Author: al-dodomi

“We do not say as the fools do”: How the Imāmī corpus Preserves ʿAlī’s Position on the Latecomer to the Congregation

Introduction When a latecomer joins the congregational prayer in the middle, is he praying the last part of his ṣalāt with the imam (adraka ākhir ṣalātih) before being required to repay the first part that he had missed; or, is he beginning his ṣalāt regardless of where the imam is (adraka awwal ṣalātih)? Put another … Continue reading “We do not say as the fools do”: How the Imāmī corpus Preserves ʿAlī’s Position on the Latecomer to the Congregation →

Recovering ʿAlī’s Historical Positions: The Case of the Tashahhud

“I saw the Messenger of Allah in a dream. He came to me so I said: “O Messenger of Allah! They have differed over the tashahhud. So-and-so says it is one way, another says it is a different way, Ibn Masʿūd says it is yet another way!” [1] Khuṣayf al-Jazarī (d. c. 136)   Introduction … Continue reading Recovering ʿAlī’s Historical Positions: The Case of the Tashahhud →

The Historical Controversy over Khums as Depicted in an Early Work: The Kitāb al-Kharāj of the Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf (d. 182)

Introduction Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf, the famous student of Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 150) who went on to become the chief judge of the Abbasid empire, has a small section in his important work Kitāb al-Kharāj where he collects historical reports concerning the distribution of the six portions of khums as mentioned in the relevant verse of … Continue reading The Historical Controversy over Khums as Depicted in an Early Work: The Kitāb al-Kharāj of the Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf (d. 182) →

A Re-Evaluation of the Tafḍīl of ʿAlī in Early Islam (Pt. 1)

يا هذا كيف بليت بك؟ وأي ريح هبت إلي بك؟ سمعت الحسن بن صالح يقول: سمعت جعفر بن محمد يقول: حب علي عبادة، وأفضل العبادة ما كتم “O man - how did we cross paths and what wind blew you to me?!  … I heard Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad (al-Ṣādiq) say: ‘Love of ʿAlī is worship, … Continue reading A Re-Evaluation of the Tafḍīl of ʿAlī in Early Islam (Pt. 1) →

Critiquing “Crisis”: The Portrayal of Al-ʿAskarī as an Example (Pt. 1)

Introduction One of the most important monographs on the history of early Shīʿīsm in western academia is the 1993 work by Hossein Modarressi, “Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shīʿīte Islam”. Written by an erudite scholar who combines both traditional ḥawza learning and secular academic training, the book has been extremely influential in … Continue reading Critiquing “Crisis”: The Portrayal of Al-ʿAskarī as an Example (Pt. 1) →