Introduction

This book focuses on the various aspects of the multi-faceted transformation of ShīꜤism through an in-depth analysis of Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍlallāh’s conceptualisation of power, above all in his al-Islām wa-manṭiq al-quwwa, a landmark in the theological, legal, and political reinterpretation of ShīꜤī doctrine. The volume explains the ShīꜤī “momentum of power” through a holistic, transformative paradigm, arguing that the changes occurred, to a great extent, within the narrative of power to which Faḍlallāh’s oeuvre is an outstanding illustration. The proposed paradigm explains that power (quwwa), although deeply rooted in ShīꜤī religious and political thought, has gradually evolved over the last two centuries into an ambitious pursuit of new religious and political order.