Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes/PSL (Sorbonne). Member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea, Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Encyclopaedia Islamica and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Also member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews. Among his mongraphs: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994), The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013), The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015), La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulayni (Cerf, 2018) and Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2022). Among the collective works directed by him: Le Dictionnaire du Coran (Robert Laffont, 2007) and le Coran des historiens (Cerf, 2019, co-directed by Guillaume Dye).Maria De Cillisis a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, where she is also a Series Editor of the Shi?i Heritage Series. She has authored Salvation and Destiny in Islam: The Shi?i Ismaili Perspective of ?amid al-Din al-Kirmani (2018), Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought: Theoretical Compromises in the Works of Avicenna, al-Ghazali and Ibn ?Arabi (2014) and has co-edited L’ésotérisme shi?ite, ses racines et ses prolongements/Shi?i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments (2016).Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on the IIS graduate programmes. Previously, he lectured at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris and worked at various research centres in France and Germany, including the Institute for Advanced Study of Nantes and the Free University of Berlin. Since 2020, he is the Series Editor of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series.

• Translators’ Preface· Notes on the English Translation· GlossaryPreface to the French EditionNote on TransliterationNote to the Reader (French Edition)Introduction to the French EditionAcknowledgments (French Edition)Important dates and milestones (1st/7th-4th/10th centuries) (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)PART ONE: Religion of the Divine Word Made ManChapter IAt the Beginnings of the HistoryChapter II - The Religion of the imamII-1. Some specific features of the Shi?i spiritualityII-2. At the heart of the doctrine of the imam: the concept of walayaChapter III - About some historical imams (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)Chapter IV - The Proof Beyond TimeIII-1. From the Origin of the World and its DevelopmentIII-2. The End of Times (Eschatology)· The Collective Dimension· The Personal DimensionChapter V - The Proof’s Dual NatureV-1. The Imam as a Religious ScholarV-2. The Imam as the Master of Initiation and as ThaumaturgeV-3. The Imam as the Locus of God’s ManifestationChapter VI – The Continuity of ProphecyVI-1. The Need for DiscretionVI-2. Perpetual Communication between God and MankindVI-3. ‘The Sealing of the Prophecy’ and its Meaning(Translated by M. De Cillis)PART TWO: The Mystical Nature of the Imam in The Book of the ProofChapter I - Brief Remarks on Shi?i Holy Scriptures I-1. The Qur’an according to Shi?ismI-2. Shi?i HadithsChapter II - Al-Kulayni and the Book of the ProofII-1. The Historical Context in Several Important CitiesII-2. A Quest for Knowledge in Iran and IraqII.3 Al-Kulayni’s WorksChapter III - Excerpts from the Book of the ProofIII-1. Some Remarks on Our TranslationIII-2. The Book of the Proof (Kitab al-?ujja): Translated and Commented Excerpts(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)EpilogueReturn to History: Between Mystical Wisdom and Political Temptation1. Legacy of the Antique Gnosis2. Shi?is at the heart of the Abbasid Empire3. Consolidation of the Jurist-Theologians’ Power4. The State Religion in Iran4.1. Rationalist Current and the Temptation of Political Power4.2. Loyalty to the Origins(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)AppendicesTable I: The Banu Hashim (major protagonists) and the Prophet’s FamilyTable II: The Banu ?Abd Shams (major protagonists)Table III: Genealogy of the major Imams and the main divisions in Shi?smBibliography and AbbreviationsGeneral IndexIndex of Qur’anic Citations

The Proof of God stands out as a major contribution to Shi?i studies and, more broadly, to the understanding of Islam as a plural religious field. It is a powerfully structured interpretative work … The quality of the writing, the depth of the analyses, the rigor of the translations, and the breadth of the material make it an indispensable book.

Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes/PSL (Sorbonne). Member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea, Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Encyclopaedia Islamica and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Also member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews. Among his mongraphs: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994), The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013), The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015), La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulayni (Cerf, 2018) and Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2022). Among the collective works directed by him: Le Dictionnaire du Coran (Robert Laffont, 2007) and le Coran des historiens (Cerf, 2019, co-directed by Guillaume Dye).Maria De Cillisis a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, where she is also a Series Editor of the Shi?i Heritage Series. She has authored Salvation and Destiny in Islam: The Shi?i Ismaili Perspective of ?amid al-Din al-Kirmani (2018), Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought: Theoretical Compromises in the Works of Avicenna, al-Ghazali and Ibn ?Arabi (2014) and has co-edited L’ésotérisme shi?ite, ses racines et ses prolongements/Shi?i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments (2016).Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on the IIS graduate programmes. Previously, he lectured at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris and worked at various research centres in France and Germany, including the Institute for Advanced Study of Nantes and the Free University of Berlin. Since 2020, he is the Series Editor of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series.

• Translators’ Preface· Notes on the English Translation· GlossaryPreface to the French EditionNote on TransliterationNote to the Reader (French Edition)Introduction to the French EditionAcknowledgments (French Edition)Important dates and milestones (1st/7th-4th/10th centuries) (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)PART ONE: Religion of the Divine Word Made ManChapter IAt the Beginnings of the HistoryChapter II - The Religion of the imamII-1. Some specific features of the Shi?i spiritualityII-2. At the heart of the doctrine of the imam: the concept of walayaChapter III - About some historical imams (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)Chapter IV - The Proof Beyond TimeIII-1. From the Origin of the World and its DevelopmentIII-2. The End of Times (Eschatology)· The Collective Dimension· The Personal DimensionChapter V - The Proof’s Dual NatureV-1. The Imam as a Religious ScholarV-2. The Imam as the Master of Initiation and as ThaumaturgeV-3. The Imam as the Locus of God’s ManifestationChapter VI – The Continuity of ProphecyVI-1. The Need for DiscretionVI-2. Perpetual Communication between God and MankindVI-3. ‘The Sealing of the Prophecy’ and its Meaning(Translated by M. De Cillis)PART TWO: The Mystical Nature of the Imam in The Book of the ProofChapter I - Brief Remarks on Shi?i Holy Scriptures I-1. The Qur’an according to Shi?ismI-2. Shi?i HadithsChapter II - Al-Kulayni and the Book of the ProofII-1. The Historical Context in Several Important CitiesII-2. A Quest for Knowledge in Iran and IraqII.3 Al-Kulayni’s WorksChapter III - Excerpts from the Book of the ProofIII-1. Some Remarks on Our TranslationIII-2. The Book of the Proof (Kitab al-?ujja): Translated and Commented Excerpts(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)EpilogueReturn to History: Between Mystical Wisdom and Political Temptation1. Legacy of the Antique Gnosis2. Shi?is at the heart of the Abbasid Empire3. Consolidation of the Jurist-Theologians’ Power4. The State Religion in Iran4.1. Rationalist Current and the Temptation of Political Power4.2. Loyalty to the Origins(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)AppendicesTable I: The Banu Hashim (major protagonists) and the Prophet’s FamilyTable II: The Banu ?Abd Shams (major protagonists)Table III: Genealogy of the major Imams and the main divisions in Shi?smBibliography and AbbreviationsGeneral IndexIndex of Qur’anic Citations

The Proof of God stands out as a major contribution to Shi?i studies and, more broadly, to the understanding of Islam as a plural religious field. It is a powerfully structured interpretative work … The quality of the writing, the depth of the analyses, the rigor of the translations, and the breadth of the material make it an indispensable book.

Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes/PSL (Sorbonne). Member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea, Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Encyclopaedia Islamica and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Also member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews. Among his mongraphs: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994), The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013), The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015), La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulayni (Cerf, 2018) and Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2022). Among the collective works directed by him: Le Dictionnaire du Coran (Robert Laffont, 2007) and le Coran des historiens (Cerf, 2019, co-directed by Guillaume Dye).Maria De Cillisis a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, where she is also a Series Editor of the Shi?i Heritage Series. She has authored Salvation and Destiny in Islam: The Shi?i Ismaili Perspective of ?amid al-Din al-Kirmani (2018), Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought: Theoretical Compromises in the Works of Avicenna, al-Ghazali and Ibn ?Arabi (2014) and has co-edited L’ésotérisme shi?ite, ses racines et ses prolongements/Shi?i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments (2016).Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on the IIS graduate programmes. Previously, he lectured at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris and worked at various research centres in France and Germany, including the Institute for Advanced Study of Nantes and the Free University of Berlin. Since 2020, he is the Series Editor of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series.

• Translators’ Preface· Notes on the English Translation· GlossaryPreface to the French EditionNote on TransliterationNote to the Reader (French Edition)Introduction to the French EditionAcknowledgments (French Edition)Important dates and milestones (1st/7th-4th/10th centuries) (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)PART ONE: Religion of the Divine Word Made ManChapter IAt the Beginnings of the HistoryChapter II - The Religion of the imamII-1. Some specific features of the Shi?i spiritualityII-2. At the heart of the doctrine of the imam: the concept of walayaChapter III - About some historical imams (Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)Chapter IV - The Proof Beyond TimeIII-1. From the Origin of the World and its DevelopmentIII-2. The End of Times (Eschatology)· The Collective Dimension· The Personal DimensionChapter V - The Proof’s Dual NatureV-1. The Imam as a Religious ScholarV-2. The Imam as the Master of Initiation and as ThaumaturgeV-3. The Imam as the Locus of God’s ManifestationChapter VI – The Continuity of ProphecyVI-1. The Need for DiscretionVI-2. Perpetual Communication between God and MankindVI-3. ‘The Sealing of the Prophecy’ and its Meaning(Translated by M. De Cillis)PART TWO: The Mystical Nature of the Imam in The Book of the ProofChapter I - Brief Remarks on Shi?i Holy Scriptures I-1. The Qur’an according to Shi?ismI-2. Shi?i HadithsChapter II - Al-Kulayni and the Book of the ProofII-1. The Historical Context in Several Important CitiesII-2. A Quest for Knowledge in Iran and IraqII.3 Al-Kulayni’s WorksChapter III - Excerpts from the Book of the ProofIII-1. Some Remarks on Our TranslationIII-2. The Book of the Proof (Kitab al-?ujja): Translated and Commented Excerpts(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)EpilogueReturn to History: Between Mystical Wisdom and Political Temptation1. Legacy of the Antique Gnosis2. Shi?is at the heart of the Abbasid Empire3. Consolidation of the Jurist-Theologians’ Power4. The State Religion in Iran4.1. Rationalist Current and the Temptation of Political Power4.2. Loyalty to the Origins(Translated by O. Mir-Kasimov)AppendicesTable I: The Banu Hashim (major protagonists) and the Prophet’s FamilyTable II: The Banu ?Abd Shams (major protagonists)Table III: Genealogy of the major Imams and the main divisions in Shi?smBibliography and AbbreviationsGeneral IndexIndex of Qur’anic Citations

The Proof of God stands out as a major contribution to Shi?i studies and, more broadly, to the understanding of Islam as a plural religious field. It is a powerfully structured interpretative work … The quality of the writing, the depth of the analyses, the rigor of the translations, and the breadth of the material make it an indispensable book.