One of Amir-Moezzi's fundamental arguments is that the supra-natural and supra-rational beliefs about the Twelve Imams were the core of Twelver Shiʿism.
This puts him in conflict with the prevailing interpretation that it was the rational tradition, led by figures such as Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, that constituted this core.
He is thus a cosmic necessity, the key and the center of the universal economy of the sacred: "The earth cannot be devoid of an imam; without him, it could not last an hour.
"[3] In order to offer a new understanding of early Shiʿi viewpoints, Amir-Moezzi's begins by reconstructing the concept of rationality.
"[5] The soteriological dimension means that "the absence of ʿaql, the 'organ' of religion, there can only be false religiousness, an appearance of piety, hypocrisy.