An Evaluation and Critique of the Perspective of Ethan Kohlberg on Identifying Ithna 'Ashariyah Sect with Harbiyah Sect

Ithna 'Ashariyah is considered one of the largest sects of non-Sunni Muslims and have been known as Shiites since the time of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). The importance of this sect has attracted the attention of Ethan Kohlberg, the orientalist studying Shi'a, and he has focused his studies on this sect. In his first article entitled “The Uses of the Term Ithna 'Ashariyah”, Kohlberg equates the Ithna 'Ashariyah sect with the Harbiyah sect, citing Abu Tamam’s Kitab al-Shajarah. Harbiyah were the followers of Abdullah ibn Harb Kandy, who considered Abdullah as the Imam after Abu Hashim, the son of Muhammad Hanafiyah. After a while, his followers realized that his claim to Imamate was false and turned away from him. In the present article, first, Ithna 'Ashariyah sect is introduced, using both Shiite and Sunni sources; then the falsehood of Ethan Kohlberg’s claim in identifying Ithna 'Ashariyah sect with Harbiyah sect is clarified by providing a report on these two sects from the books of nations and the works that had been written before Abu Tamam’s Kitab al-Shajarah.