An Anthology of Ismaili Literature A Shi‘i Vision of Islam
I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies
Amongst the richest and most rewarding, yet at the same time least familiar, traditions of Muslim literature are those of the Shi‘a 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 recovery and dissemination. It brings together for the first time extracts from a range of Ismaili texts in both poetry and prose, here translated into English by some of the foremost scholars in the field. The selected texts belong to a long span of Ismaili history, 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 languages of South Asia. With substantial sections devoted to such broad topics as history and memoir, faith and thought, and poetry, the anthology offers enriching glimpses into the depths, diversity and distinctiveness of the Ismaili contributions to Islamic intellectual life and literature.
List of Plates
Foreword, by Azim Nanji
Preface and Ackhnowledgements
Contributors
List of Reprinted Works
List of Abbreviations
Ismaili History and Literary Traditions, Farhard Daftary
PART I HISTORY AND MEMOIR
Introduction Samira Sheikh
PART II FAITH AND THOUGHT
Introduction Hermann Landolt
I God and Creation
II Prophethood and Imamate
Introduction Hermann Landolt
III Initiation, Knowledge and Meaning
Introduction Hermann Landolt
IV Faith and Ethics
Introduction Hermann Landolt
PART III POETRY
Introduction Kutub Kassam/Samira Sheikh
I Arabic Poetry
II Persian Poetry
III The Poetry of South Asia
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Hermann Landolt is Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies, McGill University, and a Senior Research Fellow at The institute of Ismaili Studies. His most recent publication is Recherches en spiritualite iranienne: Recueil d'articles (Tehran, 2005).
Samira Sheikh holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, and is currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Her publications include The Making of a Region: State and Society in Gujarat, 1200–1500 (2008).
Kutub Kassam is a graduate of the University of Nairobi and is currently Senior Editor at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. His publications include (with Faquir M. Hunzai), Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry (London, 1996).