Books in the Ismaili Texts and Translations series

The two sermons edited and translated here for the first time are primary material from the years before the establishment of the Fatimid caliphate in 297/909. The authors have been identified as Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i and Abu'l-'Abbas Muhammad, two brothers who were central to the success of the Ismaili da'wa in North Africa. Da'wa, a term used to describe how Muslims teach others about the beliefs and practices of their Islamic faith, therefore provide a unique view of the nature and development of Islam throughout history. In this case, the primary texts shed light on the development of Islam among the Berbers of the Maghreb. The first text by Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i shows how the arguments for belief in the 'imamate' of the family of the Prophet, that is, the Shi'a belief that all imams should be spiritual descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and his household, were developed and presented to bring new adherents to the cause. The Book of the Keys to Grace by his elder brother Abu'l-'Abbas, too, concerns not only the centrality of the imam in the faith but also sheds light on the hierarchy of the da'wa in this early period and its organisational sophistication. Both texts also reveal the contemporary theology propagated by the Ismaili da'wa, including for instance, the powerful analogy of Moses/Aaron and Muhammad/'Ali, the awareness of a variety of religious traditions and the use of detailed Qur'anic quotations and a wide range of hadith. As such they constitute primary source material of interest not only for Ismaili history but for this early period of Islam in general.

The two sermons edited and translated here for the first time are primary material from the years before the establishment of the Fatimid caliphate in 297/909. The authors have been identified as Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i and Abu'l-'Abbas Muhammad, two brothers who were central to the success of the Ismaili da'wa in North Africa. Da'wa, a term used to describe how Muslims teach others about the beliefs and practices of their Islamic faith, therefore provide a unique view of the nature and development of Islam throughout history. In this case, the primary texts shed light on the development of Islam among the Berbers of the Maghreb. The first text by Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i shows how the arguments for belief in the 'imamate' of the family of the Prophet, that is, the Shi'a belief that all imams should be spiritual descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and his household, were developed and presented to bring new adherents to the cause. The Book of the Keys to Grace by his elder brother Abu'l-'Abbas, too, concerns not only the centrality of the imam in the faith but also sheds light on the hierarchy of the da'wa in this early period and its organisational sophistication. Both texts also reveal the contemporary theology propagated by the Ismaili da'wa, including for instance, the powerful analogy of Moses/Aaron and Muhammad/'Ali, the awareness of a variety of religious traditions and the use of detailed Qur'anic quotations and a wide range of hadith. As such they constitute primary source material of interest not only for Ismaili history but for this early period of Islam in general.

A distinguished scholar, author and statesman, al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (1000-1078 CE) lived during one of the most turbulent periods in Islamic history. This work covers a range of political and religious issues, from al-Mu'ayyad's intellectual disputations to devotions in praise of the Prophet Muhammad and his family.

This work is a personal memoir composed by a medieval scholar in which he records details of his discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-10.

The Fatimid empire flourished from the beginning of the 10th to the end of the 12th century. The sacred dimension of their rulers was manifested when the imam-Caliphs personally delivered sermons, or khutbas, to their subjects. This book offers a history of the festival sermons and explores their key themes and rhetorical strategies.

One of the distinguished scholars of his time, Ahmad b Ibrahim al-Naysaburi lived during the height of Fatimid rule in Egypt. He came from Nishapur, the centre of the Ismaili da'wa in Khurasan, a thriving centre of learning particularly noted for its use of rationalistic philosophy. This work studies this scholar of the early 5th/11th century.

Reflects the social and political conditions which prevailed when the Fatimids began to consolidate their rule. This book, a translation of the "Iftitah al-Da'wa", is an important primary source for understanding the emergence of the Fatimid state in the early years of the tenth century.

Nasir al-din Tusi, a Shi'i scholar of the 13th century, produced a range of writings in different fields of learning under Ismaili patronage and later under the Mongols. This edition presents the Ismaili text from the Alumut period.

A new Persian edition and the first English translation of the memoirs of Muhammad Hasan 'Ali Shah (1804-1881) the first Ismaili Imam to bear the title of Aga Khan.

This work is a personal memoir composed by a medieval scholar in which he records details of his discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-10.

About 405/1015 Ismaili da'i Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani composed a treatise he called Lights to Illuminate the Proof of the Imamate (al-Masabih fi ithbat al-imama) in the bold hope of convincing Fakhr al-Mulk, the Shi'i wazir of the Buyids in Baghdad, to abandon the Abbasids and support the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim. This work offers a translation.