Henry Corben's understanding of Shiite thought about Imamate and Mahdism

Henry Corban was the most prominent Western commentator on spiritual wisdom and Islamic philosophy who, due to his acquaintance with Allameh Tabatabai, achieved significant truths in the Shiite school. He examined the fundamental components and elements of Shiism and spiritual wisdom with a phenomenological point of view and recognized that the issue of Imamate and Mahdism is the main foundation of the Shiite religion. He believed that Shiism, mysticism and spiritual wisdom could not be valued, and at the same time, the issue of Imamate and guardianship of the Imam, which ultimately ends with the Imam of the Age (pbuh), could not be ignored. He considered the philosophy of the absence and emergence of Imam al-Zaman (as) in the merits and demerits of individuals and their knowledge. In this article, by examining the works of Henry Corben, his views on Shiite philosophy and Mahdism were analyzed using the method of content analysis. The results of the phenomenological study of Henry Carbon's works and using the content analysis method show that the only religion is the right religion of Islam, and among the Islamic religions, only Shiism can be accepted as the final version and the universal religion, because only in the shadow of the true teachings of Shiism can the connection between the Hereafter and the world be maintained. Because in this religion, the presence of the Imam is preserved as a mediator of grace and a link between the world and the hereafter.