considered to be the best of men and the foremost
members of the ahl al-bayt (Muhammad’s descen-
dants). Indeed, they are thought to embody a divine
light that is identical to the light that God used to
create the universe. Such beliefs indicate that the
Shia have developed a complex imamology, or set
of doctrines concerning the Imams. The key doc-
trines include nass (divinely inspired designation
by the previous Imam), isma (infallibility and sin-
lessness), ilm (knowledge of God’s revelation and
the law), walaya (expertise in spiritual guidance),
ghayba (occultation of the 12th Imam), and rajaa
(return of the 12th Imam before Judgment Day).
The Imams also epitomize ideas of Martyrdom
(shahada) and righteous suffering, which open the
way to salvation for the Shii community.
(5) Adl (Divine Justice). Twelve-Imam Shia
accept an understanding of God’s JUstice that
closely resembles that of the mUtazili school.
They consider it to be a rationally based attribute
of God, associated with his wisdom. Because of
this, he is essentially good, and nothing evil or
profane can be attributed to him. Humans, there-
fore are fully accountable for their disobedience
and evil deeds. On the other hand, the ashari
school, the leading proponents of Sunni theol-
ogy, argued that God could not be compelled
to always act justly and that ultimately he was
the sole creator of all actions done by humans,
whether good or bad.
lAW, MySTICISM, AND
rElIGIOuS prACTICE
Like Sunnis, Twelve-Imam Shia believe that reli-
gious law is based on God’s commandments
and prohibitions as conveyed by the Quran and
hadith. They also accept a notion of consensus
(ijmaa) in their jurisprudence. Unlike the Sun-
nis, they give greater weight to human reasoning
or intelligence (aql) in deriving law from God’s
revelations, whereas the Sunnis only allow for a
more limited use of analogical reasoning (qiyas).
The Shii tradition of fiqh (jurisprudence), known
as the Jaafari School in honor of Jaafar al-Sadiq,
formally developed after the 12th century, which
was well after the major Sunni schools had
formed. Basing their authority on the assertion
that they were representatives of the Hidden
Imam, they have given considerable weight to
both the hadith of the Imams and to reason-
ing, which caused a split between traditionalist
ulama, known as the akhbari school, and the
rationalists, known as the UsUli school. The
Usuli School, which emphasizes the importance
of ijtihad (individual legal judgment based on
reason) has prevailed in Iran, and it is the school
to which the Ayatollah RUhollah khomeini (d.
1989) and other leading Iranian Ulama belong.
On points of practical law, Shii jurisprudence is
similar to that of the Sunnis, with minor varia-
tions. A significant exception in this regard is its
recognition of the institution of temporary mar-
riage, known as mutaa, which is allowed mainly
in Shii Iran and rejected by Sunnis. On the other
hand, Shii fiqh makes divorce in regular marriages
more difficult than in Sunni law.
Running counter to its legal and theologi-
cal rationalism, Twelve-Imam Shiism has also
embraced mysticism, particularly in the form
known as irfan (theosophy, gnosticism). The Shii
ulama opposed organized tariqa sUFism, which
adversely affected its popularity in Shii commu-
nities, but many of the Persian-speaking ulama
were drawn to the ecstatic poetry of Jalal al-din
rUmi (d. 1273), Hafez (d. 1390), and Jami (d.
1492), together with the illuminationist philoso-
phy of Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi (d. 1191), which
inspired members of the neo-Platonic school of
Isfahan. The two leading mystical thinkers in this
school were Mir Damad (d. 1631) and mUlla
sadra (d. 1640). Ayatollah Khomeini, the ide-
ologist and leader of the iranian revolUtion oF
1978–1979, was a student of irfan, and wrote sev-
eral commentaries and books on the subject.
Twelver Shiis practice the so-called Five pil-
lars of worship with some variations. They pro-
nounce the shahada, but are allowed to add the
phrase “and Ali is God’s friend” at the end. TheyTwelve-Imam Shiism 679 J