÌs (1193â1266)âa distinguished scholar and bibliophileâis, in itself, an achievement sufficient to ensure Kohlbergâs enduring significance as a historian of ShiÊ¿i written heritage.3
As with any scholarly enquiry, the discovery of new sources and rereading of those already known might lead to the revision of previous theories and conclusions. This volume is intended both to contribute to the current state of scholarship as well as to offer starting points for students and scholars discovering the study of Shiʿi Islam for the first time. It is hoped that the issues explored by Professor Kohlberg in this volume will be studied further in the years ahead.
3
For editorial considerations, the system of transliteration used in this volume is that adopted in the third edition of The Encyclopaedia of Islam. If some terms or place-names have acquired a commonly-used Anglicized orthography, they have been preferred over a literal transliteration; hence Shiraz rather than ShÄ«raÌz and ShiÊ¿i rather than ShiÌÊ¿iÌ. Personal names have been transliterated except for Muhammad when reference is to the Prophet. The lunar years of the Islamic calendar are generally followed throughout the text and footnotes by the corresponding Gregorian solar years (e.g., 11/632). The dates of the sources published in modern Iran are often based on a solar Islamic calendar (ShamsiÌ) coinciding with the corresponding Gregorian solar years starting on 21 March (the first day of Spring). The Hijra solar dates are marked with Sh to distinguish them from lunar dates. In the various chapters, different conventions are used in the footnotes (e.g., for page and volume numbers), reflecting the conventions used in the original venues. Chapters based on Kohlbergâs dissertation (1â2, 4â6) have been revised but not updated, with virtually the only exception being references to The Encyclopaedia of Islam. A list of sources for further reading relevant to the themes discussed in these chapters is provided in Appendix 3. In the other chapters, occasional references to more recent literature have been added; all additions are enclosed within square brackets. Since some material in the chapters based on the dissertation was subsequently included in a revised form in articles of Part 2, a certain amount of repetition was inevitable. This is indicated in the footnotes where appropriate.
4
I would like to thank Professor Kohlberg for his generous collaboration throughout this project. Despite various constraints, he thoroughly revised the five dissertation chapters included in Part 1 and also made minor revisions to the volumeâs remaining chapters. Thanks are due to the editors of âShii Islam: Texts and Studiesâ for their encouragement and to Kathy van Vliet, Anita Opdam, and the staff at Brill for overseeing the publication. The author, the editor, and the publisher gratefully acknowledge the permission of the original publishers to reprint the texts. For a detailed bibliographical information of each article see Appendix 1: Copyright Acknowledgments. I am grateful also to my father who during the initial stages of this project assisted me with various time-consuming technical tasks.
Amin Ehteshami
Frank H. Stewart has provided a biographical sketch of Professor Kohlberg in Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Meir M. Bar-Asher, and Simon Hopkins (eds.), Le shiÊ¿Ìisme imÄmite quarante ans après: Hommage à Etan Kohlberg (Brepols, 2009), 11â23.
See Appendix 2 for a full bibliography of Etan Kohlbergâs writings.
Etan Kohlberg, A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work: Ibn TÌ£aÌwuÌs and His Library (Brill, 1992).