Publisher's Synopsis
In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shi?i Thought and History is a selection of Etan Kohlberg's research on Shi?i Islam over a period of fifty years. It includes previously published articles, revised dissertation chapters, and a full bibliography of the author's work. Divided into two parts, the collection begins with chapters from Kohlberg's Oxford doctoral dissertation (1971) and related articles that investigate Sunni and Shi?i views on the Prophet's Companions and debates concerning the extent of their authority as sources of religious knowledge. Part Two traces the doctrinal and historical developments pertaining to various dimensions of Imami Shi?i intellectual tradition such as theology, hadith, law, jurisprudence, and exegesis.
