Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī | Part 6: Did Shaykh al-Ṭūsī Omit the Closing Phrases?
Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī | Part 6: Did Shaykh al-Ṭūsī Omit the Closing Phrases?
In the concluding episode of this six-part lecture series, Ḥujjat al-Islām Sayyid Mahdī Maḥmoudī brings together the manuscript evidence presented throughout the series and addresses one of the strongest arguments advanced by those who claim that the closing phrases of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ were later additions.
Focusing on the earliest surviving manuscript of Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid copied by al-Naqqāsh al-Rāzī in 502 AH, Sayyid Mahmoudi explains why the omission of a substantial section of the ziyārah should not be understood as evidence of textual alteration. Instead, he argues that it reflects the historical realities of taqiyya, extending beyond manuscript copyists to the scholarly transmission of the text itself.
Drawing on his research into early manuscripts and the historical context of Baghdad, he proposes that the variations found in a small group of early copies are best explained as deliberate concealment under conditions of persecution rather than later interpolation. The lecture concludes by showing how this framework offers a coherent explanation for the manuscript evidence discussed throughout the series.
In this episode:
Why the earliest manuscript of Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid is central to the debate
The strongest evidence cited by proponents of textual alteration
Why Sayyid Mahmoudi argues the omissions reflect taqiyya, not interpolation
The role of Shaykh al-Ṭūsī and other early Imāmī scholars in transmitting Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ
How the manuscript evidence supports the preservation of the ziyārah’s original text
About the speaker
Ḥujjat al-Islām Sayyid Mahdī Maḥmoudī is a researcher specialising in Shiʿi manuscript studies and the textual history of Imāmī devotional literature. He is the author of numerous studies on Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ, including Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ: From Its Origins to the Present Day, which received a commendation at the 40th Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year Award and was recognised at the 2nd Biennial of ʿĀshūrāʾ Books.
This lecture series accompanies ICAIR’s newly published English translation of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī: A Study on Manuscript Transmission, which draws on over one hundred manuscripts and historical sources to examine the textual history of one of Shiʿism’s most important devotional texts.
📖 Order the book:
https://icair.ac/ziyarat-ashura-book
