A Section of the Shī a Apology in the Fourth/Tenth Century

The literary and epic letter of Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. ‘Abbās Khawrazmī (323/934 – 368/978) to the Shi‘as of Nayshabur can be discussed and explored into as a clue to the recognition of the situation of Shi‘as in the Eastern lands of the Islamic Caliphate in fourth/tenth century. Attending to the type of discourse in this treatise would pave the ground for further deliberation on the historical discourses, especially the intra-institutional Shi‘ī anthropological researches. It is through this process that we may believe its historical realities as they were and step toward learning the lessons provided thereby.