Project MUSE®: Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies - Latest Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582
Project MUSE®: Latest articles in Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies.daily12026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00text/htmlen-USVol. 5 (2012) through current issueLatest Articles: Journal of Shi'a Islamic StudiesTWOProject MUSE®Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies2051-557X1748-9423Latest articles in Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. Feed provided by Project MUSE®Editorial: Rediscovering Lost Gems: Republishing Forgotten Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980201
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As stewards of knowledge in the realm of Shi‘a studies, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that significant scholarly contributions are not consigned to the oblivion of forgotten archives. In this spirit, we are delighted to announce our decision to republish a selection of articles from our early issues that have become inaccessible both in print and online.The decision to bring these articles back to life is not merely an exercise in nostalgia; rather, it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to preserving and promoting valuable insights into the subject of Shi‘a Islamic studies. These articles represent the intellectual labour of scholars who have tackled pressing questions, delved into rich cultural traditions
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallEditorial: Rediscovering Lost Gems: Republishing Forgotten Articles2026-01-17text/htmlen-USEditorial: Rediscovering Lost Gems: Republishing Forgotten Articles2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®34622026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17The Revelation of John in Early Shi‘i Islamic Literature
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980202
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The intricate interplay between Islamic and Judeo/Christian traditions during late antiquity and the early Islamic period has long intrigued scholars of religious studies. This dynamic relationship, characterised by shared symbols and interpretative frameworks, underscores the profound cultural and intellectual currents that shaped the development of early Islamic thought. Among the various intersections between these traditions, the reception and reinterpretation of biblical texts within Islamic discourse stand out as a particularly rich area of inquiry.1The Apocalypse of John (commonly referred to as the Book of Revelation) occupies a unique position in Christian scripture due to its symbolic language and
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallThe Revelation of John in Early Shi‘i Islamic Literature2026-01-17text/htmlen-USThe Revelation of John in Early Shi‘i Islamic Literature2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®790432026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17Text-based Succession in Abrahamic Religions: A Comparative Study of Prophetic Leadership in Judaism, Christianity, and Shi‘a Islam
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980203
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The issue of prophetic succession has been a central theme in Abrahamic religions, shaping theological doctrines and community leadership structures.1 While each tradition has developed distinct perspectives on succession, a closer examination of scriptural sources reveals a recurring pattern of divinely ordained leadership. The question of whether the prophets explicitly appointed successors remain a point of contention, particularly in interfaith and intra-Islamic discussions.In Judaism, the succession to Moses is explicitly addressed in the Hebrew Bible, where Moses asks God to appoint a leader for the Israelites, resulting in the divine selection of Joshua, the son of Nūn.2 This text-based succession (naṣṣ)
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallText-based Succession in Abrahamic Religions: A Comparative Study of Prophetic Leadership in Judaism, Christianity, and Shi‘a Islam2026-01-17text/htmlen-USText-based Succession in Abrahamic Religions: A Comparative Study of Prophetic Leadership in Judaism, Christianity, and Shi‘a Islam2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®696342026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17Faith and Empire: Shah Ismāʿīl I, al-Karakī, and the Institutional Foundations of Shi‘i Scholarship in the Safavid Era
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980204
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Abū al-Muẓaffar Bahādur Khān Ḥusayni, commonly known as Shah Ismāʿīl I (reign: 1501–1524), rose to power by skilfully harnessing the messianic and millenarian sentiments prevalent among the Turkish tribes of Anatolia.1 However, he aimed to legitimise his rule beyond the confines of tribal-Turkish traditions or claims of being the Owner of the Age or the promised Mahdi.2 Instead, he aspired to position himself within the lineage of the Shi‘i Imams.3According to the chronicler of ʿĀlam-Ārā-yi Shāh Ismāʿīl, the young shah was resolute in propagating the faith of his ancestors, namely, Twelver Shi‘ism, despite warnings from his military commanders. These advisors cautioned him that most of his subjects did not favour a
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallFaith and Empire: Shah Ismāʿīl I, al-Karakī, and the Institutional Foundations of Shi‘i Scholarship in the Safavid Era2026-01-17text/htmlen-USFaith and Empire: Shah Ismāʿīl I, al-Karakī, and the Institutional Foundations of Shi‘i Scholarship in the Safavid Era2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®922732026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17Rethinking Being: From Suhrawardī to Mullā Ṣadrā
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980205
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By codifying an understanding of spiritual psychology, metaphysics provides a bedrock for its intelligibility. It lays the foundation upon which we can develop our account of the reality of human existence. To be able to understand what it means to be human firstly requires an understanding of reality. In this way, the intelligibility of spiritual psychology is reliant upon an understanding of the metaphysical in our system of thought. The question of the possibility of spiritual psychology thus remains in the domain of metaphysics. For this reason, any attempt to answer such question should be built on the understanding of Being in Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophy. But before proceeding to analyse Mullā Ṣadrā’s
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallRethinking Being: From Suhrawardī to Mullā Ṣadrā2026-01-17text/htmlen-USRethinking Being: From Suhrawardī to Mullā Ṣadrā2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®500462026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17“Guarding the Cave”: Shi‘i Devotion and the Symbolic Legacy of Sūrat al- Kahf in Shi‘a Funerary Inscriptions
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980206
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In verse 18 of Surat al-Kahf we read:You would think them awake, although they were asleep. And We turned them over to the right, and to the left, with their dog stretching its paws across the threshold. Had you looked at them, you would have turned away from them in flight and been filled with fear of them.This verse has been used by some, to express their devotion to the Shi‘ite Imams by having it inscribed on their tombstones. Mullā ʿAbbās Torbatī, known as Ḥāj Ākhūnd, a scholar from Khorasan (d. 1322 AH / 1904 CE), requested that the following be inscribed on his tombstone in the holy shrine of Imam Riḍā: “
” followed by:The Righteous Servant of God, the Pious scholar, the late Ḥāj Shaykh ʿAbbās Torbatī, son of
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmall“Guarding the Cave”: Shi‘i Devotion and the Symbolic Legacy of Sūrat al- Kahf in Shi‘a Funerary Inscriptions2026-01-17text/htmlen-US“Guarding the Cave”: Shi‘i Devotion and the Symbolic Legacy of Sūrat al- Kahf in Shi‘a Funerary Inscriptions2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®879982026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17Crises and Conversions. The Unlikely Avenues Of “Italian Shi‘ism” by Minoo Mirshahvalad (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980207
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‘Not only fascinating but a pleasure to read’; Professor Mark Sedgwick in the Introduction so describes this book. I wholeheartedly concur. I too enjoyed delving into Dr Mirshahvalad’s work. In fact, for me it was a double pleasure because in its pages I found again men whom I personally well knew in the days of my Roman youth. First among them of course is the Traditionalist master Julius Evola but also distinguished scholarly figures like Adriano Romualdi and Pio Filippani Ronconi. Almost a Proustian experience: a remembrance of things past.The subject of this book is summed up in the subtitle. A significant number of Italian converts to Islam have chosen to become Shi‘a Muslims. A minority strand within the
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallCrises and Conversions. The Unlikely Avenues Of “Italian Shi‘ism” by Minoo Mirshahvalad (review)2026-01-17text/htmlen-USCrises and Conversions. The Unlikely Avenues Of “Italian Shi‘ism” by Minoo Mirshahvalad (review)2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®146862026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East by Barnaby Rogerson (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980208
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Barnaby Rogerson’s The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East (2024) is a grand historical narrative of the Sunni-Shi‘a divide and its influence on Middle Eastern wars and politics. It contends that although religious divisions are often asserted as the origin of regional conflicts, other circumstances like ethnic, geopolitical, and economic competitions are also—if not more—important. Rogerson contextualises the Sunni-Shi‘a split in Islam as a historical process that has shaped, though not determined, the Middle East’s power struggles. Through a blending of historical narrative with contemporary conflict, he refutes the simplism that sectarianism alone is responsible for Middle Eastern
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallThe House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East by Barnaby Rogerson (review)2026-01-17text/htmlen-USThe House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East by Barnaby Rogerson (review)2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®155072026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law by Hossein Modarressi (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980209
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According to Professor Modarressi: ‘This book attempts to define the nature and main characteristics of the legal thought of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, a preeminent religious scholar and jurist of Medina in the first half of the second century of the Muslim calendar (mid-eighth century CE) (1). It has already attracted attention since its publication in 2022, receiving several reviews. It is divided into five parts: Introduction; Chapter 1 ‘Life’; Chapter 2 ‘The Legal School’; Chapter 3 ‘Specific Legal Questions’ and Chapter 4 ‘A Selection of Legal Responses’. The book provides a sense of the social environment of Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir, as well as that of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq.It is clear from the way that Modarressi
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallText and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law by Hossein Modarressi (review)2026-01-17text/htmlen-USText and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law by Hossein Modarressi (review)2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®179002026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17W. D. Fard - The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam by John Andrew Morrow and Bilal Muhammad (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980210
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In the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I was in my mid-teens, I got acquainted with bands like Public Enemy - with the unforgettable Flavor Flav and his “neckwatch” - and N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude), bands who were very explicit and vocal about racism, violence, and other aspects of the “great American dream”. It was also a time when I knew about a certain L.A. Lakers’ player named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and that there was an organisation called Nation of Islam, led by Louis Farrakhan, a fiery leader who was not afraid to say what he thought. It was also in that period that Rodney King (1965–2012) was brutally beaten up by the Los Angeles police and, after four officers were acquitted, the city plunged in violence for
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallW. D. Fard - The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam by John Andrew Morrow and Bilal Muhammad (review)2026-01-17text/htmlen-USW. D. Fard - The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam by John Andrew Morrow and Bilal Muhammad (review)2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®194722026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17ICAS Press Transliteration System
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/980343
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Arabic and Persian terms that do not have standard spellings in English are transliterated according to the following system:The definite article ‘al-’(always followed by a hyphen) should not be assimilated when preceded by a preposition or particle that is written separately from the following noun, such as wa, min, ilā, ʿan, ʿalā, fī, and lā; e.g. wa al-bayt, min al-bayt, ilā al-bayt, ʿan al-bayt, ʿalā al-bayt, fī al-bayt, lā al-bayt.When al- is preceded by a preposition that is not written separately from the following noun, such as bi, ka, and li, it should be assimilated in the following way: bil-insān, lil-insān, kal-insān.The spelling of the following words should be noted. As these words are naturalised
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-19T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/582/image/coversmallICAS Press Transliteration System2026-01-17text/htmlen-USICAS Press Transliteration System2026-01-172026TWOProject MUSE®121932026-05-19T00:00:00-05:002026-01-17