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The Prophet of Islam upon returning from the farewell pilgrimage stopped in Ghadir Khumm, assembled the Muslims and, after delivering a sermon, chose 'All as the leader and guide of Muslims. Bara' says: "I was in the company of the Prophet during the...

The Prophet of Islam upon returning from the farew...

Imam or leader is the title given to a person who takes the lead in a community in a particular social movement or political ideology or scientific or religious form of thought. Naturally, because of his relation to the people he leads, he must confo...

Imam or leader is the title given to a person who ...

Among sacred texts the Qur'an is the only one to have spoken in detail about the Day of Judgment. Although the Torah has not mentioned this Day and the Gospels have only alluded to it, the Qur'an has mentioned the Day of Judgment in hundreds of place...

Among sacred texts the Qur'an is the only one to h...

Many modern scholars who have investigated the problem of revelation and prophecy have tried to explain revelation, prophecy and questions connected with them by using the principles of social psychology. They say that the prophets of God were men of...

Many modern scholars who have investigated the pro...

What the prophets of God received through revelation and as a message from God and conveyed to mankind was religion (Din), 1 that is, a way of life and human duties which guarantee the real happiness of man. Revealed religion in general consists of t...

What the prophets of God received through revelati...

The laws which can guarantee the happiness of human society cannot be perceived by reason. Since according to the thesis of general guidance running throughout creation the existence of an awareness of these laws in the human species is necessary, th...

The laws which can guarantee the happiness of huma...

Thiqat al-Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub Kulayni (d. 329/940) is the first person in Shi'ism to have separated the Shi'ite hadiths from the books called Principles (WO and to have arranged and organized them according to the headings of jurisprudence and ...

Thiqat al-Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub Kulayni (d. 32...

In the same way that from the beginning Shi'ism played an effective role in the formation of Islamic philosophical thought, it was also a principal factor in the further development and propagation of philosophy and the Islamic sciences. Although aft...

In the same way that from the beginning Shi'ism pl...

As for theology, kalam, it is clear that from the beginning, when the Shi'ites separated from the Sunni majority, they began to debate with their opponents concerning their own particular point of view. It is true that a debate has two sides and that...

As for theology, kalam, it is clear that from the ...

It has been mentioned before that Islam has legitimized and approved rational thought, which it considers a part of religious thought. Rational thought in its Islamic sense, after continuing the prophecy of the Prophet, provides intellectual demonstr...

It has been mentioned before that Islam has legiti...

The Islamic sciences, which owe their existence to the ulamd of Islam who organized and formulated them, are divided into the two categories of intellectual ('aqli) and transmitted (naqli). The intellectual sciences include such sciences as philosoph...

The Islamic sciences, which owe their existence to...

A hadith heard directly from the mouth of the Prophet or one of the Imams is accepted as is the Qur'an. As for hadiths received through intermediaries, the majority of Shiites act upon them if their chain of transmission is established at every step ...

A hadith heard directly from the mouth of the Prop...

Shi'ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate the chain of transmission of hadith, considers the correlation of the text of the hadith with the Qur'an as a necessary condition for its validity. In Shi'ite sources, there are many hadiths of the Prop...

Shi'ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate th...

The majority of Shi'ites are Twelvers. They were originally the same group of friends and supporters of 'Ali who, after the death of the Prophet, in order to defend the right of the Household of the Prophet in the question of the caliphate and religi...

The majority of Shi'ites are Twelvers. They were o...

The majority of the Shi' rtes, from whom the previously mentioned groups have branched out, are Twelve-Imam Shi'ites, also called the Imamites. As has already been mentioned, the Shi ites came into being because of criticism and protest concerning tw...

The majority of the Shi' rtes, from whom the previ...

The Nizaris. Ubaydullah al-Mahdi, who rose in North Africa in 292/904 and as an Ismaili declared his Imamate and established Fatimid rule, is the founder of the dynasty whose descendants made Cairo the center of their caliphate. For seven generations...

The Nizaris. Ubaydullah al-Mahdi, who rose in Nort...

In the year 278/891, a few years before the appearance of Ubaydullah al-Mandi in North Africa, there appeared in Küfah an unknown person from Khuzestan (in southern Persia) who never revealed his name and identity. He would fast during the day and wo...

In the year 278/891, a few years before the appear...

Imam Ja 'far al-Sadiq had a son named Ismail who was the oldest of his children. Isma'il died during the lifetime of his father who summoned witnesses to his death, including the governor of Medina. 1 Concerning this question, some believed that Isma...

Imam Ja 'far al-Sadiq had a son named Ismail who w...

The Zaydis are the followers of Zayd al-Shahid, the son of Imam al-Sajj?d. Zayd rebelled in 121/737 against the Umayyad caliph, Husham ibn 'Abd al-Malik, and a group paid allegiance to him. A battle ensued in Küfah between Zayd and the army of the ca...

The Zaydis are the followers of Zayd al-Shahid, th...

During the past three centuries, Shi'ism has followed its natural rate of growth as before. At the present moment, during the latter part of the 14th/ loth century, Shi ism is recognized as the official religion of Iran, and in the Yemen and Iraq the...

During the past three centuries, Shi'ism has follo...

In the loth/16th century, Isma'il who was of the household of Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardibili (d. 735/1334), a Sufi master and also a Shi' ite, began a revolt in Ardibil, with three hundred Sufis who were disciples of his forefathers, with the aim of est...

In the loth/16th century, Isma'il who was of the h...