Podcast episode
September 25, 2026
Episode 221: Prolegomena to the Development of the Shī‘a and of Shī‘ī Esotericisms in the Eighth Century and Beyond
We return to the shī‘a and discuss many (hopefully) useful contextual matters.
Works Cited in this Episode:
Michael G. Morony. Iraq after the Muslim Conquest. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ/Guildford, 1984.
Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina. Islamic Messianism: the Idea of Mahdī in Twelver Shī‘ism. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1981.
Recommended Reading:
SHWEP Episode 221 Recommended Reading
Themes
‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Druze, Esoteric Hermeneutics, Ghulāt, Isma‘ilism, Ithna`asharī Shī`ī, Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq, Mahdism, Shi‘ī Esotericism, Zaydis
Kenneth Meisner
September 25, 2026
Thank you! Looking forward to the next installment in this series, particularly as I too am desirous of hearing more about the Shi’i traditions that didn’t survive. Also glad I just relistened (more than once) to the episodes with Ahab Bdaiwi just before this dropped. (I was just about to relisten to them again when I noted this episode had posted.)
I’ve a couple questions/comments, if I may.
Q1. At about the 10-11 minute mark, you mention polytheists “seemingly” living in Iraq. Several months ago, I read Gabriel Said Reynolds’ “Christianity and the Qu’ran: the rise of Islam in Christian Arabia” (Yale University Press, 2025) in which he posits the idea that the “polytheists” mentioned in the Qu’ran were actually Christians, so I’m wondering who these Iraqi polytheists might’ve been (and of course, whether they were Christians or no, what their contribution to esotericism might’ve been).
Q2. For whatever reason, the “recommended readings” list is quite small and, to my 55-year-old eyes, a bit painful. When magnified, the text is blurry. Is this just a me problem?
Q3. I had no trouble listening to the audio from beginning to end, but when, on a second listen, I attempted to “rewind” although the timer was running, the sound didn’t come through. I tested fast-forwarding too, and had the same problem. I checked it out on other episodes and didn’t experience this problem.
Regardless, thank you!