Kirmānī Shaykhism and the ijtihād: A Study of Abū al-Qāsim Khān Ibrāhīmī’s Ijtihād wa taqlīd

This research is a study of Abū al-Qāsim Khān Ibrāhīmī [Abū al-Qāsim Khān] (d. 1969)’s Ijtihād wa taqlid, a contemporary Shaykhī Kirmānī literary text. This work is a particularly clear expose of Shaykhī Kirmānī opinions on ijtihad, on the structure and hierarchy of the Shi‘i community as proposed by the uṣūlī clergy, and, more broadly, on the intellectual history of Usulism. After introducing Shaykhism and, in particular, the doctrine of the rukn-i rābi‘, which is essential for understanding the originality of Abū al-Qāsim Khān’s argumentation on the subject of ijtihad, and after we have looked at the life and work of this author as well as the main historical connections between Shaykhism and Akhbarism, we will examine the main themes of Ijtihād wa taqlid, paying particular attention to the introduction to the concepts of ijtihad and muqallid, the origins of ijtihād within Shi’ism, the connections between reason (‘aql) and fiqh, and, finally, Abū al-Qāsim Khān’s own proposals.

This research is a study of Abū al-Qāsim Khān Ibrāhīmī [Abū al-Qāsim Khān] (d. 1969)’s Ijtihād wa taqlīd, a contemporary Shaykhī Kirmānī literary text. This work is a particularly clear exposé of Shaykhī Kirmānī opinions on ijtihad, on the structure and hierarchy of the Shi‘i community as proposed by the uṣūlī clergy, and, more broadly, on the intellectual history of Usulism. After introducing Shaykhism and, in particular, the doctrine of the rukn-i rābi‘, which is essential for understanding the originality of Abū al-Qāsim Khān’s argumentation on the subject of ijtihād, and after we have looked at the life and work of this author as well as the main historical connections between Shaykhism and Akhbarism, we will examine the main themes of Ijtihād wa taqlīd, paying particular attention to the introduction to the concepts of ijtihād and muqallid, the origins of ijtihād within Shi’ism, the connections between reason (‘aql) and fiqh, and, finally, Abū al-Qāsim Khān’s own proposals.