The Doctrine of muhammisa according to Muslim Heresiography

Abstract

The article presents the doctrine of muhammisa according to Muslim heresiography. The muẖammisa is one of ḡulāt groups. This term is applied to groups accused of exaggeration (ḡuluww) in religion and has covered a lot of groups from the early Šī‘ī circle. Muhammisa is a current without a specific leader, it seems to have been a group of partisans having propagated a very particular idea: the divinity of five persons from ahl al-kisā’: Muhammad, ‘Alī, Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn and Fātima. The article focuses on their doctrines as presented by the heresiographers and their relation to another group, ‘alyā’iyya, who recognised ‘Alī as God and Muhammad as his servant.