Moshe Sharon
Origins and development of the Shī‘ah and the birth of the BābīBahā’ī Religion
‫השיעה מראשיתה ועד הופעת הדת הבאבית בהאאית‬
Syllabus
1. Messianism – Islam as a messianic religion
2. The sources
3. The Shī‘ite Background
4. The historical development
5. Iranian Shī‘a
6. The Bāb and Bābī theology
7. The Bahā’ī transformation
8. The Bahā’ī Faith as a world religion
Bibliography
1. Background reading
‫ והוצאות נוספות‬0791 ‫ פרקים בתולדות הערבים והאסלאם תלאביב‬.)‫ חוה (עורכת‬,‫יפה‬-‫לצרוס‬
.‫ ואילך‬081 :‫עמודים‬
‫ שיעים" האנציקלופדיה העברית‬,‫"שיעה‬
.6 ,5 ‫ פרקים‬,‫ ירושלים תשי"א‬,‫ מוסד ביאליק‬,‫ הרצאות על האסלאם‬.‫ יצחק יהודה‬,‫גולדציהר‬
.079-031 '‫ עמ‬, 0781 ‫אביב‬-‫ תל‬,‫ האיסלאם בהיסטוריה‬.‫ ברנרד‬,‫לואיס‬
.0119,‫ ירושלים‬,‫ הוצאת כרמל‬,‫ מהדורה שניה‬,‫ הדת הבהאאית וכתב הקודש שלה‬,‫שרון משה‬
Smith Peter, A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Bahā’ī Faith, One World Publication,
185 Banbury Rd. Oxford, OX2 7AR, England.
Guillahme, Alfred. Islam. Penguin Books. 1961.
Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East. London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1995.
Idem. The Arabs in History. Many editions.)‫ הערבים בהיסטוריה‬:‫( עברית‬
Kennedy, Hugh The prophet and the Age of the Caliphate. Longman, London and
Mew York, 1986, 1988…
“Masīh” and “Mahdī” in the Encyclopaedia of Islam 1st and 2nd editions and the
bibliography there.
Sharon, Moshe. Judaism Christianity and Islam, Interaction and Conflict,
Johannesburg, 1989, chapter 4.
2
Van Vloten, G. La Domination arabe le Chiitism et les Croyences messianiques sous
le Caliphat des Umayyades, Amsterdam, 1894.
Sachedina, A. A. Islamic Messianism: The Idea of The Mahdi in Twelver Shī‘īsm,
Albany 1981.
2. The development of the Shī‘ah until the final formation the idea of the
hidden imām and his expected Return.
Bausani, Alessandro, Religion in Iran, New York, 2000, pp. 111-146, 347-379.
Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shī‘ī Islam, George Ronald, Oxford, 1985
Halm, Heinz. Shī‘ ism, Edinburgh, 1991.
Richard, Yann. shī’īte Islam, Blackwell, Oxford, 1995, pp. 1-109.
Kohlberg Eitan. “The evolution of the Shī‘ah” Jerusalem Quarterly, 27, 1983:109125.
3. The Iranian Shī‘ah
Bausani, Alessandro. Religion In Iran from Zoroaster to Baha’ulla. New York,
Bibliotheca Persica press. 2000. (Esp. pp. 111-146.)
Tabātabā’ī, Muhammad Husayn. Shī‘ite Islam, (the history and theology of the shī‘ah
described by an Iranian shī‘ite cleric) London 1975
“Safawids" Enc. of Islam 1st and 2nd editions.
Bayat, Mangol. Mysticism and Dissent, Socio-religious Thought in Qajar Iran,
Syracuse University Press, 1982.
Richard Yann, Shi’ite Islam, Blackwell, Oxford 1995 pp. 77-109.
4. Modern eschatological thought and the birth of the Bābī and Bahá’í
religions
(A) Sources
Nabīl A‘zam, The Dawn Breakers. Nabīl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í
Revelation. Translated from the original Persian and edited by Shoghi Effendī. Bahá’í
Publishing Trust. Wilmette Illinois, 1932. Reprint: 1996.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ (‘Abbas Effendi) (1844-1921), A Traveler’s Narrative. Written to
Illustrate the Episode of the Báb. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette Illinois, 1980.
( ‫ مقالهء شخص سياح‬in Persian(
3
Taherzádeh, Habīb Selections from The Writings of the Báb. Bahá’í World Centre,
Haifa. Reprint: 1978.
Momen, Moojan. The Bābī and Bahā’ī Religions, Some Contemporary Western
Accounts, George Ronald Oxford, 1981.
Momen Moojan. Selection from the Writings of E. J. Browne on the Bábí and Bahá’í
Religions, George Ronald Oxford, 1987.
Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Iqán. English translation The Book of Certitude, Bahá’í
Publishing Trust, Wilmette Illinois, 1983.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The Most Holy Book. Bahá’í World Centre, Haifa.
1992.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’ulláh. 5th revised edition. Bahá’í Publishing
Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1994.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys, Bahá’í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, Illinois, 1991.
Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Baháu’lláh, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette Illinois, 1988.
(B) Bibliographies
Collins,William P., Bibliography of English Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá’í
Faiths 1844-1985. George Ronald, Oxford, 1990.
MacEoin. Denis, The sources for the Early Bábí Doctrine and History - a Survey.
Brill, Leiden, 1992.
(C) Bahā’ī research
Amanat, Abbas. Resurrection and Renewal The meaning of the Bābī movement in
Iran, 1844-1850, Ithaca, NY; Cornell University press, 1989.
Algar, Hamid. Religion and State in Iran, 1784 - 1906, Los Angeles, University of
California Press, 1980.
Browne, Edward G.,
A literary History of Persia, vol. 4, 1500-1924, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press, 1924.
Buck,Christopher. Paradise and Paradigm. SUNY. 1999
Buck, Christopher. Symbol and Secret. Qur’ān Commentary in Bahá’ulláh Kitāb-iĪqān, Los Angeles, Kalimat Press.
Cole, Juan Ricardo, The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahā’ī Writings. Bahā’ī
Studies, vol. 9 Ottawa, Association for Bahā’ī Studies, 1982.
4
Cole Juan Ricardo. Modernity and the Millennium, The Genesis of the Bahá’í Faith in
the Nineteenth Century Middle East, Columbia University Press, 1998.
Hatcher, William S. and Martin, J Douglas, The Bahá’í Faith, The Emerging Global
Religion. New Edition. Wilmette Illinois, 1998. (Originally Published in San
Francisco, Harper and Row, 1984-5).
Balyuzí, H.M., The Báb. The Herald of the Day of Days. George Ronald. Oxford,
1975.
Balyuzí, H.M., Bahá’ulláh The King of Glory. 2nd edition. George Ronald, 1991.
Balyuzí, H.M., Edward Grenville Browne and the Bahá’í Faith, George Ronald
Oxford, 1970
Bausani, Alessandro, Religion in Iran, New York, 2000, pp. 379ff.
Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, (official, almost scriptural, history of the Bábí and
Bahá’í Faiths) Wilmette Illinois, 4th printing 1995.
Smith Peter, The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, George Ronald, on behalf of the
Cambridge University Press. Oxford, 1987.
Miller William McElwee, The Bahá’í Faith, its History and Teachings. William
Carey Library, South Pasadena, 1974. (Written by an opponent of the Bahá’í faith)
Smith Peter, The Bahá’í Religion. A Short Introduction to its History and Teachings.
George Ronald, Oxford, 1988. (Bibliography in pp. 225-238)
‘Abd’ul-Bahá, (‘Abbas Effendi) The secrets of Divine Civilization. Translated from
the Persian by Marzie Gail. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette Illinois, 1990.
Balyuzí H.M., ‘Abdu’l-bahá’: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá’ulláh. 2nd edition
George Ronald, Oxford, 1987. Bibliography: pp. 518-521.
Taherzadeh Adib, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald, Oxford, 1974 Rafatí Vahíd, The Development of the Shaykhī Thought in Shī’ī Islam, (unpublished
Ph.D Thesis UCLA) University of California, Los Angeles, 1979.
MacEoin Denis, The Sources for the Early Bābī Doctrine and History, E.J. Brill,
Leiden, New York, Köln, 1992.