At some point close to or immediately after the advent of the Fatimids in North Africa, Abu’l-ʿAbbās, brother of the famous Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Shīʿī, was asked to compose an explanation of the stipulations governing zakāt and ṣadaqa …
A Newly Discovered Treatise from the Earliest Fatimid Period on the Relationship between the Burden of Alms Dues and Access to Ta’wīl-based Knowledge and the Daʿwa by Walker, Paul E.
At some point close to or immediately after the advent of the Fatimids in North Africa, Abu’l-ʿAbbās, brother of the famous Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Shīʿī, was asked to compose an explanation of the stipulations governing zakāt and ṣadaqa and how such payments and patient compliance in observing them is connected to the daʿwa and access to ta’wīl-based knowledge. The work was called Mafātīḥ al-niʿma (The Keys to Grace) and it dates to a period before 911, which is when its author was put to death. Thus all its material about the Ismaili hierarchy, the role of the dāʿī and the imam, and the science of ta’wīl—to whom is it revealed and under what circumstances—is as early, perhaps earlier, than any other sources we have. Moreover, given the prominence of the man who wrote this treatise, it has critical political importance for the formation of the new Fatimid state.
Professor Paul E. Walker has taught at McGill University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan. For several years Dr Walker was the Director of the American Research Centre in Egypt, and is currently a Visiting Scholar with the University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He has authored and edited many books on Fatimid history and the formative period of Ismaili thought including Early Philosophical Shi’ism (Cambridge University Press, 1993), The Wellsprings of Wisdom: A Study of Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani’s Kitab al-Yanabi (University of Utah Press, 1994), Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary (I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1996), Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani: Ismaili Thought in the Age of al-Hakim (I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1999), with Wilferd Madelung, An Ismaili Heresiography (Brill, 1998) and The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shi’i Witness (I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2000). Most recently, Dr Walker is the recipient of the 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship to study the Imam-Caliph al-Hakim.
More on Professor Paul Walker from Ismailimail Archives:
- Catch the Live Streaming of 2021 Ismaili Studies Conference (August 6-10, 2021) #ISC2021
- 2021 Ismaili Studies Conference Registration and Program #ISC2021
- UChicago Shi’i Studies Group Symposium: Sectarian Identity and Community Formation in Islam- Oct 26-27, 2018
- A Newly Discovered Treatise from the Earliest Fatimid Period – Professor Paul E. Walker’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference, Washington, DC
- Event – November 22-25 | Washington DC: 2014 Annual Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Meeting with Ismaili Scholars
- Event – October 18 | University of Chicago: Islamicate Studies Symposium
- Event – October 18 | University of Chicago: Ismaili Studies Conference and Islamicate Studies Symposium – Teaching Islam
- Event – October 16-17 | University of Chicago: Ismaili Studies Conference
- Event – October 16-17 | Chicago: First Ever “Ismaili Studies Conference” at University of Chicago
- Scholars from IIS, Harvard, and Indiana host panels on Ismaili History and Philosophy at MESA 2014
- IIS Scholars and Khalil Andani present papers on Isma’ili history/thought at 2013 MESA Annual Meeting
- Professor Paul E Walker: The Ismaili Vocabulary of Creation
- Audio lecture by Professor Paul Walker: The Modern Recovery of the Ismaili Legacy and Its Importance for the Study of the Fatimids
- The Ismaili Vocabulary of Creation, by Professor Paul E Walker
- The Modern Recovery of the Ismaili Legacy and Its Importance for the Study of the Fatimids – A lecture by Paul Walker at the UCLA International Institute
- Scholars Paul Walker, Fahmida Suleman, and Shainool Jiwa to present on Fatimid Period at the Middle East Studies Association Conference, December 2011
- Institute of Ismaili Studies Sponsors Panel on The Bible and the Qur’an in Ismaili Sources
- Video: Professor Paul Walker speaks on Fatimid Feasts and Festivals
- Caliph of Cairo: Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah – by Paul E. Walker | Al-Masry Al-Youm
- Maqriziana XII. Evaluating the Sources for the Fatimid Period
- Chicago Studies on the Middle East: Ismaili and Fatimid Studies in Honor of Paul E. Walker
- Culture and Memory in Medieval Islam: Essays in Honor of Wilferd Madelung – Farhad Daftary, Josef W. Meri
- Institute of Ismaili Studies Publishes Work on Khutbas of Fatimid Caliphs
- Orations of The Fatimid Caliphs – Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams
- Institute of Ismaili Studies – by Dr Paul E Walker
- Academic Publications – Reading Guides
- Master of The Age – An Islamic Treatise on the Necessity of the Imamate
- Abu Yakub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary
- Institute of Ismaili Studies – Academic Publications
About MESA:
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is a private, non-profit, non-political learned society that brings together scholars, educators and those interested in the study of the region from all over the world. MESA’s 48th annual meeting will be held in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.
Related Event:
All related MESA 2014, from Ismailimail Archives:
- The Neoplatonic Qur’anic Exegesis of Nāṣir-i Khusraw – Khalil Andani’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference in Washington, DC
- Echoes of the Gnostics: Incorporation of Mythic Cosmology into Ismāʿīlī Thought – Paul Anderson’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference in Washington, DC
- Rethinking the Kalām-i pīr and Its Role in the Central Asian Ismāʿīlī Tradition – Daniel Beben’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference in Washington, DC
- The Conversions of Hasan-i Sabbah – Shiraz Hajiani’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference in Washington, DC
- Realpolitik & Sectarian strife: A re-appraisal of Fatimid rule in Syria – Shainool Jiwa’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference, Washington, DC
- Esoteric Explorations of the Sharī‘a, the path to the Divine: A Fatimid Exposition – Nadia Eboo-Jamal’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference, Washington, DC
- A Newly Discovered Treatise from the Earliest Fatimid Period – Professor Paul E. Walker’s Presentation at MESA 2014 Conference, Washington, DC
- Event – November 22-25 | Washington DC: 2014 Annual Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Meeting with Ismaili Scholars
- Scholars from IIS, Harvard, and Indiana host panels on Ismaili History and Philosophy at MESA 2014
Earlier, Ismaili Studies, from Ismailimail Archives:
- Carleton University in Canada invites Papers for International Ismaili Studies Conference
- Governor Pat Quinn’s Welcome Letter for the Ismaili Studies Conference
- Reporting from Ismaili Studies Conference – University of Chicago
- Event – October 18 | University of Chicago – Logan Center for the Arts: Ismaili Studies Conference – Public Music Engagement – Silk Road Rising
- Event – October 18 | University of Chicago: Islamicate Studies Symposium
- Event – October 18 | University of Chicago: Ismaili Studies Conference and Islamicate Studies Symposium – Teaching Islam
- Event – October 16-17 | University of Chicago: Ismaili Studies Conference
- Khalil Andani’s Presentation in Chicago: Revelation in the Thought of Nasir-i Khusraw
- Event – October 16-17 | Chicago: First Ever “Ismaili Studies Conference” at University of Chicago
Be the First to Know – Join Ismailimail
Get breaking news related to the Ismaili Imamat, the Noorani Family, the world wide Ismaili Jamat and all their endeavors and successes.
Learn how to subscribe and join 17,000 + other amazing people – Subscribe now!
Our Recommendations:
Ismailimail 