Exploring Sufism and Philosophy in Shia Semin...

What happens when a community feels present in Britain but absent from the public story of British Islam? In this episode of Thinking Islam, we explore what it means to be Shi'a in Britain today with Dr Emanuelle Degli Esposti. Drawing on her ethnographic research into Shi'a Musl ...  Show more

ʿIlm al-rijāl is often treated as a technical, almost mechanical science — a matter of chains, dates and verdicts. But the criteria by which a narrator is praised or discredited are themselves shaped by theology, and theology changes.In this research seminar, Dr Syed Ali Hur Kamo ...  Show more

In this episode we discuss the formation of Shia orthodoxy. Picking up from our earlier episode on early Shi’ism we explore how the experience of persecution under the Umayyads and Abbasid shaped Shia thought and doctrine. We discuss the Muhammad al Baqir and Jaffar as Sadiq and ...  Show more

Al-Ghazālī’s search for truth leads him to philosophy, Asharite theology, and ultimately the mystical tradition of Sufism. 

Are Shi'a too emotional and not truly knowledgeable? Do we let emotion cloud judgement and do we understand how to seek 'ilm from the Quran and Ahlulbayt (as)? In this penultimate episode of season 2, Ahmed and Sayed Ali welcome Sheikh Mahdi Rastani, who explores the t ...

Omid Safi discusses Sufi teachings from one of the greatest muslim mystics, an Andalusian sage named Ibn ‘Arabi."When Ibn 'Arabi comes, he sits with all of himself. When he's listening, he listens with all of himself. When it's time to go, he gets up with all of himself. All of h ...  Show more