Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi, Ph.D. (1990), is professor of classical Islamic studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne). A specialist of Shi‘ism, he is the author of a large number of monographs and articles, including (with Etan Kohlberg) Revelation and Falsification (Brill).

• Notice to the Reader XITranscription SystemIIAcknowledgementsIIAbbreviationsIVIntroductionPart 1: Singularities of ʿ⁠Alī1 ʿ⁠Alī and the Quran1 Introduction2 ʿ⁠Alī the Master of Hermeneutics3 Quranic Allusions to ʿ⁠Alī4 The Explicit Mentions of ʿ⁠Alī in the Quran5 The Double Nature of ʿ⁠Alī and His Holiness6 Roots, Extensions and Questions on the Origins: ʿ⁠Alī and Christ2 Muḥammad the Paraclete and ʿ⁠Alī the Messiah1 The End of the World in the Quran and the Hadith2 Remarks on the Religious Environment of Muḥammad3 The Coming of the Saviour4 Jesus and ʿ⁠Alī5 Rewriting of History and Fabrication of a New Collective Memory3 Reflections on the Expression dīn ʿ⁠Alī: The Origins of the Shiʿi Faith1 Dīn ʿ⁠Alī in the Works of the Historiographers2 The Uniqueness of ʿ⁠Alī3 Themes Concerning ʿ⁠Alī and the Alids4 The Basis of the Religion of ʿ⁠Alī5 Reactions and ConsequencesPart 2: Between Divinity and Humanity4 Some Remarks on the Divinity of the Imam1 Theophanic Being and Perfect Man2 First Textual References3 The Sermons of ʿ⁠Alī5 The Five Spirits of the Divine Man1 Shiʿi Traditions2 “Prehistory”3 Further Developments and Implications6 “The Night of Qadr” (Quran, Surah 97) in Early Shiʿism1 An Enigmatic Text2 Shiʿi Perceptions3 The Master of the Order7 Tactical Dissimulation and Sealing of Prophecy1 The Keeping of the Secret2 Prophetic Abilities of the Imam3 The Seal of Prophets4 EpiloguePart 3: Spiritual Horizons8 The Precious Pearl Attributed to Rajab al-Bursī: 500 Quranic Verses about ʿAlī1 Brief Notes on al-Bursī and His Major Work Mashāriq al-anwār2 Other Works and the Quranic Commentary “The Precious Pearl” (al-Durr al-thamīn)3 Annotated Extracts from al-Durr al-thamīn4 The Message of the ‘Personalized Commentaries’9 Icon and Contemplation: ʿAlī as the Face of God and Medium of Meditation1 Portative Icons2 “The Vision by the Heart”3 “What Is Vejhe?”4 Analysis of a Panel from the Vesel Collection5 Icon Contemplation: Between Interpretation and ApplicationsEpilogueAppendix 1: Divine Knowledge and Messianic Action: The Figure of ʿAlī in Mystical and Messianic Circles (5th/11th-10th/16th Centuries), by Orkhan Mir-KasimovAppendix 2: The Presence of ʿAlī in Islamic Philosophy, by Mathieu TerrierBibliographyIndex