Imami Kalām; Origins and Growths

Theological thought of Imamiyyah witnessed ups and downs in the course of history which has on one hand originated from dynamism of rational and epistemic contents of Shīʿism and on the other grown out of its interactions with the dominant philosophical and theological systems in the historical periods in question. Though the process of development in Shiite Kalām is not dissimilar to other Shiite and Sunni schools of Law and in some ages Imami thinkers attempted drastic changes in their Kalām literature much later than others، it has privileges in some respects that it deserves serious examination. What distinguishes the early era of Imamiyyah Kalām is the doctrinal thoughts in the domain of reason and revelation at the same time which passed «the period of extinction and depression» and departed from the past to some extent. This article is an attempt to trace the development of Imamiyyah Kalām back to Medina، Kufah and then to Qum emphasizing the authenticity of Shiite Kalām in this period of history. It also tries to offer a new pattern in categorizing the historical periods in Shiite as well as Islamic schools of Kalām.