Focused on Shi'ism and Sufism in the formative period of Islam, this book examines the development of the concept of wal?ya, a complex term that has, over time, acquired a wide range of relationships with other theological ideas, chiefly in relation to the notion of authority.
The book offers a textual and comparative analysis of wal?ya based on primary sources in the ninth and tenth centuries, from both Shi'i and Sufi circles. The starting point is one of the oldest surviving Shi'i sources, Kit?b Sulaym. Alongside this, the author analyses al-???? of Fa?l Sh?dh?n al-Nish?b?r?, Kit?b al-Ma??sin of al-Barq? and Kit?b al-K?f? of al-Kulayn?. Three major texts in Sufism are considered: Kit?b al-?idq by Ab? Sa??d al-Kharr?z, Tafs?r al-Qur?an al-?A??m by Sahl al-Tustar?, and Al-Tirmidh?'s Kit?b S?rat al-Awliy??. Together, these sources highlight the doctrinal aspects of wal?ya, exploring the identity, function, appointment, and description of those considered 'wal?'. The author ultimately argues that wal?ya is a cluster of rich, deep-rooted responses to the question of authority, developed within both Shi'ism and Sufism after the death of the Prophet.
The book is much-needed reading for students and scholars interested in Shi'i and Sufi studies and Islamic philosophy.