Ithna Ashariyah: Difference between revisions

The period of the general deputies has been dominated by two concerns: first, stabilization of the theological imamate of the twelve imams; and second, consolidation of the juridical and functional imamate of the leading Shiʿi scholars who, being de facto leaders of the Shiʿa, were solely responsible for directing their social and religious life. Whereas the former concern provided the Twelver community with its distinctive creedal identity based on the doctrine of divine justice and infallible leadership of the imams, the latter was instrumental in providing authoritative religious praxis and hierarchical intellectual and spiritual organization to ensure the continuity of the minority community spirit living at times under hostile Sunni power.

The establishment of the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyid dynasty] (932–1055) and its patronage of Shi’ism, despite its support for the continuation of the Sunni caliphate as symbolic of the unity of the majority of the Muslims, created favorable political and social conditions for the Shiʿa. It was intellectually the most productive period of the Ithna ʿAshariyah. Prominent scholars representing the rationalist trend of the Baghdad theologians wrote major works vindicating the imamate of the Hidden Imam. Baghdad was also the point of convergence for the two important centers of Shiʿi hadith, [[Kufa]], and Qom. Qom remained an important center for other cities of Shiʿi learning in Khurasan.

With its rational theology founded on the notion of divine justice and the ideal civil-moral authority of the [[imam]], Shiism during the Safavid and Qajar periods provided the impetus for a renewed interest in Neoplatonist philosophy, more specifically, the Illuminationist theosophy of Suhrawardi. Among the prominent figures whose elaboration of the Avicennian philosophy led them to formulate their own metaphysics were Mir Damad (d. 1631) and Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din Shirazi, d. 1640). In jurisprudence, the old tension between the uncritical upholders of the authority of traditions, known as the Akhbari, and the supporters of rationalist methodology, the Usuli, flared up during the later part of the Safavid period and into the Qajar era. The controversy resulted in the resounding victory of the Usuli jurists under the leadership of Vahid Bihbahani (d. 1793) and his disciples. The notion of centralized leadership of the most qualified mujtahid, the marjaʿ al-taqlid, whose authority was institutionalized by the Usuli deduction regarding the necessity of formally pledging obedience to a taqlid (expert) in matters of shariʿa, was also legalized during this period.

==Religious Beliefs and Practices==

Unlike the Sunni Five Pillars of Islam, which include both the shahadah (fundamental belief) and religious practice, Twelver Shiism adheres to the usul al-din (principles of religion) and furuʿ al-din (derivatives of religion). The usul expounds the five tenets of the Shiʿi belief system: