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Describes the origins, beliefs, and practices of Muslims.
Few stand closer to the nexus of all major Islamic sects than Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765). Not only is he revered by Twelver Shi'a Muslims, who regard him as the sixth infallible imam in the line of succession from the Prophet Muhammad, but he is cited as an authoritative figure in Sunni chains of hadith transmission, and is prominent in Sufi lineages of authority. He has also been heralded as a disseminator of occult sciences among esoteric groups, and in today’s Iran a vibrant trade in herbal remedies has developed around his explorations of natural medicine. Matthew Pierce examines the life and legacy of this important figure who shunned numerous opportunities to claim political power as the Umayyad Empire fell and the 'Abbasids rose, instead dedicating himself to teaching and learning. By studying al-Sadiq, in whom Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi religious lineages and authorities converge, Pierce engages with early debates within Islam, from a time before sectarian lines were solidified. The first book-length biography of Ja'far al-Sadiq in the English language, this volume is a vital contribution to the literature.
The initial years (126-145) of al-Manṣūr's reign presented several significant challenges to nascent ʿAbbāsid hegemony, and the resulting confrontations constitute the central focus of this section of Ṭabarī's Tarikh. After Abu Jafar succeeded his brother Abū Al-ʿabbās as caliph, the second of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, he moved against his recalcitrant uncle, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī, and against the potential threat that he perceived in the person of the commander in Khurasan, Abu Muslim. Eliminating the latter and containing the former freed the caliph to address a series of other onslaughts and insurrections. Starting with the year 144, however, Ṭabarī turned to this volume's p...
Completed in 1999 by a distinguished group of Arabists and historians of Islam, the annotated translation of al-Ṭabarī's History is arguably the most celebrated chronicle produced in the Islamic lands on the history of the world and the early centuries of Islam. This fortieth volume, the Index, compiled by Alex V. Popovkin under the supervision of Everett K. Rowson, serves as an essential reference tool. It offers scholars and general readers convenient access to the wealth of information provided by this massive work. The Index comprises not only all names of persons and places mentioned by al-Ṭabarī, with abundant cross-referencing, but also a very broad range of subject entries, on everything from "pomegranates" to forms of "punishment." The volume includes a separate index of Quranic citations and allusions, as well as a list of errata and corrigenda to the entire translation.
This book presents a detailed in-depth study, primarily based on primary Arabic sources, of the background, history and the consequences of the rebellion of Muhammad b. ʿAbdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b. ʿAli b. Abi Talib, better known as al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, in 145/762, during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph, Abu Jaʿfar al-Mansur. It focuses on the relations between the early Abbasid and the different Talibi-(Shiʿi) families - mainly the Hasanis and the Husaynis - and the internal struggles between these factions for the legitimacy of authority.
This volume opens when the caliph al-Manṣūr has just defeated the rebellion of Muḥammad the Pure Soul in 145/762-3 and is now securely established in power. The main concerns of the remaining thirteen years of his reign are the building of his new capital at Baghdad, on which al-al-Ṭabarī's text contains details not previously published in English, and his efforts to have his nephew ʿIsā ibn Mūsā replaced as heir apparent by his own son Muḥammad al-Mahdī, a maneuver that required all his political skills. The circumstances of al-Manṣūr's death in 158/775 are described in vivid detail, and this section is followed by a series of anecdotes, some serious, some humorous, most v...
Ibn t w s (d. 664/1266) was a famous Sh scholar and bibliophile. This book portrays his intellectual world and working methods, and reconstructs, as far as possible, his extensive library, which included many works now lost. Kohlberg's monograph is an important contribution to Sh studies and to the history of Arabic literature.