This chapter considers the origin of some concepts key to Shi‘ite beliefs and subsequently important in the intellectual life of Shi‘ite Muslims. It briefly recounts the political-religious division that arose after the killing of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, when ‘Abdullah b. Saba’ alleged that ‘Ali would return to life to destroy his enemies. Due to the killing of al-Husayn, the Kufan Iraqi notables, who called themselves ‘al-Tawwabun’ (the Penitents), began to secretly organise a movement against the Umayyads. It was after the reverse of the Tawwabun in Ramadan 65/May 685, when al-Mukhtar b. Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi led a revolt against the enemies of the Prophet's family (ahl al-bayt).

Though al-Mukhtar was defeated, his legacy lives on in three central important Shi‘ite doctrines. Firstly, he espoused the idea of Mahdism, which implies the concept of occultation (ghayba) and return (raj‘a) of the last Imam. Secondly, he propagated the doctrine of the change in God's will or command (bada‘). Thirdly, he supported belief in the inner meaning of sacred texts (batin). In effect, al-Mukhtar moved towards a more interpretative (ta wil), less literal, reading of the central Islamic text, the Qur'an. Accordingly, proto-Shi‘ite leaders introduced many new doctrinal terms to reinterpret previous ideas and to confirm their own beliefs and practices which differed from those of the majority of Muslims. It should be noted that the Shi‘ites themselves did not introduce all these key terms; heresiographers and subsequent observers applied some of them to try to elucidate Shi‘ite beliefs and their origins.