Ithna Ashariyah: Difference between revisions

The obligation of tawalla (befriending) has led to two important religious practices unique to the Shiʿis: first, the [[ziara]] (visitations) to the mashhad (mausoleums) of the imams and their descendants; and second, [[majalis]] (devotional gatherings) to mourn the [[martyrdom]] of [[Imam Husayn]] on [[Ashura]], the tenth day of [[Muharram]], in [[Karbala]]. Both these practices have provided the Shiʿi minority with a renewed sense of loyalty to the Prophet 's family. The shrine cities of [[Karbala]], [[Najaf]], [[Mashhad]], and [[Qom]] have functioned as the religious centers for the ordinary Shiʿis and learning centers for their mujtahids, who continue to teach in the holy sanctuaries. The Muharram commemoration has fostered among the Shiʿa an identity consonant with their vision of history in which the godly people suffer at the hands of the oppressors until God commands the [[Mahdi]] to restore justice and equity on earth.

Public rituals lamenting the Karbala martyrs are attested as early as the tenth century in Baghdad. The Safavid era, however, witnessed the elaboration of a soteriology that joined ritual mourning with Shi‘ite communal identity. This is attested in a work that became increasingly popular during the reign of the Safavids, [[Rawdat al-shuhada]] (The garden of the martyrs), which was written by [[Husayn Waez al-Kashifi]] (d. 1504). “Paradise is awarded to anyone,” argues Kashifi, “who weeps for Husayn for the following reason, that every year, when the month of Muharram comes, a multitude of the lovers of the family of the Prophet renews and makes fresh the tragedy of the martyrs.” <ref>David Pinault (2004). “Imami (Twelver)”. Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World (ed. Richard Martin). P: 624-628. New York: Macmillan.</ref>

“Lovers of the family of the Prophet”: Here Kashifi defines the community of believers not in terms of doctrine but in terms of emotional disposition and ritual activity. His description suggests an important aspect of Imami Shi‘ite identity. At the popular level, from the premodern era through the twenty-first century, Twelver Shi‘as tend to define themselves as those Muslims who excel beyond all others in their love for the Prophet’s family and for the Prophet’s descendants, the imams. ‘his affection is expressed annually in the action of matam (displays of grief for the Karbala martyrs). <ref>David Pinault (2004). “Imami (Twelver)”. Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World (ed. Richard Martin). P: 624-628. New York: Macmillan.</ref>

==References==

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