A Critical Study of Farhad Daftary's Shi’ah Thoughts

Dr. Farhad Daftary is one of the researchers in the field of Shi’i studies in the West who has written many works in this field for many years. His most famous work is the book ‘The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines’ which presented most of his important notions. His viewpoints and styles are accompanied by strong and weak points in this book. The most important vital points of his work are the appropriateness in form and structure, and the use of analytical history in the field of Islamic studies which is a novelty in its kind. At the same time, his book is critically acclaimed both in terms of method and content. The most important methodological critiques of this book are the absolute focus on historiography and non-Shiite sources and texts, the disregard for Shiite sources, and the use of unproven presuppositions. In terms of content, belief in the historiography of Imami Shi’ah, compilation of some original Shi’ah beliefs by Keysaniyah, incorrect analysis of the time of Shi’ah formation and the role of exaggerations in the formation of a distinct Shi’ah identity are among the issues that are weak in terms of definite history as well as Shi’ah hadiths and are criticizable. The style of work in this aspect is to express the vital points as well as criticizing Dr. Farhad's Shi’ah ideas based on gathering numerous evidences from his famous book in this field, namely ‘The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines’, and a brief analysis of each and their conclusions based on the two platform of method and content.