Online Shia Studies

22/04/2026

Introducting a hadith on the intellect (the 'aql) from Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni's Al-Kafi.

The intellect consists of both a rational and intuitive component.

18/11/2025

https://brill.com/view/journals/arab/72/4-5/arab.72.issue-4-5.xml?fbclid=IwY2xjawOJoEZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeFQR2Nj8oCa_CAM3p71Jlj5iPZ1yb5IszFl8LEizIPNfM8TkCCm1CRCAz24U_aem_TZXzPYGwSvpkA5PpEGo5_w

"Volume 72 (2025): Issue 4-5 (Nov 2025): Special Issue: The Muḫtaṣar and Its Role in the Islamic Legal Schools. A Thematic Issue Coordinated by Eirik Hovden & Mahmood Kooria" published on 11 Nov 2025 by Brill.

19/09/2025

Review of Professor Hossein Modarressi's Test and Interpretation by Rebecca Masterton.

Click on the link to access.

26/08/2025

Esoteric Knowledge in Tashayyu' now available on Udemy as Esoteric Knowledge in Shi'i Islam:

The hidden Shi'i origins of Sufism.

23/08/2025

Personal tuition available:

The Centre for Shia and Cultural Studies runs on-line group workshops. Class sessions have been held with hawza students in Syria; the Shīʿī community of Glasgow, and Shīʿī communities in Australia. Split the cost of a class among as many people who wish to attend. For one-to-one tuition on-li...

10/08/2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFwlyGkVFE8&t=48s

An extract from my paper 'A comparative exploration of the spiritual authority of the awliyā’ ('friends of God') in the Shī‘ī and Sūfī traditions with refere...

10/06/2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk9K4SwBDuQ

A look at some hadiths in Hasan al-Tabarsi's (d. 12th C AD) Miskhat al-Anwar. I talk about one narration on tawhid (the belief in the one absolute transcende...

05/06/2025

Every Thursday at 11:00 a.m. UK time from 26th June to 14th August 2025.

Full course option £140/US$190/AUS$290: The full course consists of eight 90-minute live on-line classes. Once you have booked, you will be sent Reading Packs in pdf format, mp3 Recordings that guide you through each Reading Pack and a Syllabus. Live sessions are recorded with your permission. A certificate of attendance is awarded for attending all eight classes.

Click on the link for more details.

This course takes as its remit an overview of the earliest texts produced by Muslim historians, albeit with their own proto-Shīʿī or proto-Sunnī inclinations. While acknowledging that both Shīʿī and Sunnī scholars often treat these historical texts with caution, the course nevertheless exami...

10/05/2025

Pdf and epubs available from the website:

https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-female-religious-authority-in-shi-i-islam.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawKL7RdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHqfBKrh_Lltnk-6w7iT4nsROhiEelNT1c7sZ6NVMSnbMMso5Djiw1PGpJ8Ly_aem_oLhAUhnat0FWh0N-vme2Mw

Reflects on women participating in Islamic scholarly traditions from the classical period to the present

04/05/2025

Reflecting upon the phenomenon of existence in light of tawhid.

From Tabarsi's Mishkat al-Anwar.