Publisher's Synopsis
The Shi'a Islam Doctrinal Series is an attempt at a comprehensive treatment of Shi'a Islam from an emic or inside perspective from within Shi'a Islam itself, as opposed to the perspective of orientalism, or of comparative religion, or sociology, or some other branch of the humanities with its modern Western perspectives, all of which are philosophical approaches (in the sense that they have philosophical rather than religious underpinnings and bearings) and therefore do not, strictly speaking, deal with the religion itself as it is understood by the clerisy of its practitioners, but do so from a perspective and ideological framework that is alien and indeed antithetical and at times hostile to it. There is a severe dearth of source material which the English-speaking reader can rely on to provide him or her with the proper understanding of Shi'a Islam based on the self-understanding of the religion itself. The Shi'a Islam Doctrinal Series (as well as other series) of the Lion of Najaf Publications hopes to do its part in filling the lacunae that exist, thereby firstly providing Moslems who have emigrated to or have been born outside of the Islamic heartland with reliable material for them to gain a better understanding of their religion; and secondly, to provide non-Moslems who are interested in learning more about Islam, and about Shi'a Islam in particular, with first-hand and dependable resources which are sourced from the heart of Islamic civilization. The outline for the present book, His Eminence the Imam al-Mahdi - the Universal Savior of Humanity, is as follows: The Avowal of the Sonni Olama to the Birth of Imam Mahdi; the Name and Lineage of Imam Mahdi; the Characteristics of Imam Mahdi; the Rank of Imam Mahdi before God; Imam Mahdi as the Caliph of God and the Final Imam; Jesus will defer to the Mahdi; the Banner of Imam Mahdi; the Generosity and Largess of Imam Mahdi; the Miracles of Imam Mahdi.
