This research critically examines the perspective of Western scholars of Shi'ism regarding the two pivotal concepts of Wilāyah (Guardianship/Authority) and Divinity within the Shiite intellectual system, with a focus on the views of Henry Corbin and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi. The present study demonstrates that these scholars, by focusing on extremist (Ghulāt) and Sufi sources, have analyzed these two concepts: on one hand, by emphasizing esoteric Wilāyah, they have downplayed the political aspect of the Imamate; on the other hand, by proposing the theory of the "Cosmic Man," they have arrived at an interpretation approaching divinity concerning the station of the Imams.
Employing a descriptive-analytical method and drawing upon the Qur'an, the tradition of the Ma'sūmīn (Sunnah), and historical sources, this article critiques these viewpoints. Regarding the concept of Wilāyah, it is argued that Shi'ite Imamate encompasses both esoteric and political dimensions and cannot be reduced merely to spiritual guidance or considered derived from the theory of the Perfect Man. Concerning the discussion of Divinity, by examining the practical conduct (Sīrah) of the  Imams and their confrontation with the Ghulāt, it is demonstrated that the mainstream Shiism has always distanced itself from any deific perception of the Imams and has been free and absolved of such notions. The research findings indicate that the interpretation of these two concepts by Corbin and Amir-Moezzi has been shaped under the influence of historicist presuppositions, reliance on marginal sources, and a lack of consideration for mainstream sources, as well as conflating Imami Shiism with Kaysaniyya and other groups. In contrast, authoritative Shiite sources present a balanced and monotheism-based image of the station of the Imams.