Shi'ite Islam

Shi'ite Islam is a work on the history and thought of Shi'a Islam written by the Shi'a scholar Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (Allamah Tabataba'i, 1892–1981). It was translated, edited and introduced by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and published in 1975 by the State University of New York Press, although the 1979 date given in the record corresponds to a later edition.

The book grew out of a project launched in 1962 by Kenneth Morgan, university chaplain and professor of religious studies at Colgate University, who wanted a description of Shi'ism written from a genuinely Shi'a perspective and addressed to non-Muslim Western readers. Morgan and Nasr approached Tabataba'i in 1963, and the work took six years to complete. It was followed by two further volumes, and William Chittick of SUNY collaborated on the editing.

Tabataba'i was regarded by many as a pillar of Shi'a intellectual thought: he combined the study of jurisprudence and Quranic commentary with philosophy, theosophy and Sufism, which allowed him to offer a more universal interpretation of the Shi'a viewpoint. The book remains a classic textbook for Westerners seeking an introductory understanding of Shi'a Islam.