Ali.The Well-Guarded Secret: Figures of the First Master in Shi‘i Spirituality

Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi, Ph.D. (1990), is professor of classical Islamic studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne). A specialist of Shi‘ism, he is the author of a large number of monographs and articles, including (with Etan Kohlberg) Revelation and Falsification (Brill).

Notice to the Reader XI


Transcription SystemII


AcknowledgementsII


AbbreviationsIV





Introduction





Part 1: Singularities of ʿ⁠Alī


1 ʿ⁠Alī and the Quran


 1 Introduction


 2 ʿ⁠Alī the Master of Hermeneutics


 3 Quranic Allusions to ʿ⁠Alī


 4 The Explicit Mentions of ʿ⁠Alī in the Quran


 5 The Double Nature of ʿ⁠Alī and His Holiness


 6 Roots, Extensions and Questions on the Origins: ʿ⁠Alī and Christ





2 Muḥammad the Paraclete and ʿ⁠Alī the Messiah


 1 The End of the World in the Quran and the Hadith


 2 Remarks on the Religious Environment of Muḥammad


 3 The Coming of the Saviour


 4 Jesus and ʿ⁠Alī


 5 Rewriting of History and Fabrication of a New Collective Memory





3 Reflections on the Expression dīn ʿ⁠Alī: The Origins of the Shiʿi Faith


 1 Dīn ʿ⁠Alī in the Works of the Historiographers


 2 The Uniqueness of ʿ⁠Alī


 3 Themes Concerning ʿ⁠Alī and the Alids


 4 The Basis of the Religion of ʿ⁠Alī


 5 Reactions and Consequences





Part 2: Between Divinity and Humanity


4 Some Remarks on the Divinity of the Imam


 1 Theophanic Being and Perfect Man


 2 First Textual References


 3 The Sermons of ʿ⁠Alī





5 The Five Spirits of the Divine Man


 1 Shiʿi Traditions


 2 “Prehistory”


 3 Further Developments and Implications





6 “The Night of Qadr” (Quran, Surah 97) in Early Shiʿism


 1 An Enigmatic Text


 2 Shiʿi Perceptions


 3 The Master of the Order





7 Tactical Dissimulation and Sealing of Prophecy


 1 The Keeping of the Secret


 2 Prophetic Abilities of the Imam


 3 The Seal of Prophets


 4 Epilogue





Part 3: Spiritual Horizons


8 The Precious Pearl Attributed to Rajab al-Bursī: 500 Quranic Verses about ʿAlī


 1 Brief Notes on al-Bursī and His Major Work Mashāriq al-anwār


 2 Other Works and the Quranic Commentary “The Precious Pearl” (al-Durr al-thamīn)


 3 Annotated Extracts from al-Durr al-thamīn


 4 The Message of the ‘Personalized Commentaries’





9 Icon and Contemplation: ʿAlī as the Face of God and Medium of Meditation


 1 Portative Icons


 2 “The Vision by the Heart”


 3 “What Is Vejhe?”


 4 Analysis of a Panel from the Vesel Collection


 5 Icon Contemplation: Between Interpretation and Applications





Epilogue





Appendix 1: Divine Knowledge and Messianic Action: The Figure of ʿAlī in Mystical and Messianic Circles (5th/11th-10th/16th Centuries), by Orkhan Mir-Kasimov





Appendix 2: The Presence of ʿAlī in Islamic Philosophy, by Mathieu Terrier


Bibliography


Index