Note: [Republished from the Scholar of the House website] The books listed below were selected by Dr. Abou El Fadl from a comprehensive bibliography of Islamic Studies books compiled by Professor Patrick O'Donnell, published in 2003. Books published after 2003 are not included. [Go to the complete comprehensive bibliography by Professor O'Donnell.]
Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced designations were determined by Dr. Abou El Fadl. Placement of a book within this section was determined by Professor O'Donnell.
BEGINNER:
Jafri, S. Husain M. The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Hamid Dabashi and Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, eds. Shi'ism: Doctrines, Thought and Spirituality. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1988.
Tabataba'i, 'allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husain (Seyyed Hoseyn Nasr, trans. and ed.). Shi'ite Islam.London: George Allen & Unwin, 1975.
INTERMEDIATE:
Abdul-Jabar, Faleh, ed. Ayatollahs, Sufis, and Ideologues: State, Religion and Social Movements in Iraq. London: Saqi, 2002.
Amir-Moezzl, Mohammad Ali. The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam.Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994.
Ayoub, Mahmoud. Redemptive Suffering in Islam. The Hague: Mouton, 1978.
Corbin, Henry. Cyclical Time and Ismaili Gnosis. London: The Institute of Ismaili Studies Ltd./Kegan Paul Int'l. with Islamic Publications, 1985 ed.
Corbin, Henry. Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shî'ite Iran. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977.
Khumaynî, Ayatu'llah Seyyid Ruhu'llâh (Hamid Algar, trans. and ed.). Islam and Revolution: Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini. Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press, 1981.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Hamid Dabashi and Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, eds. Expectation of the Millennium: Shi'ism in History. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1989.
Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. Islamic Messianism: The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver Shi'ism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1981.