Ismaili Literature

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.

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.

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.

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.

The devotional literature of the Ismailis in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is a rich seam of creativity in the cultural heritage of Islam. This book looks at the "ginans", a large corpus of hymns and poems composed in a variety of Indic languages and attributed to a series of preacher-saints who propagated Ismaili Islam in the subcontinent over several centuries. The work explores the origins of this literature in the larger historical, cultural and religious contexts of the Sufi, Bhakti and Sant movements in medieval India. The characteristics of the "ginans" are explored and the Khojki script in which they were written. There is also a look at the continuing enthusiasm for this poetic tradition in the religious life of contemporary Nizari Ismaili communities of South Asian origin.