Shaykhism
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Shaykhism (
It has been described as a mystical strand of
As of 2001[update], there remained a following in Iran, Iraq,[3] Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Pakistan.[4]
Shaykhí teachings
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Eschatology
The primary force behind Ahmad's teachings is the belief in the
Shaykh Ahmad's perspectives on accepted Islamic doctrines diverged in several areas, most notably on his mystical interpretation of prophesy. The sun, moon and stars of the
Hurqalya
In an effort to "harmonize reason and religion" and "explain some doctrines of Islam that appear contrary to reason" and the laws of the natural world, Shaykh Ahmad, postulated an intermediary world between the physical and spiritual worlds that he called
Mystical interpretation
In other writings, Shaykh Ahmad synthesizes rather dramatic descriptions of the origin of the prophets, the primal word, and other religious themes through allusions and mystical language. Much of this language is oriented around trees, specifically the primal universal tree of Eden, described in Jewish scripture as being two trees. This primal tree is, in some ways, the universal spirit of the prophets themselves:
The symbol of the preexistent tree appears elsewhere in Shaykh Ahmad's writings. He says, for instance, that Muhammad and the Imams exist both on the level of unconstrained being or preexistence, wherein they are the Complete Word and the Most Perfect Man, and on the level of constrained being. On this second, limited plane, the cloud of the divine Will subsists and from it emanates the Primal Water that irrigates the barren earth of matter and of elements. Although the divine Will remains unconstrained in essential being, its manifest aspect has now entered into limited being. When God poured down from the clouds of Will on the barren earth, he thereby sent down this water and it mixed with the fallow soil. In the garden of the heaven known as as-Saqurah, the Tree of Eternity arose, and the Holy Spirit or Universal Intellect, the first branch that grew upon it, is the first creation among the worlds.[7]
Prominent Scholars
Shaykh Ahmad
Shaykh Ahmad, at about age forty, began to study in earnest in the Shiʻa centres of religious scholarship such as
Sayyid Kazim Rashti
Al-Ahsa'is most prominent student, Kazim Rashti, was given the authority to teach on his behalf in Karbala and became his undisputed successor.[2][9]
Abbas Amanat notes that, in contrast to other religious schools in Iran where students came from families of high-ranking clerics, "the majority of the students in Rashti's circle, with the exception of a few, were alike in their humble origins".[10]
Karim Khan
Al-Rashti had hundreds of students and several of his leading students claimed to be the true successors to his scholarship.[2] The two main currents of Shaykhism since then came to be known as the Kermani and Tabrizi Schools.[2]
Karim Khan Kermani (1809/1810-1870/1871) became the leader of the main Shaykhi group. He became the foremost critic of those that formed a new religion, writing four essays against them.[11] He repudiated some of the more radical teachings of Ahsai and Rashti and moved the Shaykhi school back towards the mainstream Usuli teachings. Karim Khan Kirmani was succeeded by his son Shaykh Muhammad Khan Kirmani (1846–1906), then by Muhammad's brother Shaykh Zaynal 'Abidln Kirmani (1859–1946). Shaykh Zayn al-'Abidin Kirmani was succeeded by Shaykh Abu al-Qasim Ibrahimi (1896–1969), who was succeeded by his son 'Abd al-Reza Khan Ebrahimi who was a leader until his death.[12]
Modern Shaykhism
The current leader of the Shaykhiys is Zein al-Abedin Ebrahimi from Kerman, Iran who became the leader of the Shaykhiys when the last leader Mr. Ali al-Musawi died in Iraq.
Ali al-Musawi was the man who heads a community with followers in Iraq - mainly
Reception in other religions
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Further reading
- Corbin, Henry (1977). Spriritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi'ite Iran. Princeton University Press, New Jersey.
- Related documents on Bahai-library.com
Notes
- ^ MacEoin 1984.
- ^ a b c d Matthiesen 2014.
- ^ "The Encyclopedia of World History". bartleby.com. 2001. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
- ^ Hermann 2017.
- ^ Esoteric Apocalypse (Qiyamah): Isma‘ilī Muslim Perspectives on the “End of the World” ismailignosis.com
- ^ a b c Moment, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press. pp. 227–228.
- ^ Cole, Juan (1994). "The World as Text: Cosmologies of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i". University of Michigan - Studia Islamica 80 (1994):1-23.
- ^ JSTOR 604537.
- ^ Zarandí 1932, p. 16.
- ^ a b Amanat, Abbas. The early years of the Babi movement. Diss. University of Oxford, 1981.
- ^ "Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani (1810-1871) - Some Biographical Notes. | Hurqalya Publications: Center for Shaykhī and Bābī-Bahā'ī Studies". hurqalya.ucmerced.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ Henry Corbin History of Islamic Philosophy, Vol. II; page 353
- ^ Where Is Iraq Heading? Lessons from Basra Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, International Crisis Group, 2007-06-25, accessed on 2007-07-03
- ^ The Candidate Lists Are Out: Basra More Fragmented, Sadrists Pursuing Several Strategies?, Historiae, 2008-12-12
- ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ Smith, Peter. The Babi Movement: A Resource Mobilization Perspective in Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, Volume 3. Kalimat Press. p. 60.
- ISBN 9781576073551.
References
- ISBN 0-87743-020-9.
- Hermann, Denis (2017-11-30). "SHAYKHISM". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
- MacEoin, Denis (1984-12-15) [updated 2011-07-29]. "SHAIKH AḤMAD AḤSĀʾĪ". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
- Matthiesen, Toby (2014-11-24). "Mysticism, Migration and Clerical Networks: Ahmad al-Ahsaʾi and the Shaykhis of al-Ahsa, Kuwait and Basra". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 34 (4): 386–409. S2CID 144918190.
- )