Studying Shīʿī Hadith and History
“He had a great status with Abi al-Hasan Musa b. Ja’far, peace be upon them. A great standing in the Ta’ifa (sect as a whole)” Tusi’s summation of Ali b. Yaqtin[1] Introduction Sometimes, and through a curious mix of dedication and fortune, tangible evidence is found to make what we read in our old … Continue reading Ali b. Yaqtin: The Imam’s Secret Agent
Introduction Whether a man called Abdallah b. Saba existed historically or not has become a fraught question in light of the latter’s relevance in polemics against the Shia. After all, it is this supposed former Jew from Yemen who stands accused of single handedly causing an irreparable schism among early Muslims by originating the heretical … Continue reading Abdallah b. Saba – Man or Myth?
“Be on the lookout over your children so that the Ghulat do not corrupt them … the Ghali returns to us (i.e. from his heighty beliefs) but we do not accept him, while the Muqassir catches up to us (i.e. our real station) so we accept him ...”[1] - Imam al-Sadiq Antinomianism Most of … Continue reading The Worldview of the Ghulat (Pt. II)
A group from our Shia will love us until they will say about us that which the Jews said about Uzayr and that which the Christians said about Isa b. Maryam, so neither are they from us, nor are we from them[1] - Imam al-Sajjad Introduction The original Ghulat did not all share identical … Continue reading The Worldview of the Ghulat (Pt. I)
“We have woken up (i.e. a time has reached) and there is no one who is more inimical (an enemy to us) than those who claim to love us”[1] - Imam al-Sadiq Introduction The most serious challenge to the school of Ahl al-Bayt came from the Ghulat. This is because, unlike external enemies whose … Continue reading The Imams Against the Ghulat
