A Shīʿī Scholar Between Safavid Iran and Mughal India: The Life, Works, and Thought of Nūrullāh Shūshtarī (956–1019/1550–1610)

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to reconstruct the life, contextualize the works, and interpret the thought of Nūrullāh Shūshtarī (956–1019/1550–1610), a Shīʿī scholar who gained prominence during the late tenth/sixteenth and early eleventh/seventeenth centuries within the interconnected intellectual and religious histories of Safavid Iran and Mughal India. At the heart of my argument, I posit that Shūshtarī, drawing upon his familial lineage, educational pedigree, and vocational stature, sought to reshape the prevailing perceptions of his contemporaries of the pre-Safavid Shīʿī history. Concurrently, he ardently championed its doctrines and rituals in the face of critiques from his Sunni contemporaries.

The dissertation unfolds in two parts. In the first part, I chronologically follow Shūshtarī’s journey through four cities: Shushtar and Mashhad in Iran, and Lahore and Agra in India, each representing different phases of his life and career. The second part aims to craft a portrait of his selected scholarly contributions and ambitions, most prominently mirrored in his seminal work, Majālis al-muʾminīn, a ground-breaking historiographical endeavor, along with two of his writings dedicated to refuting Sunni criticism, namely, Maṣāʾib al-Nawāṣib and al-Ṣawārim al-muhriqa. I also seek to show that Shūshtarī’s intellectual endeavors unfolded within the evolving dynamics of Sunni-Shīʿī religious debates and the omnipresent Ottoman-Safavid rivalry during this pivotal era.

Utilizing an interdisciplinary framework, this dissertation integrates perspectives from both historical and religious studies to present a nuanced understanding of its subject matter. It seeks to serve as a bridge connecting Islamic intellectual and social history, thereby enriching the academic discourse on Sunni-Shīʿī relationships during a particularly transformative phase in the history of early modern Islamic societies. A notable aspect of this research is its use of primary textual sources across several languages, including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and, to a certain degree, Turkish. Consequently, the dissertation asserts that an in-depth exploration of Shūshtarī’s life and contributions demands an interdisciplinary methodology, enriched by the employment of multilingual resources.

While the dissertation is a detailed exploration of Shūshtarī’s life, contributions, and the challenges he faced, it also positions him as a prism through which one can view the broader socio-religious and political landscapes of Safavid Iran, Mughal India, and the adjoining Ottoman territories. Through Shūshtarī’s narrative, the study captures a vivid panorama of intellectual exchanges, religious debates, and the intricate dance of authority and scholarship during a transformative period in Islamic history.

Yet, it bears emphasizing that this dissertation, despite its comprehensive purview, unveils only select aspects of Shūshtarī’s multifaceted character, leaving substantial terrains for subsequent scholarly exploration.