Imam Ali Foundation has published books and book translations of high quality concerning many subjects, especially regarding a wider understanding of Islam both in its dogmatic and legal aspects. Dear Reader, the book which you have in your hands treats a most important topic regarding the relation between the ideological and the theological realms in Islam. It concerns theories of the Caliphate and the Imamate in Islam and especially the historical development of Shi'ism, which insists upon a strict observance of Koranic and prophetic texts in everyday life.