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One of the richest and most rewarding, yet at the same time least familiar, traditions of Muslim literature is that of the Shi'i Imami Ismailis. Although many great literary treasures of the Islamic world are already available in English translation, those of the Ismailis are only slowly being made accessible to scholars and readers at large. This substantial Anthology makes a vital and welcome contribution to that process of wider dissemination. It brings together for the first time extracts from a range of significant Ismaili texts in both poetry and prose, here translated into English by some of the foremost scholars in the field.The texts included belong to a long span of Ismaili history, which extends from the Fatimid era to the beginning of the twentieth century. The translations in question have been rendered from their originals in Arabic, Persian and the different languages of Badakhshan and South Asia. With substantial sections devoted to such broad topics as faith and thought, history and biography, ethics, the Imamate, Ta'wil (or esoteric exegesis and textual interpretation), the Anthology offers continuously enriching glimpses into the depths, diversity and distinctiveness of one of the great traditions of Islamic thought and creativity, which still remains relatively undiscovered by the West.
Ismaili Studies represents one of the most recent fields of Islamic Studies. Much new research has taken place in this field as a result of the recovery of a large number of Ismaili texts. Ismaili Literature contains a complete listing of the sources and secondary studies, including theses, written by Ismailis or about them in all major Islamic and European languages. It also contains chapters surveying Ismaili history and developments in modern Ismaili Studies.
Although a large body of the great poetry of the Islamic world has been translated into English, the poetry of the Ismailis, except for a small portion, is still only accessible in the original.
The Aga Khans have long played a prominent part on the international stage, but much less tends to be understood about the most important group of their followers, the Khoja Ismailis of South Asia, who are now also settled in many other parts of the world. Even less is generally known about the hymns, called ginans, which have historically formed so central an element in the religious life and rituals of the Ismaili community. The principal aim of this anthology is to fill this gap by providing a sympathetic introduction to this still largely unexplored tradition of South Asian devotional literature, and to draw attention to the many features of remarkable interest which it contains.
The Ismaili Muslims, who belong to the Shia branch of Islam, live in over 25 different countries around the world, mainly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Their history has typically been linked to the history of the various countries in which they live, but the worldwide community is united under Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader and 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. Few fields of Islamic studies have witnessed as drastic a change as Ismaili studies, due in part to the recent discovery of numerous historical texts, and author Farhad Daftary makes extensive use of these new sources in the Historical Dictionary of the Ismailis. This comprehensive new reference work is the first of its kind on the Ismailis and presents a summary of the findings of modern scholarship on the Ismaili Shia Muslims and different facets of their heritage. The dictionary covers all phases of Ismaili history as well as the main doctrines of the community. It includes an introductory chapter, which provides a broad historical survey of the Ismailis, followed by alphabetical entries on all major aspects of the community, such as key figures, institutions, traditions, and doctrines. It also contains a chronology, genealogical tables, a glossary, and a substantial bibliography. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Ismailis.
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies Few fields of Islamic studies have witnessed as much progress in modern times as Ismaili studies, and in even fewer instances has the role of a single individual been as pivotal in initiating progress as that of Wladimir Ivanow (1886-1970), whose memoirs are now published here for the first time. The breakthrough in modern Ismaili studies occurred mainly as a result of the recovery and study of a large number of texts relating to the field, which had not been available to the earlier generations of orientalists. The Persian and Arabic Ismaili manuscripts, many edited and published by Ivanow, reflect a rich diversity of intellectual and literary traditions. Ivanow left his native Russia soon after the October Revolution of 1917 and settled in India where he was formally commissioned in 1931 by Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III, the 48th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, to investigate the history and teachings of the Ismailis. Henceforth, Ivanow began the systematic recovery and study of texts from this tradition of Shi'i Islam, discovered in India, the Middle East and Central Asia, amongst other regions. He also played a key role in the establishment of the Ismaili Society - the first research institution of its kind with a major collection of Ismaili manuscripts. Ivanow made these manuscripts available to other scholars, thereby contributing to further progress in the field. Ivanow completed his memoirs, entitled Fifty Years in the East, in 1968, shortly before his death. This work, originally written in Russian, is comprised of an autobiography and vivid accounts from his travels. These convey his ethnologist's interest in 'the archaeology of the way of life' and profound curiosity for regional customs and languages. The memoirs, written in Tehran during Ivanow's final years, have now been edited with substantial annotations by Farhad Daftary. They reveal for the first time the circumstances under which modern Ismaili studies were initiated and an eyewitness account of several regions during the early decades of the twentieth century before the rapid onset of modernisation.
The Ismailis represent an important Shiʿi Muslim community with rich intellectual and literary traditions. The complex history of the Ismailis dates back to the second/eighth century when they separated from other Shiʿi groups under the leadership of their own imams. Soon afterwards, the Ismailis organised a dynamic, revolutionary movement, known as the daʿwa or mission, for uprooting the Sunni regime of the Abbasids and establishing a new Shiʿi caliphate headed by the Ismaili imam. By the end of the third/ninth century, the Ismaili dāʿīs, operating secretly on behalf of the movement, were active in almost every region of the Muslim world, from Central Asia and Persia to Yemen, Egypt and the Maghrib. This book brings together a collection of the best works from Farhad Daftary, one of the foremost authorities in the field. The studies cover a range of specialised topics related to Ismaili history, historiography, institutions, theology, law and philosophy, amongst other intellectual traditions elaborated by the Ismailis. The collation of these invaluable studies into one book will be of great interest to the Ismaili community as well to anyone studying Islam in general, or Shiʿi Islam in particular.
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies This is the first English translation of the final philosophical work of the great eleventh-century Ismaili thinker, poet, and Fatimid emissary, N?sir-i Khusraw. Appointed from Cairo by command of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustansir to serve first as a d?'?, and then as the hujjat, for the entire region of Khur?s?n, he maintained his allegiance both to his mission and his Imam-caliph for the rest of his life, even when threatened and driven into exile. Written during his exile in Badakhsh?n in the year 1070, N?sir-i Khusraw here develops a powerful presentation of both Aristotelian philosophy and Ismaili exegesis, or ta'w?l, and strives to show that they are ultimately in harmony. The work is presented as a learned commentary on a long philosophical poem, written in the previous century and sent to N?sir by the am?r of Badakhsh?n, 'Al? b. al-Asad, who copied the poem out in his own hand from memory and asked the poet-philosopher to explicate it. In doing so, N?sir ranges over a huge span of topics from logic and language to the nature of the physical world, from the spheres of the highest heavens to the plants and animals of the earthly realm, and, most importantly, hidden spiritual realities: the esoteric (b?tin) as well as the exoteric (z?hir) realms. He thus discusses the nature of God, the creation of human beings, and the mysteries concealed in the physical world, itself a reflection of a higher, transcendent realm. Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled is an annotated translation of the Persian text prepared by Henry Corbin and Mohammed Mu'?n based on the single surviving manuscript of the work, now in the Süleymaniye Mosque Library in Istanbul. It is a work of great philosophical and spiritual insight, which is also a pioneering attempt to tackle difficult intellectual problems in the Persian language; it is at once lucid and lyrical, precise and speculative. N?sir's influence has been immense as both a poet and a thinker, and the Kit?b-i J?mi' al-hikmatayn is his crowning work.
"None of that people should be spared, not even the babe in its cradle." With these chilling words, the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan declared his intention to destroy the Ismailis, one of the most intellectually and politically significant Muslim communities of medieval Islamdom. The massacres that followed convinced observers that this powerful voice of Shi'i Islam had been forever silenced. Little was heard of these people for centuries, until their recent and dramatic emergence from obscurity. Today they exist as a dynamic and thriving community established in over twenty-five countries. Yet the interval between what appeared to have been their total annihilation, and their modern, seemingly phoenix-like renaissance, has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on an astonishing array of sources gathered from many countries around the globe, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation is a richly nuanced and compelling study of the murkiest portion of this era. In probing the period from the dark days when the Ismaili fortresses in Iran fell before the marauding Mongol hordes, to the emergence at Anjudan of the Ismaili Imams who provided a spiritual centre to a scattered community, this work explores the motivations, passions and presumptions of historical actors. With penetrating insight, Shafique N. Virani examines the rich esoteric thought that animated the Ismailis and enabled them to persevere. A work of remarkable erudition, this landmark book is essential reading for scholars of Islamic history and spirituality, Shi'ism and Iran. Both specialists and informed lay readers will take pleasure not only in its scholarly perception, but in its lively anecdotes, quotations of delightful poetry, and gripping narrative style. This is an extraordinary book of historical beauty and spiritual vision.