Major Divisions in Shi a All Shi a approximately 100 million 100 Zaydis Yemen 7 Isma ilis South Asia East Africa 5 Imami Shi a Twelvers 88 o Iran Southern Iraq Lebanon Pakistan Bahrain Zaydi Shi ism 8th Imam Concept of Imam o Scholar warrior Must be an adult able to lead the army Must have already studied with other scholars and been published o Any male descendent of Hasan of Husayn through Fatima and Ali and then to Muhammad descendent of Muhammad NOT the Qur aysh must actually be a descendent of Muhammad o Multiple Imams can exist simultaneously Big Zaydi communities in Yemen and Iran far away from each other o Not necessary for there to be an Imam at all times 1962 last Imam killed in a coup in Yemen Believe that Abu Bakr and Umar were good people but still Ali should have been the first leader Mixed about Uthman and don t like Muawiya o Closest to Sunnism of the Shi i traditions o Zayd b Ali b Husayn b Ali b Abi Talib d 740 Raised Two models revolt in Kufa against the Umayyads wanted to make the Islamic state more pious most just etc Most people didn t show up on the battlefield and he was crushed on the battlefield Left writings of Qur anic commentary ila al Haqq Yahya Guide to the truth b Husayn b Ibrahim b Isma il b Ibrahim b Hasan b Hasan b Ali d 911 in Northern Yemen Led a revolt and a founded a state in Yemen Left scholarly writings as well o al Hadi Isma ili Shi ism 7th Imam Definition of Imam Isma il b Ja far al Sadiq and his son Muhammad o Designation nass from Isma il b Ja far each Imam clearly designated his successor before he died o Hidden For a couple centuries Also adopted by Always must be an Imam so sometimes the Imam Imami Twelvers is just hiding o Perfect knowledge infallible G d left the community with a guide after Muhammad died Only one Imam at a time so only one opinion but still must be exactly one Imam at all times Missionaries and initiation o Asia India North Africa well educated in secular sciences logic Greek philosophy medicine and religious knowledge Esoteric teachings ta wil o Interpreted things in a very different manner 7 Cycles of prophets and Imams o Prophets external message o Imams Inner message o The last Imam will be a messianic figure Isma ili Shi ism 2 o Muhammad brought the Qur an and Ali brought special knowledge Fatimid Caliphate Imam as a political ruler o Ubayd Allah s new teaching around 900 o Begins Fatimid caliphate in Ifriqiyya Tunisia 909 o Conquest of Egypt and foundation of Cairo 969 was the strongest dynasty in the Muslim world for a century or two Most Egyptians did not become Isma ili most people in Egypt then were Christians Isma ilism thought didn t stick around in Egypt Qadi Nu man d 974 Isma ili law o Need to appoint judges so need to have law the Sunni school of law was prevalent there at the time so a new legal school of Isma ili law was founded Depend heavily on the Imam Ja far al Sadiq Fatimad dynasty split in 1094 and the side who lost Nizari The Assassins secretive sect who occupied mountain formed the Assassins fortresses got back at local Sunni rulers by killing prominent Sunni leaders in a public place Greatly feared put down by the Mongols who had sacked Baghdad in 1258 Developed into a mystical Sufi group the Agha Khan Extremely successful and well organized promoting developmental projects throughout the world due to the high taxes given to the Imam who uses taxes for charitable purposes Isma ilis Today learning Stick more closely to Islamic law o Nizaris Agha Khan own practices and sessions of o Bohras Fatimad caliphate ended and went into hiding Imami Shi ism Concept of the Imam nass father to son clearly designate the o Designation next Imam o Special knowledge all the Imams are given special knowledge o Only Twelve Imams determined by G d o Twelfth Imam Mahdi in Occultation will come back and restore justice Few people saw this Imam went into hiding after the 11th Imams death o Quietist apolitical three exceptions Ja far al Sadiq didn t want to rule a large empire refrained from joining the revolt o Necessary for Muslims to recognize the Imam of the age in order to be a full believer one must believe in and recognize in the Imam Every Muslim has a responsibility to find the Imam and give loyalty to this Imam 21 Oct 2009 The House of Sorrows 1 all or most of the Shi i Imams were murdered The Prophet Muhammad and Khadija Ali and Fatima o Ali is known as Commander of the Believers and the only one to have this name he was the only Shi i Imam to exercise political authority designated all Imams up to the fifth one Books and knowledge are transferred to Imams supposedly a whole chest of books and Muhammad s sword Hasan and Husayn o Hasan lived in Medina and died in 669 sometimes said o Husayn younger took over leadership of Imam and poisoned by one of his wives recognized Mu awiya but when Mu awiya appointed his son Yazid Husayn raised a revolt Kufa remained a site of pro Ali tendencies but Yazid suppressed the sentiment Husayn and much of his family went out to Karbala to fight and revolt but the Kufans didn t show up Ali b Husayn was too ill to fight at Karbala and sister Zayna are let go and allowed to go back to Medina Ali b Husayn was very pious but not politically active able Muhammad b Ali al Baqir vs Zayd b Ali o Muhammad al Baqir Imams came to be infallible Tawqid concept of hiding whether you are Shi i or Sunni and acting as the other if your life is in danger o Most Shi i Hadith go back to Muhammad b Ali al Baqir or Ja far al sadiq The House of Sorrows 2 o Temporary marriage unambiguously banned by Umar but still allowed in Shi i tradition Marriage contract for a fixed amount of time five years ten years a day etc legalizes sex No divorce nor heritance nor witnesses but there is a dower Ja far al sadiq d 765 o Master Jurist in Medina one of the most famous o Avoided the Abbasid Caliphs didn t want political responsibility Musa b Ja far d 799 House arrest in Baghdad harassed by Muhammad al Taqi d 835 was 7 years old when Ali al Rida political rulers Ali al Rida d 818 Almost a caliph Abassid caliph gave oath of allegiance to make Ali al Rida the next caliph Died around the same time as this Abassid caliph likely assassinated Tomb is a major site of pilgrimage was killed child Imam married daughter of caliph died in Baghdad Ali al Hadi d 868 was 7 years old …