Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

206 Notes
5 Bernard Lewis, The Political Language of Islam (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1988), p. 66.
6 'Abdallah Ahmad Muhammad al-Thawr, Hadhihi hiyya al-Yaman
(Beirut: Dar al-'Awda, 1979), p. 331. On the reigns of the imams of
San'a to which reference is made, see: Sulayman, Tarikh al-duwal (see
ch. 1 n. 9 above), p. 216; S. Lane-Poole, Mohammadan Dynasties
(London: Constable, 1894).
7 Thawr, Hadhihi, p. 275.
8 Tabari, Tarikh al-umam wa al-muluk (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1979), vol.
5, p. 98; Mohammad Abu Zahra, 'Furuq al madhab al-shi'i', in Almadahib
al-Islamiyya (Cairo: Maktaba al-Adab, 1924), pp. 63, 64.
9 Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 5, p, 98.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid. See also: Ahmad Amin, Fajr al-Islam, llth edn (Beirut: Dar al-
Kitab al-'Arabi, 1975), p. 268.
13 Ahmad Amin, Duha al-Islam, 6th edn (Cairo: Maktaba al-Nahda al-
Misriyya, 1961), vol. 3, pp. 237, 278; Zahra, Al-madahib al-Islamiyya,
p. 63.
14 Ahmad Amin, Duha al-Islam, pp. 209, 210.
15 This leads me to a pragmatic question: What works can one read to
try to acquire an understanding of the shi'a phenomenon? The answer
depends on what languages one reads. Those who read French or
English should consult first of all the sections on 'Shi'a' and 'Isma'iliya'
in the Encyclopedic d'Islam or the Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edn
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960). This will immediately make you feel
superbly well informed. But if your curiosity is further awakened,
which will surely happen, you should read the chapter 'Shi'isme et
philosophic proph£tique' by Henry Corbin in his book Histoire de la
philosophic islamique, published by Gallimard in paperback (1964).
After reading these sources, it would be very difficult to find yourself
lost in a conversation on the subject. You will shine at dinner parties
and be invited to speak on television. For those who also read Arabic,
there are three extremely instructive texts, obviously my favourites:
• Muhammad Abu Zahra, 'Furuq al-madhab al-shi'i' (n. 8 above), a
concise exposition of unequalled precision in about fifty pages
(pp. 51-104).
• Ahmad Amin, ch. 2 of Part VII, 'Shi'a' in Fajr al-Islam, pp. 266-78.
• Ahmad Amin, Duha al-Islam, vol. 3, ch. 2, 'Al-shi'a' (pp. 208-315),
traces in about 100 pages not only the origins of Shi'ism but its points
of disagreement with Sunnism in matters of dogma and jurisprudence.
He also gives a brief historical-political summary of the key elements
of the Shi'ites' conflict with the Abbasids - that is, the period that
concerns us here.
16 Lisan al-'Arab, section on 'Shi'a'.