SAID AMIR ARJOMAND, THE SHADOW OF GOD & THE HIDDEN IMAM: RELIGION, POLITICAL ORDER, AND SOCIETAL CHANGE IN SHI’ITE IRAN FROM THE BEGINNING TO 1890. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1984.

The Shadow of God & The Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi’ite Iran from the Beginning to 1890 by Said Amir Arjomand deals with the historical process of Shicite Islam, the doctrine of the Hidden Imam. In addition, the place and importance of the concept of Hidden Imam in the Shi’ite Islamic tradition is explained. In this work, various issues such as the course of Shiism in Iran, the appearance of the Mahdi, the Sarbidars movement, the rise of the Safavid stopower and the relations between the Shi’ite ulema and the government are focused on. Consisting of 12 chapters, this study is analysed with in the framework of Max Weber’s sociology
Key Words: Shiism, Hidden Imam, Ghaybet