The Butrīyya and the Taqṣīr View

A group of Shi’as who were active in Kūfa in the middle of the second century (8th century) is called the people of Taqṣīr. They generally refrained from complete reliance on the Imams as a result of social and political conditions. They, some of whom were companions of Imam al-Bāqir and Imam al-Ṣādiq, had a special view about Imami issues. People of Taqṣīr are considered to be lagging in their beliefs among Shi’as, because they denied Imam’s knowledge about heavenly sciences and their infallibility. After Zaydīyya’s advert, they leaned towards them by accepting some of their beliefs, such as the theory of the leadership or imamate of inferior (or people of lower status). They formed one the biggest branches of Taqṣīr called Butrīyya. Investigating the traditions and hadiths about Butrīyya and the people of Taqṣīr and their comparison shows that not all the figures of Butrīyya had the same attitude, forming a systematic relation with the Taqṣīr thought. It is because there were some individuals among Butrīyya who were cursed by the Imams and some others who were considered by the Imams to be able to know the truth and be guided.