The Origins of the Shi'a
Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century K?fa

This path-breaking book challenges earlier scholarship in its examination of the origins and development of the Shi'a.

Najam Haider (Author)

9781107010710, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 September 2011

298 pages, 2 maps 23 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.57 kg

'This study provides a significant contribution to the fields of Sh??i studies, Islamic law and early history of Islam, but perhaps mostly to ?ad?th studies. Haider successfully implements a new method on Muslim traditions and reaches ground-breaking conclusions regarding the origins of early Sh??ism.' Seyfeddin Kara, Ilahiyat Studies: A Journal on Islamic and Religious Studies

The Sunni-Shi'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kufa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Shi'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. In this way, the book addresses two seminal controversies in the study of early Islam, namely the dating of Kufan Shi'i identity and the means by which the Shi'a differentiated themselves from mainstream Kufan society. This is an important, original and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society.

Part I. Narratives and Methods: 1. Kufa and the classical narratives of early Shi'ism
2. Confronting the source barrier: a new methodology
Part II. Case Studies: 3. In the name of God: the Basmala
4. Curses and invocations: the Qun?t in the ritual prayer
5. Drinking matters: the Islamic debate over prohibition
Part III. The Emergence of Shi'ism: 6. Dating sectarianism: early Zaydism and the politics of perpetual revolution
7. The problem of the ambiguous transmitter: ritual and the allocation of identity
8. The mosque and the procession: sacred spaces and the construction of community
9. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Islamic studies [JFSR2], Islam [HRH], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]