The Evolution of the Notion of the Forth Pillar or the Perfect Shi a in Sheikhiyya Sect

The Sheikhiyya sect considers – along with monotheism, prophethood, and Imamate – the forth pillar as one of the four principles of religion. By the forth pillar, they mean that among the Shiites, there is always a perfect shi’a who is the carrier of blessing between the Twelfth Imam and the people.Sheikh Ahmad Ihsa’ie, the founder and the pioneer of this theory, notes in several cases the necessity of a mediator as the connection between Imam and the people. However, contrary to the Shiekhiyya’s claim that the term “forth pillar” was introduced under Sheikh Ahmad, there is nothing to this effect in his speeches and works. In the present research, we will see that Hajj Muhammad Karim Khan Kermani, the leader of Sheikhiyya in Kerman, is one of the proponents of – and even among the founders of – the assumed principle of “the forth pillar”. Thus, he has defended this principle more than anyone else in his works. On the contrary, the Sheikhiyya sect of Azarbayejan is among the serious opponents of this principle. It is noteworthy that the two titles of Nujaba and Nuqaba in some Sheikhiyya sources refer, interchangeably, to the very notion of the forth pillar. Finally, this heretic notion has been analyzed and reviewed from different angles, both in view of the fact that there are fundamental disagreements on this notion among various leanings and branches of Sheikhiyya, and considering that there are numerous objections as to the epistemic nature of the notion.