Study of Shi'i Islam

Farhad Daftary is the Co-Director and Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. As well as serving on various editorial boards, Dr Daftary is the author and editor of numerous publications. Gurdofarid Miskinzoda is a Research Associate and Coordinator of Shi'i Studies at the Department of Academic Research and Publication of the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

• ContentsForeword by Mohammad Ali Amir-MoezziPrefaceContributorsAbbreviationsPART I: HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHYIntroduction Wilferd Madelung1. Reflections on the Expression d?n ?Al?: The Origins of the Shi?i FaithMohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi2. The Study of the Ismailis: Phases and Issues Farhad Daftary 3. Al-Maqr?z?’s Connection to the Fatimids Nasser RabbatPART II: THE QUR?AN AND ITS SHI?I INTERPRETATIONSIntroductionMeir M. Bar-Asher4. What Defines a (Pre-modern) Shi?i Tafs?r? Notes Towards the History of the Genre of Tafs?r in Islam, in Light of the Study of the Shi?i ContributionAndrew Rippin5. The Tafs?r of al-?ibar? (d. 286/899): Qur?anic Exegesis and Early Shi?i Esotericism Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi 6. The Empire Writes Back: Fatimid Ismaili Ta?w?l (Allegoresis) and the Mysteries of the Ancient GreeksDavid Hollenberg7. The Authority to Interpret the Qur?anMeir M. Bar-AsherPART III: SHI?I ?AD?THIntroduction Etan Kohlberg8. Writing and Resistance: The Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Early Shi?ism Maria Massi Dakake 9. Pre-B?yid ?ad?th Literature: The Case of al-Barq? from Qumm (d. 274/888 or 280/894) in Twelve Sections Roy Vilozny10. The Story of ‘Pen and Paper’ and its Interpretation in Muslim Literary and Historical Tradition Gurdofarid MiskinzodaPART IV: SHI?I LAWIntroduction Mohyddin Yahia 11. Renunciation (Zuhd) in the Early Shi?i Tradition Christopher Melchert12. The Evolution of al-Q??? al-Nu?m?n’s Theory of Ismaili Jurisprudence as Reflected in the Chronology of his Works on Jurisprudence Ismail K. Poonawala13. The Theory of M?l among the Zayd?sSayyid Zayd al-WazirPART V: AUTHORITYIntroductionAndrew J. Newman14. ‘Seeking the Face of God’: The Safawid ?ikmat Tradition’s Conceptualisation of Wal?ya Takw?niyyaSajjad Rizvi15. The Role of the Imam-caliph as Depicted in Official Treatises and Documents Issued by the FatimidsPaul E. Walker16. ‘Minority Reports’: Twelver Shi?i Disputations and Authority in the B?yid PeriodAndrew J. NewmanPART VI: THEOLOGYIntroduction Wilferd Madelung17. Early Im?m? Theology as Reflected in the Kit?b al-k?fi of al-Kulayn?Wilferd Madelung 18. Al-Shaykh al-????: His Writings on Theology and their Reception Hassan Ansari and Sabine SchmidtkePART VII: RITES AND RITUALSIntroduction Gerald R. Hawting19. ??sh?r?? Rituals, Identity and Politics: A Comparative Approach (Lebanon and India)Sabrina Mervin20. The Practice of Chir?gh-i rawshan among the Ismailis of Central AsiaHakim ElnazarovPART VIII: PHILOSOPHY AND INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONSIntroduction Daniel De Smet21. Shahrast?n?’s ?an?f Revelation: A Shi?i Philosophico-Hermeneutical SystemToby Mayer22. Philosophising at the Margins of ‘Shi?i Studies’: Reflections on Ibn S?n?’s OntologyNader El-BizriEpilogue by Azim NanjiIndex