Book Review : an Introduction To Shia Islam: the History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiism, By Moojan Momen

References

[^1]: Justice, honesty and mercy have been central to the teachings of all prophets, yet no religious ideal has been treated so unjustly as justice itself (honesty being part of justice). Christianity, although it has emphasized the ideals of mercy and charity, has failed to give an equal importance to justice and honesty. However, the significant characteristic of the new 'liberation' theology, which has acquired many adherents in the Christian parts of the Third World, is its emphasis on justice. The same emphasis is also characteristic of the contemporary Islamic movement, an emphasis which draws its inspiration and power from Islam. Yet the Western press in its coverage of this movement seldom refers to this central ideal of the movement, which has been dubbed 'Islamic fundamentalism' in order to mislead Muslims and Non-Muslims about its real goals.

Yet, the new Christian theology, which bases its approach on going back to the historical Christ and rejects classical Christology, although radically fundamentalist 'in its approach, has been blessed with the epithet 'liberation'. This unequal treatment of two different religious movements, inspired by similar goals, by the imperialist press shows that it is Islam not Christianity which is regarded as the really serious threat to the unjust international order whose burden lies on the backs of the poor of the Third World.

[^2]: See Al-Tabarsi, Majma' Al-bayan (Qumm, 1403 H.), vol.5, p. 514, Al-Wahidi, Asbab al-nuzul (Qumm 1362 H. Sh.), pp. 5-8.

The Kitab al- asnam (Tehran 1348 H. Shamsi, ed. by Ahmad Zaki Basha, the Arabic with Persian trans. by Sayyid Muhammad Rida Jalali Na'ini) of Hisham ibn Muhammad Al-Kalbi (d. 204/819) is an important source on pre-Islamic Arab beliefs and practices. Kitab Al- Asnam gives a great many details about the various idols worshipped by the different Arab tribes of the Jahiliyyah. But there is nothing in that work which would suggest the existence of any pagan shrine comparable in importance to the Ka'bah among the pre-Islamic Arabs. In fact it is doubtful if there was any shrine in Arabia of the nature of the Ka'bah. Al-Kalbi does mention two structures called “ka'bah”, one belonging to Banu al-Harith ibn Ka'b, in Najrin, and the other to the tribe of Iyad in Sindad, a village situated in the region between Kufah and Basrah (pp. 44, 45) But he immediately adds that they are said to be only prominent structures without any religious significance. Al-Kalbi mentions also the case of one `Abd al-Dar ibn Hudayb, a man belonging to Juhaynah, who tried to persuade his tribesmen to build a place of worship which would compete with the Ka'bah for the allegiance of the Arabs. His tribesmen rejected the proposal, considering it sacrilegious. This episode also shows the special respect in which the Ka'bah was held. Although the Surat al- Alaq is considered the first surah to have been revealed to the Prophet (S) in the ahadith of the Ahl al-Bayt, there is no mention there of this story, which is rejected emphatically by Shia scholars as a fabrication. Ja'far Murtada al `Amili, a Lebanese scholar, in his book al-Sahih min sirat al-Nabi al- Azam (Qum, 1400 H., v. I, pp. 216-238) has discussed in some detail this spurious story of the first revelation.

Had this story any circulation during the early era of Islam, there would not have existed early divergence about the first surah to be revealed to the Prophet (S). The episode, of course, is a favourite with the Orientalist, who despite their critical leanings, are only too willing to accept as authentic an image of the Prophet (S) distorted by filtration through a tradition formed during the degenerate Umayyad and Abbasid rules. This tradition could not have preserved the true image of the Prophet (S), which would have been radically destabilizing for the rulers.

[^3]: Of these writers, W. M. Watt, who has written more on the Shi'ah, and Shi'ism than the others, seems to be the least competent of them. His works show an amazing ignorance of Shia sources even such important Shia sources as Al-Kafi and an equally intrepid readiness to advance bold conjectures about the origins of Shiaism.

[^4]: Some of the other Companions who are considered to have been Shi’i are: Khuzaymah Dhu al-Shahadatayn, Abu al-Tayhan, Hudhayfah al-Yaman, al-Zubayr, al-Fadl ibn al-'Abbas, 'Abd Allah ibn al-'Abbas, Hisham ibn 'Utaybah, Abu Ayyub al-'Ansan, Aban ibn Said, Khalid ibn Said, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Anas ibn al-Harth, 'Uthman ibn Hunayf, Sahl ibn Hunayf, Abu Said al­ Khudri, Qays ibn Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, Buraydah, al-Bara' ibn Malik, Khubab ibn al-Art, Rifa'ah ibn Malik al Ansari, Abu Tufayl 'Amir ibn Wa'ilah, Hind ibn Abi Halah, Ju'dah ibn Hubayrah al ­Makhzumi, his mother Umm Hani, and Bilal ibn Rabah.

Mullammad al-Husayn Kashif al ­Ghita', in his Asl al-Shi'ah wa usuliha (Beirut, 1982), p. 24, says that he has found more than three hundred Shi’is amongst the Companions of the Prophet (S) in al-'Isabah, Usd al-Ghabah and al 'Isti'ab.

[^5]: ‘Ali's correspondence with Mu'awiyah and his public statements in the course of his sermons, as recorded in the Nahj al-balaghah and other sources, are replete with reference to the claim of his own preeminence and that of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt (as). Al-Tabarsi, a Shia scholar of the 6th/12th century, in his al-'Ihtijaj (Persian translation by Hasan Mustafawi, vol. 2, p. 188), records an interesting exchange between ‘Ali (as) and Qays ibn al-Ash'ath. In the episode described, ‘Ali (as) is said to have stated in a sermon delivered in the Mosque of Kufa

Indeed, I am nearer to (or have more authority over) people than they with respect to themselves. Yet I have been treated unjustly since the demise of the Apostle of Allah (S).

At this, Qays is said to have remarked: “O Commander of the Faithful, from the day you have come to Iraq you have not delivered a sermon without adding this sentence at the end.”

[^6]: See 'Allamah Murtada 'Askari, 'Abd Allah ibn Saba' wa digar afsanehaye tarikh (Tehran, 1360 H. Sh.) Persian trans. by Muhammad Sadiq Najmi and Hashim Harisi vol. 1, pp. 46-66; Taha Husayn in al-Fitnat al-kubra, 8th ed., vol.1, p.131-7, and' ‘Ali wa banuh, 7th ed., pp. 43, 90,152; and Dr. ‘Ali al-Wardi, in Wuaz al-salatin, Persian trans (Tehran), p. 112, have rejected the story of Ibn Saba' as a legend and have advanced numerous arguments to support their viewpoint.

[^7]: Ibid. p. 70.

[^8]: Al-Kashshi, Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal (Mashhad, 1348 H. Sh.) ed. by Hasan Mustafawi, pp.106-8.

[^9]: 'Allamah `Askari, op. cit., vol. 3, pp. 193-199.

[^10]: Usul al-Kafi, [Tehran, `Ilmiyyah Islamiyyah] “bab al-taqiyyah”, vol. 3, p. 307

[^11]: Usul al-Kafi , “bab al-­taqiyyah,”, vol. 3, p. 310

[^12]: Usul al-Kafi, “bab al-kitman”, vol. 3, p. 314

[^13]: Usul al-Kafi , vol. 3, p. 316

[^14]: Usul al-Kafi, vol. 3, p. 317

[^15]: Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al-hujjah, vol.2, p. 83

[^16]: al-Barqi, al­-Mahasin, “Bab al-taqiyyah', p. 256

[^17]: al-Barqi, al-Mahasin, Bab al-taqiyyah, p. 256

[^18]: Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 126

[^19]: Al-Naj'ashi cites the case of Muhammad ibn Abi 'Umayr (d. 217/832), a companion of a Imam al-Sadiq (as),al-'Imam al-Kazim (as) and al-'Imam al-Rida', who was thrown into prison by Harun and al-Ma'mtin. His books were lost when his sister buried them or concealed them during the period of his imprisonment. Thereafter he narrated the ahadith that he remembered without their isnad (which he did not remember), and his marasil (traditions with break in the beginning of the chains of transmitters) are considered as authentic by Shi’i scholars. Ibn Abi 'Umayr is considered thiqah (reliable) by Sunni scholars of rijal also. His case illustrates how Shi’i books were often lost due to conditions of secrecy. Zurarah, a revered companion of al-'Imam al-Sadiq (as), was publicly disowned and cursed by him for reasons of taqiyyah; see al-Kashshi, op. cit., pp. 149, 158-160.

[^20]: Al-Kashshi, op. cit., pp. 258-263, cites the polemic of Hisham ibn al-Hakam on the Imamate that led Harun to order his arrest.

[^21]: Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, pp. 86-87

[^22]: Ja'fari, S. H. M., The Origins and Early Development of Shi’ah Islam, p. 75. Available on line at: http://www.al-islam.org/the-origins-and-early-development-of-shia-islam-...