Shadow of God

Shadow of God (Persian: ظل‌الله, romanized: Ẓellollāh) was an ancient Persian title of pre-Islamic origin used by Muslim rulers, particularly in Iran.^[1]^[2] It was adopted by the leaders of the Abbasid Caliphate, Ottoman Empire, Safavid Iran, Qajar Iran, and Alawi Morocco.^[3]

The ancient Iranians believed in the idea of a divine kingship. During both the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sasanian (224–651 AD) eras, only someone who had received the farr-e izadi (divine grace) was allowed to rule.^[1] Following the arrival of Islam to Iran, the Muslims incorporated this idea into their system of governance.^[2]

The doctrine of imamah served to uphold divine kingship when Shia Islam was made the official religion of Iran by the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736). Its founder, Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), was regarded as the successor of the Hidden Imam Mahdi. By successfully applying the concepts of Mahdism and imamah, the first Safavid rulers were able to claim divinity and incarnation without facing major theological opposition, even though this is prohibited in Islamic doctrine of tawhid.^[1]

Although the Persian monarchy became more secular under the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), both Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi increased their authority by utilizing the idea of divine kingship. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi felt that without its customary divine reassurance, the monarchy would fall. Furthermore, he thought that Iranian society was so deeply associated with kingship that the throne would never be vacant.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dorraj & Mabrook 2009.
^ ^a ^b Esposito 2004.
^ Bennison, Amira K. (2003-09-02). Jihad and its Interpretation in Pre-Colonial Morocco: State-Society Relations during the French Conquest of Algeria. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-135-78814-8. Implicit in Sīdī Muḥammad's self-portrayal was a bid for sacred kingship and for the divine right of the ʿAlawī shurafa' to rule, a bid encapsulated in use of the title 'Shadow of God on Earth' (ẓillu'llahi fī'l-arḍ), an ʿAbbāsid caliphal title also used by the Ottomans and the Safavids of Iran to signal the potential universality of their rule.

Sources

Dorraj, Manochehr; Mabrook, Ali (2009). "Shadow of God". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press.
Esposito, John L. (2004). "Shadow of God". The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford University Press.

[FOOTNOTEDorrajMabrook2009-1] Dorraj & Mabrook 2009.

[FOOTNOTEEsposito2004-2] Esposito 2004.

[3] Bennison, Amira K. (2003-09-02). Jihad and its Interpretation in Pre-Colonial Morocco: State-Society Relations during the French Conquest of Algeria. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-135-78814-8. Implicit in Sīdī Muḥammad's self-portrayal was a bid for sacred kingship and for the divine right of the ʿAlawī shurafa' to rule, a bid encapsulated in use of the title 'Shadow of God on Earth' (ẓillu'llahi fī'l-arḍ), an ʿAbbāsid caliphal title also used by the Ottomans and the Safavids of Iran to signal the potential universality of their rule.

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