Akhbari

Akhbarism (Arabic: الأخبارية, romanized: al-ʾAkhbāriyya) is a branch of Twelver Shia Islam, whose adherents do not perform emulation (taqlid) of an Islamic jurist (marja'). Akhbaris reject the use of intercessory reasoning via trained Islamic jurists to derive verdicts in Islamic law, maintaining it is forbidden (haram) to perform imitation of anyone but one of the Fourteen Infallibles of Twelver Islam. The vast majority of Akhbaris today are to be found in Bahrain, with notable minorities in Iraq, Kuwait and Tanzania.

The term Akhbari is derived from khabara'at, meaning “news” or “reports,” while Usuli comes from Uṣūl al-fiqh, the “principles of Islamic jurisprudence.” Akhbaris, in contrast to Usulis, do not accept Usul al-fiqh—that is, the effort to formulate a coherent set of legal principles based on rulings issued by the Imams prior to the Occultation (ghayba) of the last Imam.

Akhbaris hold that they must directly imitate the Ahl al-Bayt, arguing that the Imams are infallible whereas the marja, regardless of their expertise in jurisprudence, is not. Knowledge of religious rulings within Islamic jurisprudence is therefore transmitted, according to Akhbari belief, through successive generations of Muhaddith who narrate the rulings and hadith of The Fourteen Infallibles without engaging in interpretation. They maintain that the interpretation of the Qur'an and the full, esoteric knowledge of revelation (al-rāsikhūn fi al-ʿilm Arabic: الراسخون فی العلم) are also handed down from the Imams in this manner.

As of the twenty-first century, Akhbari form a small minority within Shia Islam, with Usulis making up the mainstream majority. Akhbarism as a revivalist movement started with the writings of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1627) and achieved its greatest influence in the late Safavid (1501–1736) and early post-Safavid era. However, shortly thereafter Muhammad Baqir Behbahani (d. 1792), along with other Usuli mujtahids, eradicated most of the Akhbari movement. South Asian regions notable for their Akhbari populations include Hyderabad, Karachi, Sehwan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Chakwaal, and Gojar Khan. with reportedly "only a handful of Shia Ulama remaining Akhbari to the present day."