Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’ite Islam

The present work attempts to shed light on some aspects of the Imamite doctrine during the period of Minor Occultation and on the contributions of Abu Ja’far b. Qiba to the formation of the developed Imamite doctrine.

The years 260-329/874-941, known among the Shi‘ites as the period of Minor Occultation, comprised undoubtedly the most difficult and critical period in the history of Imamite Shi’ism. The death of the eleventh Imam, with no apparent successor, resulted in internal conflicts, many desertions and conversions, and the emergence of numerous splinter groups and subsects within the Imamite community. Contemporary Imamite theologians had the difficult task of defending the doctrine against attack while trying to offer new interpretations of fundamental principles to accommodate contemporary developments. Abu Jafar b. Qiba al-Razi, one of the most prominent and active Imamite theologians, had a major role in all of these reconstructions and developments. The present work attempts to shed light on some aspects of the Imamite doctrine during the Minor Occultation and on the contributions of Abu Jafar b. Qiba to the formation of the developed Imamite doctrine. The second part of this volume contains the texts of three short works of this scholar, together with their English translation.

Bibliographic Information

Title: Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’Ite Islam: Abu Ja’Far Ibn Qiba Al-Razi and His Contribution to Imamite Shi’Ite Thought

Author: Hossein Modarressi

Publisher: Darwin Pr

 Language: English

Length: 286 pages

ISBN: 978-0878500956

Pub. Date: 1 Jun. 1993

Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’Ite Islam