Makers of the Muslim World: Shaykh Mufid

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Shaykh Mufid (949-1022) was the leading Imami Shi?i scholar of his time and the first of a group of writers responsible for the introduction of rationalist ideas into Imamism. In this illuminating and highly readable new study, Tamima Bacbom-Daou draws upon carefully selected historical sources and the most up-to-date scholarship to present a fascinating account of Mufid?s life and work, assessing his contributions to the fields of jurisprudence, theologyand sacred history and setting his thought in the wider context of developments in the Imami conception of religious authority. Mufid?s particular importance lies in his advocacy of the role of reason in religion, and his writings still have great relevance to the lives and beliefs of many Shi?i Muslims today. With straightforward explanations of all the key ideas and themes of al-Mufid?s work, this accessible introduction to an influential thinker also features a guide to further reading, and will prove an indispensable resource for readers of all backgrounds.

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Tamima Bayhom-Daou is a research asociate in the Department of History at SOAS. She specialize in Islamic history and has taught at the University of Cambridge and SOAS. Table of Contents Introduction The Sunni?Shi?i Divide Imami Shi?ism: an Outline of Main Developments The Times and Career of Mufid The Buyids Imanism under the Buyids Other Religious Groups The Career of Mufid The Imamate: The Historical Arguments The Mainstream Historical Tradition The Imamate of ?Ali The Other Imams The Imamate: The rational Arguments The Necessity of the Imamate The Imams? Infallibility The Imams? Knowledge The Imams and the Qur?an The Imams? Miracles The Imams after Death Unacceptable Exaggeration The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam Theology Mu?tazili Theology Sunni Theology Early Imamism between Reason and Revelation Mufid and the Role of Reason The Dogmas of Imamism Jurisprudence The Principles of Imami Jurisprudence The Jurist as Deputy of the Imam Ritual Practices and Laws Specific to Imamism: Emblems of Communal Identity Conclusion