The Proof of God

Shi'i Mysticism in the Work of al-Kulayni (9th-10th centuries)

Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Maria de Cillis, Orkhan Mir-Kasimov , Muohammad Ibn Yaqaub Kulaynai

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English

I.B. Tauris
28 December 2023

History of religion; Islamic theology; Religious & spiritual leaders; Islamic studies

Series: Shi'i Heritage Series

This book is an English translation of the award-winning book by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi on the Book of the Proof (Kitab al-Hujja) part of the Sufficient Book (Kitab al-Kafi), authored by one of the most celebrated religious authorities and a foundational figure of Shi’i Islam, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. ca. 940 CE). The significance of this source for the formation and development of Shi’i beliefs and doctrines cannot be overestimated. Whilst the field of Shi’i studies is still dominated by works focused on legal, political, or theological aspects of Sh’i Islam, Amir-Moezzi’s approach to the study of the early Shi’i traditions in this work is characterised by a keen interest in its esoteric, mystical aspects. Complemented by detailed analytical comments, Amir-Moezzi’s book demonstrates how al-Kulayni was able to set out an extraordinarily wide-ranging and coherent set of doctrinal and legal traditions derived from the Imams, thus playing a leading role in the unification and, consequently, the consolidation of the Imami faith. More specifically, by elaborating on the nature of the ‘Proof’, which in Shi’i terminology identifies the central figure, i.e., the guide (imam) of mystical spirituality, Amir-Moezzi’s study portrays Shi’i Islam as multifaceted, not merely as the politico-religious ideology of its ‘clergy’, but above all as an inspirational religion. As Amir-Moezzi himself puts it, ‘enriching Muslim thought and spirituality, sometimes with unusual finesse and sophistication’.

By: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi
Other: Maria de Cillis, Orkhan Mir-Kasimov, Muohammad Ibn Yaqaub Kulaynai
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780755651917
ISBN 10: 075565191X
Series: Shi'i Heritage Series
Pages: 392
Publication Date: 28 December 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Translators’ Preface · Notes on the English Translation · Glossary Preface to the French Edition Note on Transliteration Note to the Reader (French Edition) Introduction to the French Edition Acknowledgments (French Edition) Important dates and milestones (1st/7th-4th/10th centuries) (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov) PART ONE: Religion of the Divine Word Made Man Chapter I At the Beginnings of the History Chapter II - The Religion of the imam II-1. Some specific features of the Shi?i spirituality II-2. At the heart of the doctrine of the imam: the concept of walaya Chapter III - About some historical imams (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov) Chapter IV - The Proof Beyond Time III-1. From the Origin of the World and its Development III-2. The End of Times (Eschatology) · The Collective Dimension · The Personal Dimension Chapter V - The Proof’s Dual Nature V-1. The Imam as a Religious Scholar V-2. The Imam as the Master of Initiation and as Thaumaturge V-3. The Imam as the Locus of God’s Manifestation Chapter VI – The Continuity of Prophecy VI-1. The Need for Discretion VI-2. Perpetual Communication between God and Mankind VI-3. ‘The Sealing of the Prophecy’ and its Meaning (Translated by M. De Cillis) PART TWO: The Mystical Nature of the Imam in The Book of the Proof Chapter I - Brief Remarks on Shi?i Holy Scriptures I-1. The Qur’an according to Shi?ism I-2. Shi?i Hadiths Chapter II - Al-Kulayni and the Book of the Proof II-1. The Historical Context in Several Important Cities II-2. A Quest for Knowledge in Iran and Iraq II.3 Al-Kulayni’s Works Chapter III - Excerpts from the Book of the Proof III-1. Some Remarks on Our Translation III-2. The Book of the Proof (Kitab al-?ujja): Translated and Commented Excerpts (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov) Epilogue Return to History: Between Mystical Wisdom and Political Temptation 1. Legacy of the Antique Gnosis 2. Shi?is at the heart of the Abbasid Empire 3. Consolidation of the Jurist-Theologians’ Power 4. The State Religion in Iran 4.1. Rationalist Current and the Temptation of Political Power 4.2. Loyalty to the Origins (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov) Appendices Table I: The Banu Hashim (major protagonists) and the Prophet’s Family Table II: The Banu ?Abd Shams (major protagonists) Table III: Genealogy of the major Imams and the main divisions in Shi?sm Bibliography and Abbreviations General Index Index of Qur’anic Citations

Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes/PSL (Sorbonne). Member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea, Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Encyclopaedia Islamica and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Also member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews. Among his mongraphs: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994), The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013), The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015), La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulayni (Cerf, 2018) and Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2022). Among the collective works directed by him: Le Dictionnaire du Coran (Robert Laffont, 2007) and le Coran des historiens (Cerf, 2019, co-directed by Guillaume Dye). Maria De Cillisis a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, where she is also a Series Editor of the Shi?i Heritage Series. She has authored Salvation and Destiny in Islam: The Shi?i Ismaili Perspective of ?amid al-Din al-Kirmani (2018), Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought: Theoretical Compromises in the Works of Avicenna, al-Ghazali and Ibn ?Arabi (2014) and has co-edited L’ésotérisme shi?ite, ses racines et ses prolongements/Shi?i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments (2016). Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on the IIS graduate programmes. Previously, he lectured at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris and worked at various research centres in France and Germany, including the Institute for Advanced Study of Nantes and the Free University of Berlin. Since 2020, he is the Series Editor of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series.