Ismaili Texts and Translation Series
Lalani, Arzina R. (ed. and trans.). Degrees of Excellence: A Fatimid Treatise on Leadership in Islam.
Ahmad b. Ibrahim al-Naysaburi lived at the pinnacle of Fatimid rule in Egypt. One of the most distinguished scholars of his time, several important works are accredited to him. However, it is his major treatise – the Kitab Ithbat al-imama – which is of seminal importance in the philosophical development of medieval Muslim thought. It is in this work that al-Naysaburi daringly uses rational tools to explain and expound his theology, rather than base his assertions exclusively on the authority of the Qur’an and Hadith. Seeking to affirm the imamate from a philosophical perspective, he uses numerous devices to bolster his thesis. His foremost device is the theory of ‘degrees of excellence’. Accepting that there are differences and disparities within each genus and species, he gives paradigms of perfect examples in each variety.
Walker, Paul E. (ed. and trans.). Lights to Illuminate the Proof of the Imamate.
An edition and English translation of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani’s al-Masabih fi ithbat al-imama.
Other Publications
Amir-Moezzi , M.A. Shi‘i Spirituality.
An English translation of La Religion Discrète: Croyances et Pratiques Spirituelles dans le Shi‘isme Duodecimain by Hafiz Karmali.
Bloom, Jonathan. Arts of the City Victorious: The Art and Architecture of the Fatimid Dynasty.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein and Mehdi Aminrazavi (eds.). An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, 3 vols.
Vol 1. From Zoroaster to Omar Khayyam; vol 2. Ismaili Thought in the Classical Age, vol 3. Philosophical Theology.
Daftary, Farhad (ed.). A Modern History of the Ismailis
Forthcoming Publications: Qur’anic Studies Project
Hamza, Feras and Sajjad Rizvistrong> (eds. and trans.) with Farhana Mayer. An Anthology of Qur’anic Commentaries: Volume 1, On the Nature of the Divine.
Mayer, Toby (trans.). Translation of the Qur’an Commentary of Sharastani: Mafatih al-asrar wa masabih al-abrar.
Suleman, Fahmida (ed.). Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions.
Selected Proceedings from the International Colloquium held in London, 2003.
Madelung, Wilferd (ed.) and Hamid Haji (trans.). Al-Fara’id wa hudud al-Din: Ja‘far b. Mansur al-Yaman’s Commentary on Surat Yusuf.
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