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Akhbari
Akhbarism (Arabic: الأخبارية, romanized: al-ʾAkhbāriyya) is a branch of Twelver Shia Islam, whose adherents do not perform emulation (taqlid) of an Islamic jurist (marja'). Akhbaris reject the use of intercessory reasoning via trained Islamic jurists to derive verdicts in Islamic law, maintaining it is forbidden (haram) to perform imitation of anyone but one of the Fourteen Infallibles of Twelver Islam. The vast majority of Akhbaris today are to be found in Bahrain, with notable minorities in Iraq, Kuwait and Tanzania.
The term Akhbari is derived from khabara'at, meaning “news” or “reports,” while Usuli comes from Uṣūl al-fiqh, the “principles of Islamic jurisprudence.” Akhbaris, in contrast to Usulis, do not accept Usul al-fiqh—that is, the effort to formulate a coherent set of legal principles based on rulings issued by the Imams prior to the Occultation (ghayba) of the last Imam.
Akhbaris hold that they must directly imitate the Ahl al-Bayt, arguing that the Imams are infallible whereas the marja, regardless of their expertise in jurisprudence, is not. Knowledge of religious rulings within Islamic jurisprudence is therefore transmitted, according to Akhbari belief, through successive generations of Muhaddith who narrate the rulings and hadith of The Fourteen Infallibles without engaging in interpretation. They maintain that the interpretation of the Qur'an and the full, esoteric knowledge of revelation (al-rāsikhūn fi al-ʿilm Arabic: الراسخون فی العلم) are also handed down from the Imams in this manner.
As of the twenty-first century, Akhbari form a small minority within Shia Islam, with Usulis making up the mainstream majority. Akhbarism as a revivalist movement started with the writings of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1627) and achieved its greatest influence in the late Safavid (1501–1736) and early post-Safavid era. However, shortly thereafter Muhammad Baqir Behbahani (d. 1792), along with other Usuli mujtahids, eradicated most of the Akhbari movement. South Asian regions notable for their Akhbari populations include Hyderabad, Karachi, Sehwan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Chakwaal, and Gojar Khan. with reportedly "only a handful of Shia Ulama remaining Akhbari to the present day."
The foundational belief of Akhbarism is that only the aḥadīth of the Infallibles serve as authoritative evidence in Islam. Akhbaris consider themselves bound by the Hadith of the two weighty things (Hadith ath-Thaqalayn), in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad instructed his followers to adhere to two sources of divine guidance after his death: the Quran and his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt, whom Twelvers identify as the Twelve Imams.
Accordingly, even during the Major Occultation, Akhbaris maintain that Muslims must continue to follow the traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt. They cite the statement attributed to Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi: “As for the new events that will occur (during my occultation), turn to the narrators of our traditions, because they are my proof to you, while I am the proof of Allah to them.” Akhbaris therefore reject fatāwa based on ijtihad and deny the permissibility of producing Qur'anic exegesis without quoting narrations from the infallible Ahlul-Bayt. They argue—citing the Hadith ath-Thaqalayn and reports from the Twelve Imams—that exegesis must rely exclusively on these authoritative traditions. Akhbaris also reject the generalization of Hadith, maintaining that individual Hadiths are either sound or unsound; moreover, they consider the hadith contained in The Four Books of the Shia tradition to be reliable.
It is reported that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi acknowledged the reliability of Kitab al-Kafi (one of The Four Books of Shias) and stated that “al-Kafi is sufficient for our Shia.” (By contrast, Usulis question the credibility of this statement, noting that it is not found within al-Kafi itself.)
Akhbaris argue that Usūlism introduced a new basis for Usul al-fiqh centuries after the Major Occultation, relying on hypothetical reasoning and scholarly assumptions. By contrast, early Shī‘a ulamā' such as Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh focused primarily on the transmission of ḥadīth. During this period, Shī‘a scholars distinguished themselves from the Sunni tradition, which employed methods such as qiyas (analogical reasoning), while Shī‘a law was developed directly from the traditions of the Imams.
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Akhbari
Akhbarism (Arabic: الأخبارية, romanized: al-ʾAkhbāriyya) is a branch of Twelver Shia Islam, whose adherents do not perform emulation (taqlid) of an Islamic jurist (marja'). Akhbaris reject the use of intercessory reasoning via trained Islamic jurists to derive verdicts in Islamic law, maintaining it is forbidden (haram) to perform imitation of anyone but one of the Fourteen Infallibles of Twelver Islam. The vast majority of Akhbaris today are to be found in Bahrain, with notable minorities in Iraq, Kuwait and Tanzania.
The term Akhbari is derived from khabara'at, meaning “news” or “reports,” while Usuli comes from Uṣūl al-fiqh, the “principles of Islamic jurisprudence.” Akhbaris, in contrast to Usulis, do not accept Usul al-fiqh—that is, the effort to formulate a coherent set of legal principles based on rulings issued by the Imams prior to the Occultation (ghayba) of the last Imam.
Akhbaris hold that they must directly imitate the Ahl al-Bayt, arguing that the Imams are infallible whereas the marja, regardless of their expertise in jurisprudence, is not. Knowledge of religious rulings within Islamic jurisprudence is therefore transmitted, according to Akhbari belief, through successive generations of Muhaddith who narrate the rulings and hadith of The Fourteen Infallibles without engaging in interpretation. They maintain that the interpretation of the Qur'an and the full, esoteric knowledge of revelation (al-rāsikhūn fi al-ʿilm Arabic: الراسخون فی العلم) are also handed down from the Imams in this manner.
As of the twenty-first century, Akhbari form a small minority within Shia Islam, with Usulis making up the mainstream majority. Akhbarism as a revivalist movement started with the writings of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1627) and achieved its greatest influence in the late Safavid (1501–1736) and early post-Safavid era. However, shortly thereafter Muhammad Baqir Behbahani (d. 1792), along with other Usuli mujtahids, eradicated most of the Akhbari movement. South Asian regions notable for their Akhbari populations include Hyderabad, Karachi, Sehwan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Chakwaal, and Gojar Khan. with reportedly "only a handful of Shia Ulama remaining Akhbari to the present day."
The foundational belief of Akhbarism is that only the aḥadīth of the Infallibles serve as authoritative evidence in Islam. Akhbaris consider themselves bound by the Hadith of the two weighty things (Hadith ath-Thaqalayn), in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad instructed his followers to adhere to two sources of divine guidance after his death: the Quran and his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt, whom Twelvers identify as the Twelve Imams.
Accordingly, even during the Major Occultation, Akhbaris maintain that Muslims must continue to follow the traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt. They cite the statement attributed to Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi: “As for the new events that will occur (during my occultation), turn to the narrators of our traditions, because they are my proof to you, while I am the proof of Allah to them.” Akhbaris therefore reject fatāwa based on ijtihad and deny the permissibility of producing Qur'anic exegesis without quoting narrations from the infallible Ahlul-Bayt. They argue—citing the Hadith ath-Thaqalayn and reports from the Twelve Imams—that exegesis must rely exclusively on these authoritative traditions. Akhbaris also reject the generalization of Hadith, maintaining that individual Hadiths are either sound or unsound; moreover, they consider the hadith contained in The Four Books of the Shia tradition to be reliable.
It is reported that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi acknowledged the reliability of Kitab al-Kafi (one of The Four Books of Shias) and stated that “al-Kafi is sufficient for our Shia.” (By contrast, Usulis question the credibility of this statement, noting that it is not found within al-Kafi itself.)
Akhbaris argue that Usūlism introduced a new basis for Usul al-fiqh centuries after the Major Occultation, relying on hypothetical reasoning and scholarly assumptions. By contrast, early Shī‘a ulamā' such as Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh focused primarily on the transmission of ḥadīth. During this period, Shī‘a scholars distinguished themselves from the Sunni tradition, which employed methods such as qiyas (analogical reasoning), while Shī‘a law was developed directly from the traditions of the Imams.