Ali.The Well-Guarded Secret: Figures of the First Master in Shi‘i Spirituality

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‘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
Copyright Year:
2023
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-52243-5
Publication:
07 Nov 2022
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-52242-8
Publication:
10 Nov 2022
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Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi, Ph.D. (1990), is professor of classical Islamic studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne). A specialist of Shi‘ism, he is the author of a large number of monographs and articles, including (with Etan Kohlberg) Revelation and Falsification (Brill).
Notice to the Reader XI
Transcription SystemII
AcknowledgementsII
AbbreviationsIV

Introduction

Part 1: Singularities of ʿ⁠Alī


1 ʿ⁠Alī and the Quran
 1 Introduction
 2 ʿ⁠Alī the Master of Hermeneutics
 3 Quranic Allusions to ʿ⁠Alī
 4 The Explicit Mentions of ʿ⁠Alī in the Quran
 5 The Double Nature of ʿ⁠Alī and His Holiness
 6 Roots, Extensions and Questions on the Origins: ʿ⁠Alī and Christ

2 Muḥammad the Paraclete and ʿ⁠Alī the Messiah
 1 The End of the World in the Quran and the Hadith
 2 Remarks on the Religious Environment of Muḥammad
 3 The Coming of the Saviour
 4 Jesus and ʿ⁠Alī
 5 Rewriting of History and Fabrication of a New Collective Memory

3 Reflections on the Expression dīn ʿ⁠Alī: The Origins of the Shiʿi Faith
 1 Dīn ʿ⁠Alī in the Works of the Historiographers
 2 The Uniqueness of ʿ⁠Alī
 3 Themes Concerning ʿ⁠Alī and the Alids
 4 The Basis of the Religion of ʿ⁠Alī
 5 Reactions and Consequences

Part 2: Between Divinity and Humanity


4 Some Remarks on the Divinity of the Imam
 1 Theophanic Being and Perfect Man
 2 First Textual References
 3 The Sermons of ʿ⁠Alī

5 The Five Spirits of the Divine Man
 1 Shiʿi Traditions
 2 “Prehistory”
 3 Further Developments and Implications

6 “The Night of Qadr” (Quran, Surah 97) in Early Shiʿism
 1 An Enigmatic Text
 2 Shiʿi Perceptions
 3 The Master of the Order

7 Tactical Dissimulation and Sealing of Prophecy
 1 The Keeping of the Secret
 2 Prophetic Abilities of the Imam
 3 The Seal of Prophets
 4 Epilogue

Part 3: Spiritual Horizons


8 The Precious Pearl Attributed to Rajab al-Bursī: 500 Quranic Verses about ʿAlī
 1 Brief Notes on al-Bursī and His Major Work Mashāriq al-anwār
 2 Other Works and the Quranic Commentary “The Precious Pearl” (al-Durr al-thamīn)
 3 Annotated Extracts from al-Durr al-thamīn
 4 The Message of the ‘Personalized Commentaries’

9 Icon and Contemplation: ʿAlī as the Face of God and Medium of Meditation
 1 Portative Icons
 2 “The Vision by the Heart”
 3 “What Is Vejhe?”
 4 Analysis of a Panel from the Vesel Collection
 5 Icon Contemplation: Between Interpretation and Applications

Epilogue

Appendix 1: Divine Knowledge and Messianic Action: The Figure of ʿAlī in Mystical and Messianic Circles (5th/11th-10th/16th Centuries), by Orkhan Mir-Kasimov

Appendix 2: The Presence of ʿAlī in Islamic Philosophy, by Mathieu Terrier
Bibliography
Index
All interested in the history of Islam in general and Shi‘i Islam in particular, in mysticism in general, in Sufism, Islamic theology and philosophy in particular
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