Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. List of Abbreviations xi
5. Author’s Note xii
6. Introduction 1
7. The Principle of Walāyah and the Origins of the Community
8. Walāyah in the Islamic Tradition 15
9. The Ghadīr Khumm Tradition 33
10. Walāyah, Authority, and Religious Community in the First Civil War 49
11. The Shiʿite Community in the Aftermath of the First Civil War 71
12. Walāyah, Faith, and the Charismatic Nature of Shi˜ite Identity
13. Walāyah as the Essence of Religion 103
14. Membership in the Shiʿite Community and Salvation 125
15. Predestination and the Mythological Origins of Shiʿite Identity 141
16. The Charismatic Nature and Spiritual Distinction of the Shiʿites 157
17. Creating a Community within a Community
18. Shiʿites and Non-Shiʿites 177
19. Degrees of Faith 191
20. “Rarer than Red Sulfur” 213
21. Perforated Boundaries 237
22. Notes 253
23. Bibliography 301
24. Index 313