Al-Manṣūr bi-Llāh’s controversy with Twelver Šīʿites concerning the occultation of the Imam in his Kitāb al-ʿIqd al-ṯamīn*

Abstract

This article tackles one of the main points of dissension between the Zaydiyya and the Imāmiyya, notably, the repudiation of the former to the chiliastic concept of the occultation of the Imam (ġayba). It will address the exchange of polemics between both groups, which goes back to the 3rd/9th century. Its main focus, however, is the refutation conjured by the Yemeni Imam al-Manṣūr bi-Llāh ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥamza (d. 614/1217).

Zaydī Theology in Yemen

“…Moreover, it is noteworthy that al-Manṣūr is one of the first Zaydī authors of Yemen to cite Sunnī traditions supporting the cause of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and the ahl al-bayt in his battle against the Shāfiʿīs in Yemen who were polemicizing against Shīʿism (Ansari and Schmidtke 2013a; Ansari and Schmidtke 2013b). Doctrinal issues are also discussed in his al-ʿIqd al-thamīn, a book that is directed against the Imāmiyya (Jarrar 2012), as well as in his numerous responsa (see al-Wajīh 1999: 578-86, no. 592;al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, Majmūʿ).…”