The concept of <i>al-wilaya </i>in the early Shiite ideology
The goal of this article is to provide a definition of the concept of al-wilaya as presented on the pages of Kitab al-Mahasin (The Book of Merits) by Ahmad al-Barqi (d. 887 or 893 CE). Overlooked by Russian Islamicists, Kitab almahasin offers a reevaluation of this key concept in Shiite ideology during the early stage of its * cМаргарян А.Г. 121 Вестник № 3 formation as well as a deeper understanding of the history of the development of Shiite Islam in the period after Muhammad b. al-Hasan (disappeared after 873/874 CE), the last Shiite Imam, had gone into occultation