Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shi’ism

by Matthew Pierce

A millennium ago, Baghdad was the capital of one of history s greatest civilizations. A new Islamic era was under way. Yet despite the profound cultural achievements, many Muslims felt their society had gone astray. Shi a Muslims challenged the dominant narrative of Islamic success with stories of loss. Faithful Muslims have long debated whether Sunni caliphs or Shi a imams were the true heirs of the Prophet Muhammad. More influential has been the way Muslim communities remembered those disputes through stories that influenced how to think and feel about them, Matthew Pierce argues.

"Twelve Infallible Men "focuses on the role of narratives of the imams in the development of a distinct Shi a identity. During the tenth century, at a critical juncture in Islamic history, a group of scholars began assembling definitive works containing accounts of the twelve imams lives. These collective biographies constructed a sacred history, portraying the imams as strong, beautiful, learned, and pious. Miracles surrounded their birth, and they became miracle workers in turn, but were nevertheless betrayed and martyred by enemies.

These biographies inspired and entertained, but more importantly they offered a meaningful narrative of history for Muslims who revered the imams. The accounts invoked shared memories and shaped communal responses and ritual practices of grieving. Mourning the imams tragic fates helped nascent Shi a communities resist the pressure to forget their story. The biographies of the imams became a focal point of cultural memory, inspiring Shi a religious imagination for centuries to come."

Genres: Islam, Religion, History, Middle East

272 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2016

Reviews

[Alavvii · Rating 5 out of 5]

An erudite survey of salient themes found in Imami Shi'i hagiographical literature from the 10th to 12th century. Pierce provides an analysis of the key features of the Imam's collective biographies and demonstrates how these works eventually came to influence a unique Twelver Shi'i identity. There is an extensive notes section at the end which leads the reader to other interesting studies also available in English. This is not a book about the Imams per se, but a book about the "sacred biographies" of the Imams. Recommended for students of Shi'ism already familiar with the basics

[Sami Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this book as someone with a cursory, but limited understanding of Shi`a Islam. Pierce gives an insightful overview of the sacred biography genre written during an instable political era in Islamic History—specifically those hagiographies that canonize the lives of the 12 infallible Imams. In doing so, he opens an instructive and nuanced window into Shi`a identity formation through narrative. Highly recommend this book as an essential resource for the curious, especially given it's highly skimmable. i.e. those who wish to learn about individual elements can do so without reading the entire thing.

[ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute Crap book! This is essentially a sociological study on the concept of Shi'ism which as a result made it more of a reflection of the author than the actual Imams themselves.

Here's an idea, how about quoting these 12 men directly? How about going to the source material for what they actually say and believe? Maybe narrate some of their actions and behavior when they faced a certain situation.

The author really just wanted to put his spin and thoughts of Shiism in general. This book has nothing to do with the Imams.

[Umair Muhajir · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting study of the role played by the hagiographies of the twelve Imams (and Fatima) in the formation of Shiite identity; even more suggestive is Pierce’s suggestion that Sunnism might have been, rather than Islam’s default mode, a response to, if not Shi’ism as we understand it today, then Alid sympathies more broadly.

[Mills College Library]

297.82092 P617 2016