The Origins of the Shi'a - Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kufa

The Sunni-Shi'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kufa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Shi'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. In this way, the book addresses two seminal controversies in the study of early Islam, namely the dating of Kufan Shi'i identity and the means by which the Shi'a differentiated themselves from mainstream Kufan society. This is an important, original and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society.

Product details

• Authors: Najam Haider, Najam (Barnard College Haider
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 26.09.2011
• EAN: 9781107010710
• ISBN: 978-1-107-01071-0
• No. of pages: 298
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 22 mm
• Series: Print on Demand; Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book; Islam, RELIGION / Islam / General, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Middle East / Iraq, CE period up to c 1500, Social and cultural history, Middle Eastern history, Iraq, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, c 500 to c 1000 CE, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE