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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books An Introduction To 'ilm Al-kalam THE SHI'ITE KALAM: Now it is time to take up Shi'ite kalam, if only briefly. Kalam, in the sense of logical and rational argument about the principal doctrines of Islam, has a special and distinguished place in the Shi'ah tradition. The Shi'ite kalam, on the one hand, emerges from the core of Shi'ite hadith , and, on the other, is mixed with Shi'ite philosophy.

We have seen how, in the early centuries, kalam was considered to be inimical to the Sunnah and the hadith by the Ahl al- Sunnah . But the Shi'ite kalam not only does not come into conflict with the Sunnah and the hadith , it is firmly rooted in the Sunnah and the hadith . The reason is that the Shi'ite hadith , contrary to the Sunni corpus on hadith , consists of numerous traditions in which profound metaphysical or social problems have been dealt with logically and analysed rationally.

But in the Sunni corpus such analytic treatment of these subjects is missing. For instance, if there is any mention of such problems as that of Divine providence and preordination, the all-embracing Will of the Almighty, the Divine Names, Attributes, or such topics as the soul, the life after death, the final reckoning, the Sirat, the Balance, or such issues as Imamah , khilafah , and the like, there is no argument or rational explanation of the topics mentioned.

But in the Shi'ah corpus on hadith , all such issues have been dealt with in a rational and discursive manner. A comparison between the list of the chapters of the six Sihah and that of al-Kulayni's al-Kafi will make this quite clear. Accordingly, "kalam", in the sense of rational and analytical treatment of problems, is found in the Shi'ah hadith .

This is the reason why the Shi'ah were not divided into two groups like the Sunnis were into "Ahl al- Hadith " and "Ahl al-Kalam." It was on the basis of the Sunni textual sources that we stated, in the former lectures, that the first doctrinal issue to become a subject of controversy was the issue of the kufr of a fasiq, brought up by the Khawarij during the first half of the first century.

Then emerged the problem of freedom and fate, which was raised and argued by two individuals by the names of Ma'bad al-Juhani and Ghaylan al-Dimashqi. The belief they professed in this matter was contrary to the one held and propagated by the Umayyad rulers.