Imam Ali - From Concise History to Timeless Mystery

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Imam (Ali FROM CONCISE HISTORY TO TIMELESS MYSTERY

Reza Shah- Kazemi THE MATHESON TRUST

For the Study of Comparative Religion

The life of *Ali ibn Abi Talib, fourth caliph of early Islam and revered foun­ tainhead of Shi*ite and Sufi lineages, ‘is both inspirational and controversial: intrinsically inspirational and extrinsically controversial: These words set the tone for what is an intricate and penetrating view of the figure of Imam Kumayl

oath of allegiance, 78, 81; to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, 82-88 Paradise, 11,14, 59, 74, 93, 100, 121,122,131, 137; al-hawd, 44, 57; Kawthar, 44-45 patience, 12, 69,115,126,133, 135,138 pilgrimage, 54, 59; Hajj, 54, 65 Plato: Republic^ 77,104 prayer, 10, 97,100,119; Ahl al-Bayt and, 59,131—132; ca­ nonical prayer, 4, 6, 40, 56 pride, 113,116,117,122,123 Prophet Muhammad, 38,148; as God’s Messenger, xx; beauty and, 7; bequest of, 66—71; death of, 66; Muhammadan Light, 7, 71; prophecies on ‘Ali，25, 68,119-121; Quran and, 22; retreats, 38, 39; revelation of the Qur'an, xx, 39; see also al-Haqiqa alMuhammadiyya Prophet Muhammad/AJi’s rela­ tionship, xv-xvii, 3, 7,11, 22, 38-40,44 prophethood, see nubuwwa

Madclung, Wilferd, 81, 83 Malik al-Ashtar, 49, 50,102,104, 105,111-113,115,116,118,125 ma'rifa, 36,144 Marwan b. al-Hakam, 85, 91 Massignon, Louis, 31 mawla, 2; lAli as, xviii, 2, 3, 60 Mecca, 13, 38, 53 Medina, 43-46, 89; ‘brothering’， 43 mercy, 103-104; Du (a' Kumayl^ 130-131,141-144; see also rahma Miqdad b. Amr, 61 mirror, 7,151; *Ali as the mirror of God, 148; prophetic mirror, 149 monotheism, 37-38 Moses, 23, 24, 28, 31-33, 40, 44, 129,143 mosque, 4, 46,127; mosque of Kufa, 98,110 Muawiya, 85, 89, 94-98,108,121 Mughira b. Shuba，88 Muhammad b. Abi Bakr, 94 Mucin al-Din Chishti, 82

Qanbar, 45, 85 Quraysh, xv, 42, 43, 46-47, 52

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INDEX

QjLir’an, xiii, xx, 15,19, 96,113; Ahl al-Bayt, 55, 57; 'Ali and, 15-19, 54, 86,129; becoming one with, 21-22; Fatiha^ 15, 17; meanings of, 15-16, 20; Prophet Muhammad and, 22, 39; recitation of, 19, 97; rev­ elation of, xx, 15, 17; Surat al-Bara’a, 54; Surat al-Furqan, 141; Surat al-Insan, 57; Surat al-Kahf, 23, 26, 31, 129,143; Surat al-Layl, 58; Surat alNur, 127; Surat al-Rahman, 143; tafsir, 16; tajalli and, 1718, 20; tanzily 17, 24-25,119, 121 Qutbuddin, Tahera, 134,135,137,

Sa‘sa‘a b. Suhan, 104 Satan (al-Shaytan)^ 13, 85, 92,121 Scholcm, Gershom, 29 al-Shafili, Abu ‘Abdullah Mu­ hammad, 57, 62 Shi‘at Ali, 60-65 Shi‘a Islam, 61, 63; 'irjan^ xvii, 62 Shurayh, 112 Sobhani, Ja'far, Ayatollah, xx succession, xvi; ‘Ali as the Prophet’s successor, 41, 60, 78, 81; designation (nass), 41, 60, 78; Sunni/Shi‘i debate on, 78

Sufism, xvii-xviii, 24, 62 Sunna, 73, 84, 86, 96,126 Sunni Islam, xvii, 78 Sunni/Shi‘i controversies, xvi-xvii, 41-42, 60; shared common ground, xix-xx ,62; succession debate, 78 al-Suyuti, Jalal al-Din, 61

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rahim^ 13 rahma, 13-14,126,132,138-141, 144; Divine Names and, 128129; loving mercy, 13,126, 142,143; al-Rahman^ 13, 92, 122,132,138, 140; tawhid and, 140-141; see also mercy Ramadan, 39, 47, 73, 98 religion, xiii-xiv, 36; purpose of,

al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muham­ mad, 41, 61 tajalli, 17-18, 20,140 Talha b. Talha, 47 Talha b. ‘Ubayd Allah, 46, 84, 90-91, 93,121-123 taqwa, 99, 134,145-146; see also al-atq tawhid, xx, 119,140; 'making one’，118,141; meaning of, 91-92,140; primordial monotheism, 37; rahma and, 140-141 ia'wily 34; Ali and, 25, 27, 92, 119-121; al-batin and, 32; dis­ tinct from tanzil-, 24; wolaya and,32 testimony, 6-7; la ilaha iUa’Llah、 5, 7, 92; Muhatnmadun rasul Allah^ 6 Torah, 29,113

remembrance of God, 6,15, 31, 34, 58,117,119,127,138 Resurrection, xx, 34 rightly-guided caliphs, 78 Rumi, Jalal al-Din, xviii, xix; Dis­ courses, xix, 10-11; Diwan-i Shams, xix, 20; Mathnawi, xix, 20, 21, 23, 33-34, 47-49, 52, 53,102,150 al-Saffar al-Qummi, Abu Ja*far Muhammad, 63 Sa‘id b. al-'As, 85 Salman al-Farisi, 61, 64 sanctity, 146,151; see also walaya

167

IMAM lALI

Truth (al-Haqq), 8-9, 25, 43,107, 117,149; ‘AJi and, 8-9,11; see also haqiqa

wali, 2, 3; wall Allah^ 5, 6,19, 26, 52, 53, 61 Walid b. Utba, 47 warfare, 114-116; see also ‘Ali’s chivalry worship, 6,119,131,149,151; looking at the face of lAli and, 147-151

‘Umar b. al-Khattab, 60, 78, 80, 83, 84, 86, 87, 90,108 Upton, Charles, 43 ‘Uthman b. AfFan, 75, 78, 80, 83-86, 90,108-109; death of, 76, 79, 85, 90, 91, 97; popular protests against, 84-85 ‘Uthman b. Hunayf, 108,109

Yemen, 54 zahir, 25, 31, 64 Zaynab bint cAli, 132 Ziyad b. Abihi, 105 al-Zubayr b. al-Wwwam, 46, 84, 90-91, 93,121-123 al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, 83 zuhd, 73,137,138; ‘Ali and, 72, 75-76,135; Prophet’s zuhd^ 73

walaya^ xx, 2, 4-7, 22, 71; ‘Ali’s mystery, 1, 3, 7, 24,147-152; ‘Ali’s sanctity, xvi, xx, 1-2, 4, 22-24, 34, 40, 41, 60, 63, 65-66,147-151; essence of, 32; meaning of, 2-3; nubuwwa and, 6-7, 23, 32; ta’wil and, 32

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