Podcast episode

July 25, 2025

Episode 208: Ahab Bdaiwi on the Rise of Shī‘ī Esotericism

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Turning to the question of early Shī‘ī esotericism, we discuss the figure of ‘Alī, who, along with early successors from the ahl al-bayt – the family of the Prophet – like Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq, becomes the locus for a cultural memory of angelic knowledge, metaphysical teachings, and even occult sciences like alchemy. We get into the historicity of some of this material, deciding that, while ‘Alī might not have been, historically, an alchemical adept, the figure of ‘Alī as master of all esoteric sciences is a Shī‘ī belief of very early provenance. We the discuss the ahl al-bayt and their role in Shī‘ī thought, as source of religious knowledge second only to the Qur’ān itself, in that they are able to interpret the Qur’ān in terms of the bāṭin (باطن), the esoteric meanings. And links between Shi‘ism and sufism are adumbrated which will definitely be returning to the podcast for more exploration in future episodes.

Interview Bio:

Ahab Bdaiwi is Assistant Professor of Islamic Thought and History at Leiden University. He is the founder of the Leiden University Shiʿi Studies Initiative (LUSSI) and Leiden University Centre for Islamic Thought and History (LUITH) and co-founder of the Leiden University Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies (LAMS). He is a Senior Member in the Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic Studies (NISIS).

Works Cited in this Episode:

Primary:

Imām ‘Alī lays out the Great Work (thanks to Salam Rassi for this reference): from the Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss al-thānī (’The Second Book of the Foundational Element’) of the Jābirian Corpus. It purports to be from ʿAlī’s Khuṭbat al-bayān (’Sermon of Elucidation/Eloquence’), put into the mouth of the imām with highly esoteric and messianic themes. It is not generally accepted by the mainstream of the Shia tradition. The full reference is: Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss al-thānī, in The Arabic works of Jâbir ibn Ḥayyân, ed. Eric John Holmyard (Paris: Geuthner, 1928), 89–90.

Here is the English: A group said: Our Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) mentioned this and clarified its truth. Likewise did ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (peace be upon him), as we have mentioned in our Book on the Imamate, which consists of seventeen discourses, where he was asked while delivering the Sermon of Eloquence (Khuṭbat al-bayān): ‘Does alchemy exist?’ He said: ‘It exists, it has existed, and it will exist.’ They said: ‘What is it, O Commander of the Faithful?’ He replied: ‘In mercury, lead, vitriol, yellow iron oxide, and verdigris of green copper are the treasures of the earth, but their remnants cannot be found.’ He said: ‘Make some of it earth and some of it water, and cultivate the earth with water, and the work is complete.’ They said to him: ‘O Commander of the Faithful, we do not understand.’ He said: ‘There is nothing more to add, for the ancient philosophers did not elaborate further to prevent people from misusing it.’

Qur’ān:

  • ‘The straight path’ is from the first surah, al-fātiḥah: Q. 1:6.
  • ‘He does not beget, nor is he begotten’, etc. is from right at the end, surah al-ikhlāṣ: Q. 112:1 ff.

Al-Kāfī by al-Kulaynī is not yet fully translated. But you can find a good edition here. There is a partial English translation here.

Al-Sulaymī’s Tabakat al-sufiyya: see Jawid A. Mojaddedi. The Biographical Tradition in Sufism: The Tabaqat Genre from al-Sulami to Jami. Routledge Studies in Asian Religion. Routledge, 2013.

The writings attributed to ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥussayn, the fourth imām can be found in English online.

Secondary:

Kāmil Mustafa al Shaybī. al-Ṣila bayna al-taṣawwuf wa-l-tashayyu‘. Beirut, 1982.

Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi. The Divine Guide in Early Shi‘ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY/Köln, 1994.

Annemarie Schimmel. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 1975.

 

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