Developments in the  Rule of Grace concept and referent in Shi ite theology

Although the concept of the ‘Rule of Grace’ can be accurately deduced through some Qur’anic verses and traditions (Hadiths), the Mu‘tazilites among all theological denominations pioneered in its extraction, compilation and application within the context of theology. The present article discusses the attitude of Shi‘ite theology toward the above-mentioned rule within the framework of three historical periods. In the first period, including the beginning of Shi‘ite theology to the time of Khawaja Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, the mentioned rule remained more or less the same as that of its Mu‘tazilites structure, where grace was divided into two folds: Providing and Determining Grace. In the second period, i.e. from the time of al-Tūsī until the late 14th century A.H., those two kinds of divisions were reduced to one: Providing Grace. In the same era, Allameh Helli did not acknowledge the sending of the prophets and the proclamation of religious obligation as part of the instances of Grace. As a result of this position and in addition to a series of doubts denying the necessity of Divine Grace, the logical credit and validity of sending prophets was gradually weakened and lost in the perspective of certain theologians. A third group of Shi‘ite theologians, from the late 14th century up until now, have attempted for nearly five decades to overcome the mentioned problems and objections in order to recreate the validity of the rule. Thus, the present article studies and explains the details of the three periods and seeks to shed some light on relevant historical developments and transformations.