There has been a long tradition of seminarians (and former seminarians) who have argued for shariah reform based on a rational reading of sacred texts. This includes Jamāl al-Din Asadābādi (popularly known as al-Afghāni (d. 1897)), Shariʿat Sangalji (d. 1944), and Ahmad Kasravī (d. 1946). In many ways the trajectory of reform based on reason and logical argumentation is the consequence of the Osuli victory over Akhbāri literalism. The trend continued with the worldview of Ahmad Qābel, who advocated reform of “traditional” interpretations of Islam that made them compatible with modern human rights and reason, and which endorsed a form of religious secularity. The significance of Qābel’s vision of Islam lies both in its immediate Iranian context and the wider perspective of shariah in the Islamic world. In the Iranian context, Qābel constantly challenged the Principlists by crossing their redlines, such as velāyat-e faqih, hijab, their politicization of Imam Hosayn, and freedom of speech and belief, among others.