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Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism
This thesis aims to explore the religion and politics of tenth and eleventh-century Baghdad, with a main focus on Twelver Shīʿī doctrine, by shedding light on one highly significant family that was central to the regulation of the ʿAbbāsid and Būyid government. The ʿAlid Mūsawī brothers, al-Sharīf a...
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2025
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Hasan, Bayan |
| author_browse | Hasan, Bayan |
| author_facet | Hasan, Bayan |
| author_sort | Hasan, Bayan |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis aims to explore the religion and politics of tenth and eleventh-century Baghdad, with a main focus on Twelver Shīʿī doctrine, by shedding light on one highly significant family that was central to the regulation of the ʿAbbāsid and Būyid government. The ʿAlid Mūsawī brothers, al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (d. 966/1044) and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 969/1015), were both influential figures amongst Baghdad’s scholastic community and were closely connected with the ruling elites. In this research, I examine three main activities that the brothers were involved in: their contribution towards Shīʿī law, the niqāba office, and Qur’ānic exegesis.
My thesis shall examine a discrete number of religio-political functions of the Sharīf brothers. For this reason, I look at three spheres of activity: (i) their role in Shīʿī legal doctrine, mainly al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā’s role as a jurist, where I will study his interaction with the Sunnī community through his legal text al-Intiṣār (ii) their position as nuqabā’, which often included other tasks, either with the government or the ʿAlid community. Within this activity, I will look at the appointment deeds of al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and his father, drafted by Abū Isḥāq al-Ṣābi’ (d. 384/994), and Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī’s (d. 450/1058) text on Islamic governance to further understand the role of the naqīb and how lineage and relations with the ruling elites play an integral part to securing the position; and (iii) The interplay between juridical matters and the functions of the naqīb, where I study al-Murtaḍā’s legal treatise on governance. While these activities are mainly religious functions, they have an overlapping role with the politics of Būyid Baghdad, especially as the Mūsawī family had a close relationship with the ruling elites and served as their emissaries. Although the Būyids fostered a cosmopolitan environment for scholars in Baghdad during their reign, I argue that the Mūsawī family used the existing political tensions between the ʿAbbāsids and Būyids to their advantage to develop their doctrine. Additionally, their lineage and close relationship to the ruling elites was another factor that contributed towards this growth. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3432 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:35:55.364Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3432 Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism Hasan, Bayan This thesis aims to explore the religion and politics of tenth and eleventh-century Baghdad, with a main focus on Twelver Shīʿī doctrine, by shedding light on one highly significant family that was central to the regulation of the ʿAbbāsid and Būyid government. The ʿAlid Mūsawī brothers, al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (d. 966/1044) and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 969/1015), were both influential figures amongst Baghdad’s scholastic community and were closely connected with the ruling elites. In this research, I examine three main activities that the brothers were involved in: their contribution towards Shīʿī law, the niqāba office, and Qur’ānic exegesis. My thesis shall examine a discrete number of religio-political functions of the Sharīf brothers. For this reason, I look at three spheres of activity: (i) their role in Shīʿī legal doctrine, mainly al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā’s role as a jurist, where I will study his interaction with the Sunnī community through his legal text al-Intiṣār (ii) their position as nuqabā’, which often included other tasks, either with the government or the ʿAlid community. Within this activity, I will look at the appointment deeds of al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and his father, drafted by Abū Isḥāq al-Ṣābi’ (d. 384/994), and Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī’s (d. 450/1058) text on Islamic governance to further understand the role of the naqīb and how lineage and relations with the ruling elites play an integral part to securing the position; and (iii) The interplay between juridical matters and the functions of the naqīb, where I study al-Murtaḍā’s legal treatise on governance. While these activities are mainly religious functions, they have an overlapping role with the politics of Būyid Baghdad, especially as the Mūsawī family had a close relationship with the ruling elites and served as their emissaries. Although the Būyids fostered a cosmopolitan environment for scholars in Baghdad during their reign, I argue that the Mūsawī family used the existing political tensions between the ʿAbbāsids and Būyids to their advantage to develop their doctrine. Additionally, their lineage and close relationship to the ruling elites was another factor that contributed towards this growth. 2025-02-19T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2387 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3432/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Twelver Shiʿism Shīʿī law Būyids ʿAbbāsids Niqāba Lineage Mūsawī Shīʿī jurisprudence |
| spellingShingle | Twelver Shiʿism Shīʿī law Būyids ʿAbbāsids Niqāba Lineage Mūsawī Shīʿī jurisprudence Hasan, Bayan Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title | Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title_full | Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title_fullStr | Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title_short | Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism |
| title_sort | religion and politics under the buyids the case of al sharif al murtada and al sharif al radi and the development of twelver shiʿism |
| topic | Twelver Shiʿism Shīʿī law Būyids ʿAbbāsids Niqāba Lineage Mūsawī Shīʿī jurisprudence |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2387 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3432/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hasanbayan religionandpoliticsunderthebuyidsthecaseofalsharifalmurtadaandalsharifalradiandthedevelopmentoftwelvershiʿism |