Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam: Qur'an, Exegesis, Messianism and the Literary Origins of the Babi Religion

Iranian Studies

by Todd Lawson

Of the several works on the rise and development of the Babi movement, especially those dealing with the life and work of its founder, Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, few deal directly with the compelling and complex web of mysticism, theology and philosophy found in his earliest compositions. This book examines the Islamic roots of the Babi religion, (and by extension the later Baha’i faith which developed out of it), through the Qur’anic commentaries of the Bab and sheds light on its relationship to the wider religious milieu and its profound debt to esoteric Islam, especially Shi'ism. Todd Lawson places the two earliest writings of the Bab within the diverse contexts necessary to understand them, in order to explain why these writings made sense to and inspired his followers. He delves into the history of the tafsir (Qur’an commentary) genre of Islamic scholarship, situates these early writings in the Akhbari, Sufi and most importantly Shaykhi traditions of Islam. In the process, he identifies both the continuities and discontinuities between these works and earlier works of Shi’i tafsir, helping us appreciate significant elements of the Bab’s thought and claims. Filling an important gap in the existing literature on the Babi movement, this book will be of greatest interest to students and scholars of Qur'an commentary, Mysticism, Shi'ism, the modern history of Iran and messianism.

Genres: Islam, Baha I

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Rickey McKown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this scholarly monograph Professor Todd Lawson examines Tafsir Surat Yusuf (aka the Qayyum al-Asma) written by 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi ("the Bab") in relation to Twelver Shi'i esoteric traditions, primarily as represented by such early heterodox works as Khutbat al-Tutanjiyya, attributed to the first Imam, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the early 19th century interpretations of such works by Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i and Sayyid Kazim Rashti, and the 20th century studies of Henry Corbin. Lawson argues that when read in the light of these Shi'i traditions, Shirazi was actually putting forward in Tafsir Surat Yusuf his full theophanic claims to imamate and prophethood, claims that would ultimately lead to the violent rupture between his followers and Islam (and Shirazi's own execution), an argument that he thoroughly documents in this study and which is historically supported by the 1845 Sunni-Shi'i fatwa in Baghdad against the then-unknown author of Tafsir Surat Yusuf (as well as the rebuttal of this Tafsir penned that same year by Haji Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani). Lawson refers in several places to Isma'ili influences on the thought of al-Ahsa'i and Rashti, which then carried through into Shirazi's thinking, a topic that I would have liked to see further developed. This is a work that I would recommend for those with an interest in the roots of the Babi and Baha'i religions in esoteric Shi'ism.

[Louis Brunet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting!