تاملي در نظريه«تطور امامت در انديشه شيعي»

Reflections on the Theory of "the Devolopment of Imamate in Shiʹite Thought

In this paper, the issue of imamate is explicated from a historical point of view. First, the importance of the principle of imamate and then the idea that imamate has gone through changes in Shiʹite history are considered. It is argued that mixing up the concept of imamate with the theory of imamate has been a reason for some misunderstanding about the issue of imamate. It is maintained that a historical analysis as such is incapable of explaining the issue. Finally, the history of imamate is systematically accounted for, taking into consideration the early Muslimʹs understanding of the principle.