Until the middle of the 20th century, the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. were studied and judged almost exclusively on the basis of evidence collected or fabricated by their enemies. As a result, a variety of myths and legends circulated widely, both in Muslim societies and in the West, regarding the teachings and practices of the Ismailis. The breakthrough in Ismaili studies came with the recovery and study gf numerous genuine Ismaili texts that had been preserved in private collections in India, Central Asia, Syria, Yaman and other regions. Many of these texts have been edited, translated and published since the 1950s, thus contributing to the impressive progress in modem Ismaili scholarship.
In this work, Farhad Daftary takes stock of the progress in Ismaili studies from pre-modern and early modern times until today. After a general survey of Ismaili history and the relevant primary sources for its different periods, and an overview of Ismaili studies, the author presents an annotated listing of all published primary sources produced in medieval and early modern times, by Ismaili authors as well as other Muslims, on Ismaili history and doctrines.
The book also contains a comprehensive bibliography of secondary studies, covering all aspects of Ismaili history and thought, Fatimid political history and institutions, as well as art and archaeology. In addition, certain peripheral yet relevant areas of study have been covered to various extents, such as the famous Ikhw膩n al-峁f膩示From Arabic, lit. 鈥楤rethren of Purity鈥, a group of learned scholars who were based in Basra and Baghdad around the last quarter of the t10th century CE. It is more… and the Druzes who originally split away from the Ismailis in the 5th/11th century. A selection of Ismaili-related theses and lists of Ismaili imams and 诲腻士墨Lit. ‘summoner,’ a term for missionary amongst various Muslim communities, especially used among the Ismailis before and during the Fatimid period as well as in the Alamut period of Ismaili…s have also been included. In terms of different languages, publications in Arabic, Persian, Tajik (Cyrillic) and Urdu are represented in a comprehensive manner; and similarly, all studies in the main European languages have been covered.
The result of more than three decades of research, Dr. Daftary鈥檚 Ismaili Literature will be an invaluable work of reference and essential tool of research for scholars and students of general Islamic and Ismaili studies.
Preface
Abbreviations
1. Ismaili History and its Literary Sources
2. Ismaili Studies: Medieval Antecedents and Modern Developments
3. Primary Sources
A. Works by Ismaili Authors
B. Collective Ismaili Works
C. Anonymous Ismaili and Pseudo-Ismaili Works
D. Ras膩士il Ikhw膩n al-峁f膩士, by an Anonymous Group of Authors
E. Selected Works by Non-Ismaili Muslim Authors
4. Studies
5. Selected Theses
Appendix: Genealogical Tables and Lists
鈥楢n excellent book that will help to systematize Isma鈥榠li studies and be a useful reference work for scholars in this field鈥
– Moojan Momen, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
鈥榓 fine work and should find a ready home in the reference section of any Middle East or Islamic studies collection.鈥
– Erik S. Ohlander, MELA NOTES
Farhad Daftary is Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at 久久久福利国产. He is consulting editor of Encyclopaedia Islamica, a member of the Advisory Board of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd edition), as well as the general editor of 鈥業smaili Heritage Series鈥 and 鈥業smaili Texts and Translations Series鈥. He is the author and editor of several acclaimed books and numerous articles in the field of Ismaili studies. His publications include The Ism膩士墨l墨s: Their History and Doctrines (1990), The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma士ilis (1994), Mediaeval Isma士ili History and Thought (1996), A Short History of the Ismailis (1998), and Intellectual Traditions in Islam (2000).