''Shi'ite Islam'' is a text on the history and thought of

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

Islam. Written by Muhammed H. Al-Tabataba'i, with the translation, editing, and introduction by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, it was the first text to be written by a high ranking Shi'a scholar and intended for western readership.

How it began

In 1962, Kenneth Morgan, university

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and professor of religious studies at Colgate University, initiated a project to produce a text specifically dealing with

Shi'a Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

, introducing the Islamic sect to the non Muslim western reader, written from a true

perspective. The aim of Professor Morgan to have a description of Shi'ism by one of the respected traditional scholars of the

, led him and collaborator Seyyed Hossein Nasr, to Allamah Tabataba'i in 1963. Allameh Tabatabaei was thought of by some as a pillar of intellectual Shi'a thought who combined interest in jurisprudence and Quranic commentary with philosophy,

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

, and

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, and represented a more universal interpretation of the Shi'a point of view. The project took six years to complete, and was followed by two more extending volumes.

William Chittick William C. Chittick (born 29 June 1943) is an American philosopher, writer, translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi, and has written extensively on t ...

of SUNY collaborated with the editing, and the book was published by the

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led ...

in 1975. It remains a classic textbook for Westerners trying to gain an introductory understanding of

Islam.

External links

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Barnes and Noble reference item
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SUNY Press reference item
' Books by Hossein Nasr SUNY Press books 1979 non-fiction books Books by Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai {{shia-stub