1. Is There a Shī‘a Philosophy of History?
- Author
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Maysam J. al Faruqi
- Subjects
History ,Philosophy of history ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Political history ,Religious studies ,Historiography ,Islam ,Praise ,Philosophy education ,Intellectual history ,Eastern philosophy ,Epistemology ,media_common - Abstract
Shi‘a theology differs distinctly from Sunni theology in its interpretation of the Qur’ān and of early Islamic political history. On the basis of these differences, it is postulated that Shi‘a thought is also epistemologically different from Sunni thought and that it builds on a radically dissimilar vision of the world. Thus, it is usually assumed that the Shi‘a have a different conception and philosophy of history. Closer inspection, however, reveals no such variance. Specifically, this article examines the case of tenth-century historian Mas‘ūdi, whose importance in classical Muslim historiography has been remarked upon by Muslim historians as well as by contemporary scholarship. Mas‘ūdi is believed to be a Shi‘a of Twelver persuasion. Some have assumed that he was an Ismā‘ili, but the majority of scholars agree that he is more likely to be an adept of the Twelver Shi‘a. His extensive presentation of Shi‘a beliefs, his excessive praise of ‘Ali ibn Abū ālib, and his sympathetic T treatment of Shi‘a claims certainly make him a likely candidate. That his actual beliefs remain to some extent an issue is due to the fact that he does not claim his religious confession outright in the books that have survived. He does refer the reader to his other books devoted to the matter and where he presumably clarified his position concerning Shi‘a claims. The books that remained, however, are history books, and while he is not trying to hide his identity, Mas‘ūdi is trying to write as much of an objective account of history and events as he can, and he avoids consciously taking position on such matters.
- Published
- 2021