While Sufism (tasawwuf) is most often considered to be synonymous with Islamic spirituality, the eminent French scholar of Shīʿī Islam (tashayyuʾ), Henry Corbin (d. 1978), has said that, “The Shiʿite, on condition of the integrity with which he or she lives his/her Shiʿism, does not need Sufism, such as it is, since his/her Shi‘ism is already the ‘tarīqah’” (Corbin, En Islam iranien, Aspects spirituels et philosophiques, Vol. 1 Le shî’isme duodécimain, Éditions Gallimard, p 119, 1971 [My translation throughout this chapter]), and that “Shiʿism is, in the essence of its doctrine, the interior sense (the bāṭin) of the prophetic Revelation, thus the esoterism of Islam is already evident from everything that has been said before. The idea of walāyah, which is the driving idea behind it, is itself defined as ‘the interior sense, the esoteric, the prophetic message (bātin al-nubuwwah)’” (Ibid., p. 186). In essence, it appears that Sunnī Sufism, possibly arising from the “tashayyuʾ hasan” (Sunnism that professes a moderate Shī’ism that technically respects the Imams, which developed from the tenth century CE onward.) that the ʿAbbāsids fostered, borrowed the concept of imāmah (divine, or spiritual, leadership) from the Imāmiyyah, and, from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, cultivated the idea of the “shaykh,” to whom the seeker of knowledge owed absolute obedience. Sunnī Sufism incorporated the political status quo that was established initially by the Makkan aristocracy, and then more specifically the Umayyads. While Sunnī shuyūkh therefore promoted the practice of asceticism and developed an entire spiritual science, they nevertheless honored and maintained the legitimacy of the first three caliphs that the Imāmis considered as usurpers of the rightful position of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the first Imām of the Imāmis, and eventually the fourth caliph of the Sunnīs. (See also ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān al-Jullābī al-Hujwīrī, Kashf al-Maḥjūb (trans: Nicholson RA). Gibb Memorial Trust, Wiltshire, 2000, Chapter VII “Concerning Their Imams Who Belonged to the Companions,” pp. 70–73, in which he lists Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān as inspirational figures for the Sufis.) In exploring the definition of esoteric knowledge in the Twelver Shīʿī school, this chapter will focus upon (1) its promotion of the balance between the rational faculty and the intuition—both of which are components of the ʿaql (intellect); (2) the principle of secrecy; (3) the parameters of the knowledge of the Ḥusaynid Imams and (4) the Imams as the inheritors of prophetic esoteric knowledge and sacred relics.

The Conceptualization of the Esoteric in the Twelver Shīʿī Tradition

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2026年

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Rebecca Masterton

摘要

While Sufism (tasawwuf) is most often considered to be synonymous with Islamic spirituality, the eminent French scholar of Shīʿī Islam (tashayyuʾ), Henry Corbin (d. 1978), has said that, “The Shiʿite, on condition of the integrity with which he or she lives his/her Shiʿism, does not need Sufism, such as it is, since his/her Shi‘ism is already the ‘tarīqah’” (Corbin, En Islam iranien, Aspects spirituels et philosophiques, Vol. 1 Le shî’isme duodécimain, Éditions Gallimard, p 119, 1971 [My translation throughout this chapter]), and that “Shiʿism is, in the essence of its doctrine, the interior sense (the bāṭin) of the prophetic Revelation, thus the esoterism of Islam is already evident from everything that has been said before. The idea of walāyah, which is the driving idea behind it, is itself defined as ‘the interior sense, the esoteric, the prophetic message (bātin al-nubuwwah)’” (Ibid., p. 186). In essence, it appears that Sunnī Sufism, possibly arising from the “tashayyuʾ hasan” (Sunnism that professes a moderate Shī’ism that technically respects the Imams, which developed from the tenth century CE onward.) that the ʿAbbāsids fostered, borrowed the concept of imāmah (divine, or spiritual, leadership) from the Imāmiyyah, and, from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, cultivated the idea of the “shaykh,” to whom the seeker of knowledge owed absolute obedience. Sunnī Sufism incorporated the political status quo that was established initially by the Makkan aristocracy, and then more specifically the Umayyads. While Sunnī shuyūkh therefore promoted the practice of asceticism and developed an entire spiritual science, they nevertheless honored and maintained the legitimacy of the first three caliphs that the Imāmis considered as usurpers of the rightful position of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the first Imām of the Imāmis, and eventually the fourth caliph of the Sunnīs. (See also ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān al-Jullābī al-Hujwīrī, Kashf al-Maḥjūb (trans: Nicholson RA). Gibb Memorial Trust, Wiltshire, 2000, Chapter VII “Concerning Their Imams Who Belonged to the Companions,” pp. 70–73, in which he lists Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān as inspirational figures for the Sufis.) In exploring the definition of esoteric knowledge in the Twelver Shīʿī school, this chapter will focus upon (1) its promotion of the balance between the rational faculty and the intuition—both of which are components of the ʿaql (intellect); (2) the principle of secrecy; (3) the parameters of the knowledge of the Ḥusaynid Imams and (4) the Imams as the inheritors of prophetic esoteric knowledge and sacred relics.