Ibnul-Mutahhar al-Hilli's understanding of caliphate-imamate

İbn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli is a scholar who made important contributions to the intellectual differences experienced in the Shiite Imamiyya, especially after the Ghaiba al-Sughra. Hilli's efforts to gather the sect and turn it into a political power during a period when the Shia lost its former power are important. Al-Hilli, who brought a new dimension to the Akhbari thought by using the rationalism of the Mu'tazila, ensured with his efforts that the Imamiyya received the support of the Ilkhanate State. In our study, in order to understand the reasons for the ongoing discussions on the imamate and caliphate, we aimed to analyze the imamate-caliphate thought of al-Hilli, one of the most important scholars of the Imamiyya. Our study consists of three sections. In the first section, the socio-cultural environment and scientific life that contributed to the formation of al-Hilli's religious and political thoughts were examined. In the second section, the conceptual framework of imamate and caliphate is established, and al-Hilli's views on imamate and caliphate are discussed in the context of his works. In this section, al-Hilli's views on Hz. Ali are also included in order to understand Hz. Ali from his perspective. In the third section, Hilli's thoughts on imamate and caliphate are analyzed with the imamate theories of the important schools of that period. In this section, an attempt is made to analyze the texts that al-Hilli used as evidence for imamate. As a result of our study, it is seen that the traditional evidence that al-Hilli uses to defend his views on imamate is more in volume than rational evidence. This is an indication that he could not break away from Ahbbarism on issues related to imamate. Again, it has been determined that al-Hilli uses an exclusionary style in his works, especially in his criticisms of Ahl al-Sunnah. In addition, it has been determined that his evaluations on Hz. Ali have acquired a mystical dimension and that Hz. Ali is mentioned with a mystical approach.