A Historical Approach to the Analysis of the Concept of Badā’ in Shia Texts

Badā’ (alteration in the Divine will) is one of the most practical teachings in various Islamic sciences. Therefore, achieving a comprehensive definition of the doctrine of badā’ is an inevitable necessity, because the study of the works of thinkers in this field suggests that different definitions of this Shīʿī teaching have been presented to date so that some have even taken it as another reading of the doctrine of abrogation (naskh). In order to achieve a correct definition of this doctrine, the present research intends to study the presence and historical evolution of this doctrine in Shia writings by means of the descriptive-analytical method and through the distinction between the idiomatic and literal meaning of badā’. Relying on a new approach in defining this doctrine in the last two centuries, it tries to find the components that are more frequently repeated among the definitions and provide a comprehensive definition of badā’ and also, by removing some of the conditions in the predecessors’ definitions, attempts to improve the definition. In this article, the comprehensive definition of badā’ is presented in two positions (ontic/epistemic), the second of which has two levels (badā’ at the personal level, badā’ at the general level). The distinction between the concept of badā’ and other similar concepts (abrogation, Divine decree and predestination), the inclusion of the condition “opposition of the event to the news of the honest informant”, and the emphasis on the condition “become clear from it” are some of the considerations that eliminate the defects in the predecessors’ definition.