Ghuluww in History and Islamic Thought: An Overview of the Case of Imāmī Shīʿism

Abstract

This paper explores some of the intricacies involved in defining ghuluww (religious extremism) in Imāmī thought. It explores exegetical and historiographical perspectives, and a selection of ḥadīth, all to demonstrate the variegated nature of the discourse surrounding this subject. Imāmī scholars such as Sayyid al-Khoei and Muḥammad Ḥasan al-Najafī felt it necessary to limit the boundaries of who constitutes a ghālī to those who ascribed divinity to the Prophet or the Imams. Part of the reason for such caution is that ghuluww entails kufr (disbelief) or the anathematisation of an individual, which in turn carries profound social-juristic implications. The ḥadīth traditions selected for this study present a snapshot of this broader discussion, which entails a constant intellectual mediation between recognising God's ultimate power possessed solely by Him, and His bestowal of fantastical attributes and abilities upon select individuals among His creation.