0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

216 Reviews
as a revival of “an archaic pre-classical religiosity” (p. 20), formed the basis for a
new theological school within Imam\ Shiism, the Shaykhiyya, which was named
after him (but not established or founded by him as incorrectly claimed elsewhere
in the volume, p. 10, 56). Although much opposed by mainstream usuli Shiism
and confined to minority status, the Shaykhiyya exercised a major influence
which is still significantly felt today, as witnessed by an actual revival in publications
and studies on the master’s thought and that of his followers.
More specifically, Lawson addresses a most fascinating theme in Shiite theosophical
thought to which al-A1sa#\ devoted special attention, the ^alam al-mithal
(“World of images”), the reality of which “has remained a theological, philosophical
and mystical commonplace” (p. 20). The interpretation given by
al-A1sa#\ is analyzed against the theoretical framework provided by a member of
the so-called “School of Isfahan”, Fayd al-Kashan\ (d. 1090/1680). According to
Lawson, although “for both men the world of images functions as bridge between
reason and revelation” (p. 21), the different treatment of the subject by the two
authors shows the originality of al-A1sa#\’s thought and his strongly critical attitude
towards the theosophists.
In the second contribution to the section, Oliver Scharbrodt of the University
College of Cork, addresses another major subject of debate in post medieval
Shiite and mystic circles. Under the title “The Qutb as Special Representative of
the Hidden Imam: The Conflation of Shi^i and Sufi Vilayat in the Ni^matullah\
Order” (pp. 33–49), his essay illustrates the relationship between two concepts,
that of sainthood in Sufism on the one hand, and that of the representation, both
political and religious, of the Hidden Imam in Shiism, as defined by two sufi
masters of the Ni^mat Allahiyya order, Nur ^Al\ Shah (d. 1212/1797) and Mu|affar
^Al\ Shah (d. 1216/1800) on the other. According to the Ni^mat Allahiyya “the qutb
(mystic pole), the spiritual and secular leader of the order, is in contact with the
Hidden Imam and receives direct communication from him” (p. 35). The idea of
the qutb being the sole representative of the Hidden Imam is not new (Mu1ammad
Nurbakhsh, among many others, did have something to say on the matter, to
the point of believing to be the Mahd\), and it is not something that Usulism,
which had its own notion of charismatic authority based on collective deputyship,
was happy to hear. However, this is just what makes the Ni^mat Allahiyya a true
example of what one might logically expect a specifically Shiite Sufi order to be.
The influence of Safavid theosophy (hikmat) in the Qajar era is the subject of
the following contribution entitled “Hikma muta^aliya in Qajar Iran: 0ajj Mulla
Had\ Sabzavar\ and the School of Mulla Sadra” (pp. 51–70). By investigating the
life and works of a follower of the celebrated Mulla Sadra, its author, Sajjad H.
Rizvi of the University of Exeter, rightly emphasizes Sabzavar\’s decisive role in
creating a lasting place for a rather simplified version of Mulla Sadra’s thought in