“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 →

Introduction Not everyone in the Shi'i scholarly tradition has been on-board with the direction of travel of systematic theology, beginning as it does with the Kalam (rational theology) of the Mu'tazili influenced Baghdadi scholars in the Buyid era, passing by way of the Peripatetic-influenced thinking of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi (d. 1274), and culminating in the … Continue reading What is the First thing that is Wajib on Humans? The View of an Akhbari Scholar →

Introduction Were the Imams protected from sin? The common Shi'i position is to affirm their infallibility. How can the infallibility of the Imam be proven?   Hisham's Argumentation One early attempt to ground this doctrine relying solely on logical argument is demonstrated below: حدثنا محمد بن علي ماجيلويه رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا علي بن … Continue reading Hisham b. al-Hakam on Infallibility →