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The Shia Ithna Ashari school of jurisprudence
is divided into three schools Akhbari,
Usuli, and Shayki. The 17th Century
Akhbari/Usuli controversy was directed
towards establishing the ‘Ulama' as
regents of the Imam in social and
political matters. Usuli [variants:
Usooli] was a religious movement by
Iranian Shia Muslims in 17th century
Iran that was opposed to the Akhbari.
The Usuli-Akhbari controversy resulted
in the victory of rationalism and
upheld the role of the Ulama, but
it would be wrong to assumed that
all Akhbari `Ulama' were reactionary
and all Usuli `Ulama' were progressive.
The dominant Usuli (from “usul-i-fiqh,”
principles of jurisprudence) school
is more liberal in its legal outlook
than the Akhbari. It allows greater
use of interpretation (Ijtihad) in
reaching legal decisions, and considers
that one must obey a Mujtahid (learned
interpreter of the law) as well as
an Imam. The Iranian religious center
at Qom was the focal point of Usuli
Shiaism, and from the 1760s, the Usuli
school began to win out in the strategic
Shia shrine centers of Najaf and Karbala
in Iraq. By the establishment of the
Qajar dynasty in 1785 (CE) the Usuli
Ulama had emerged as a force to be
reckoned with across Iran, with it's
leadership emanating from the Atabat
(Karbila and Najaf in Iraq).
Usuli Shiaism produced the politically
active caste of priests that is a
distinctive feature of Iranian Shiaism.
Usuli rationalists insisted that the
consensus of scholars and independent
reasoning (Ijtihad) can be a basis
for activism. Usuli Shiaism provided
the religious legitimacy for Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini's Islamic revolution
of 1979 and the subsequent theocratic
state. But the na'ib-i-amm concept
-- that the Ulama acted in “general
deputyship” in the absence of the
Hidden Imam - expanded only slowly
over time. Most Ulama were politically
inactive. The concept was developed
to its logical conclusion in Ayat'ullah
Khumayni's construct that that government
is rightfully administered by Islamic
jurists in the absence of the Imam.
In mainstream Usuli Shia jurisprudence
it is illegitimate to continue following
the controversial rulings of a dead
jurisprudent. Laypersons must adopt
a new, living jurisprudent in such
circumstances. The practice of taqlid
al-mayyit [following dead jurisprudents]
is permited in the Akhbari school.
Akhbari (or communicators of tradition,
akhbar being the Shi'i term for the
Traditions) was a religious movement
by Arab Shia Muslims in 17th century
Iraq that was opposed to the Usuli.
Akhbari Shiaism did not promote political
control, and held that clerics should
advise political leaders but not govern
themselves. The shrine cities of Ottoman
Iraq -- Najaf (tomb of `Ali) and Karbala
(tomb of Husayn) -- were the center
of Akhbari scholars. The Akhbari school
restricted to the Qur'an and oral
reports of the Prophet and the Imams.
They held that, during the ghaiba
(occultation) of the Twelfth Imam,
religious scholars were not permitted
to use reason (Ijtihad) to apply law
to a specific situation. They also
insisted that laymen can equally emulate
the 12 Imams -- that is, Akhbaris
supported in the ability of all believers
to interpret the Traditions of the
Imams.
This school crystallised into a separate
movement following the writings of
Mulla Muhammad Amin Astaraabadi (d.
1033/1623). Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani,
a refugee from Afghan slaughter in
Iran in 1724, rejected the legitimacy
of holy war during the occultation
of the Imam. The school achieved its
greatest influence during the late
and post-Safavid periods but was crushed
by the `Usuli Mujtahidin at the end
of the Qajar era. Shaykh Murtada bin
Muhammad Amin Ansari [b 1214/1799
, d 1281/1864] established conclusively
the dominance of the Usuli position
against the neo-Akhbari Traditionism.
There is some confusion as to the present
adherence to the Akhbari school. Many
sources claims that Iraqi Shi‘ism
is Akhbari while Iranian Shi‘ism is
Usuli. Other reports characterized
Abdul Majid al-Khoei, who was killed
by a rampaging mob soon after he returned
to Iraq from emigration in London,
and as Akhbari. This may overstate
matters, though "some residual
influence of the Akhbari position
still persists not only in Iran but
to a much greater degree among the
Shi'i Ulama of Iraq, India, Pakistan
and Bahrain and among their followers."
[source]
Other sources report that both Iraqi
and Iranian are Shi'ia are Usulis,
and that Iraq is fully part of the
marja‘ (source or religious leader)
system. Thus, Grand Ayatullah as-Sayyid
Ali al-Hussaini as-Seestani is Marja
Taghlid (source of emulation). Sharia
is updated, interpreted and relayed
by a Mojtahed (supreme religious leader)
or a Marja Taghlid (source of emulation).
According to this view, Akhbaris are
today a small group which only survives
in any numbers in Bahrain, where the
majority of Shias are Akhbaris. They
are also found around Basra in southern
Iraq as well as around Khorramshahr
in Iran. Akhbari Shi‘ism also has
a few adherents in other Gulf regions.
After the defeat of the Akhbaris, the
primary doctrinal challenge to Usuli
jurisprudecne came from the Shaykhi
school. This movement was founded
on the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i
(d. 1825 C.E.) and his successor Siyyid
Kazim-i-Rashti (d. 1844 C.E.). Whereas
the Akhbari school differed from the
`Usulis principally in matters of
furu`, the Shaykhi School, founded
by Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zaynu'd-Din al-Ahsa'i
(d. 1241/1826), differed principally
in usul. There is evidence that Shaykh
Najafi made attempts to marginalize
their role. There remains a strong
Shaykhi movement in Pakistan.
Page last updated:
Friday, November 25, 2005 22:04:51 -0500 |
