AKHBARIYYA

Akhbariyya was a movement in Twelver Shi˓ism that emphasized a return to the sources of the law (Qur˒an and hadith). Hadith in Twelver Shi˓ism include accounts of the sayings and actions of the imams (normally termed akhbar). The Akhbariyya styled themselves as followers of the imams (through the akhbar) that record their rulings, rather than the interpretations of these texts by later scholars. The origins of the Akhbari movement are a debated point both within the Twelver tradition, and among Western commentators. The Akhbaris themselves, however, see their movement as the original Shi˓ism, which was later corrupted by scholars who had imitated Sunni methods of jurisprudence. Their opponents, termed Usulis (or in some texts, mujtahids), considered the Akhbaris an innovative movement (bid a), arising in the sixteenth century with the work of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1626). There is evidence to support both interpretations of the movement's origins. Early Muslim heresiographical works, such as Shahrastani's Kitab al-milal wa al-nihal (c. 1127), talk of the division of the imamiyya into mu˓taziliyya and akhbariyya. Whether these early Akhbaris can be linked to the later, better-defined, movement is unclear.

In biographical works, Astarabadi is normally described as the founder of the movement, though Astarabadi viewed himself as its "reviver." He was followed by a number of scholars who explicitly identified themselves with the Akhbariyya. What united these scholars was a call for the return to the sources in a belief that the meaning of the imams' words and actions was readily available, but had been lost by centuries of excessive interpretation. They identified this excessive interpretation with the introduction of the doctrine of ijtihad into Shi˓ite legal thinking by al-˓Allama al-Hilli (d.1325). Akhbaris also criticized other juristic practices linked with the theory of ijtihad. In particular, they viewed the "canonical four books" of Twelver Shi˓ite hadith as containing only "sound" (sahih) traditions. They believed that the hadith in these books should not be examined by the traditional means of establishing historical accuracy. Furthermore, the Akhbariyya maintained that these traditions were never ambiguous in meaning, and were in no need of interpretation. In this sense, the Akhbariyya can be viewed as literalist, or even fundamentalist.

The Akhbariyya drew on the diverse areas of Safavid Twelver intellectual life. There were Akhbaris who were influenced by mysticism and philosophy, such as Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi (d. 1659/1660) and Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani (d. 1680), as well as the stricter, more legalistic manifestations of Shi˓ism, such as Mulla Muhammad Tahir Qummi (d. 1686) and al-Hurr al-Amili (d. 1693). What they shared was a common attitude toward the manner in which the shari˓a might be known. They were, then, in the main a movement of law, and often referred to themselves as a madhhab (school of law). As an intellectual force, the Akhbariyya died out in Iran and Iraq in the early nineteenth century, though they continued for a short time thereafter to be influential in India. Even today, there continue to be scholars who follow a methodology similar to Akhbarism in the Shi˓ite world, particularly in the Persian Gulf area and southern Iran.

See alsoLaw ; Mu˓tazilites, Mu˓tazila ; Shi˓a: Imami (Twelver) .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gleave, Robert. Inevitable Doubt: Two Theories of Shi˓i Jurisprudence. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2000.

Tabataba˒i, H. Modarresssi. "Rationalism and Traditionalism in Shi˓i Jurisprudence." Studia Islamica 59 (1984): 141–158.

Robert Gleave