the three empires and the islamic phoenix 303faith among the populace, is difficult to tell. But there was a particular
distinction between them and the Sunnis, which had helped reinforce
their position among the population. While the Sunnis would acknowl-
edge a secular ruler who was not a descendant of the Prophet as
head of state, or caliph, the Shì"ah, as we know by now, would insist
that the caliphate ought to be resting within the Prophet’s line of heirs
particularly that of Caliph Ali. And as the last heir to the caliphate
was hidden, the Hidden Imam, the Twelver Shi"ìUlama"regarded
themselves the only legitimate representatives of the Imam. The Shahs
were accepted as heads of state until the Hidden Imam would return,
but the shah was not a replacement to the Imam. The Imam rules
with the knowledge passed on to him from one imam to the next, as
bestowed on them by God. And it was only the Ulama", not the shah,
who would be the vessel of this knowledge until the return of the
most taught human: the Hidden Imam (Armstrong, 2000). Conceivably,
that gave the Shi"ìUlama"a great power that was not to be enjoyed
by their Sunni counterparts.
A further distinction between the Shi"ìUlama"and the Sunni need
to mentioned. In contrast to the Sunni, the Shi"ìUlama"were, and
are, in support of innovation so much so that the innovative a’alim
(Plural Ulama") is described as mujtahid(from ijtihàd, exertion of self
to reach a religious opinion through reasoning). Further, they never
agreed to “close the gate” of jurisprudence. This is in sharp con-
trast to the Sunni who regarded, and some still regard, an innova-
tion as bida’hwhich would merit Hell Fire. This has provided the
Shì"ah with a continuous stream of innovation in judicial religious
thinking.
Intellectual Development under the flafawids
Literary intellectual activities under the flafawids seemed to have
been more active than that in the Ottoman Empire. Three factors
could be said to have provided a suitable environment for literary
intellectual activities: firstly, the relatively political and economic sta-
bility of the state, secondly, the support of the state, and thirdly the
distinguished position of the Ulama".
First, by being smaller than the Ottoman Empire, the flafawìd
Empire was more politically manageable, hence more politically sta-
ble than its Turkish neighbours. It was only during the ideological
and expansionist attempts of Shah Ismàìl, when he tried to rid the