Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi

Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (died 1623-24 or 1626-7) was an Iranian theologian and founder or proponent of the conservative (akhbari) strand in Twelver Shi'a Islamic belief, that is, those who favor hadith over fatwās.

Astarabadi saw himself as a "reviver" of a lost tradition. He was followed by a number of scholars who explicitly identified themselves with the akhbari. These scholars called for the return to the hadith sources, in a belief that the words and actions of the imams were readily seen, but had been corrupted by centuries of excessive commentary.

References

• Newman, Andrew J. (1992) "The Nature of the Akhbari/Usuli Dispute in Late Safawid Iran, Part 2: The Conflict Reassessed" Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 55(2): pp. 250–261
• Gleave, Robert (2004) "Akhbariyya" Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (ed. Richard C. Martin) Vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, New York, ISBN 0-02-865912-0
• Gleave, Robert (2007) Scripturalist Islam: the history and doctrines of the Akhbari Shi'i school Brill Academic, Leiden, ISBN 978-90-04-15728-6