Friday, December 6, 2024

IIS Publications - 2024












IIS News

Publications
The Institute of Ismaili Studies has been busy this year. We have published four new books and two translations of our previously published texts. Follow the links below to purchase directly from our publishers.




Dr Fârès Gillon | Available in Open Access

Editor and translator, Dr Fârès Gillon expertly ties together the disparate themes of the text to make it accessible to readers today. The Book of Unveiling is essential reading for anyone interested in early Fatimid doctrine and discourse. Dr Gillon originally published the text in French under the title Religion en Formation (Religion in Formation).

To learn more about The Book of Unveiling, watch this interview with Dr Fârès Gillon:



Watch the interview




Miklós Sárközy | Now available

This work is a fresh investigation of the history of the Alamut era of the Nizari Ismaili community, concentrating on the local politics of the remote mountainous Caspian region in northern Iran. Author Miklós Sárközy pulls from a variety of first- and second-hand sources to detail the interactions between the Nizaris and other regional powers in historic Mazandaran: detailing the antagonism and strained alliances between competing states. The text also includes translated extracts of Diwan-i Qa’imiyyat and other sources documenting the events of the Qiyama on 8 August 1164.



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Rahim Gholami | Now available

This text by Nāṣir-i Khusraw is considered to be an adaptation of Abu Ya’qub al-Sijistani’s Kitāb al-Yanābīʿ, contextualising the language and cultural content for a Persian audience. Khwan al-ikhwan stands as a significant work in Ismaili theology and philosophy, exemplifying the central role of ta'wil (esoteric interpretation). It also reflects how Ismaili da’is drew upon the learning of the age, including the conception of a geocentric cosmos, Aristotelian physics, and Neoplatonic philosophy, to conceptualize Ismaili understandings of the relationship between God and creation and the development of the soul in their ta’wil of authoritative Muslim sources including the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet and the Imams.





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Omar Alí-de-Unzaga | Available for pre-orderEditor and translator Dr Omar Alí-de-Unzaga has crafted an in-depth introduction to allow readers to easily cross-reference the text with its context while reading, a new approach for the series. The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity was a medieval encyclopaedic text associated with the early Ismaili movement that fosters humanistic and cosmopolitan ethics. This volume in particular focuses on the ethical makeup of people and how we interact with both divine and human law.



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IIS Open Access
As part of our ongoing initiatives to make IIS publications more accessible to our academic and community audiences, we have released 14 books in Open Access, in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing. Check out the listing below to access the titles that fall under each series. Each book is now free to read in digital formats (e.g., on your computer, tablet, phone, or eReader).

Open Access


Shiʿi Heritage Series

This series was launched in 2014 to promote a better understanding of the doctrines and practices of Shiʿi Islam in historical and contemporary manifestations. Because each book pulls from different sources, each one can appeal to different audiences.

Open Access books in the series:

The Book of Unveiling: Early Fatimid Doctrine in the Kitab al-Kashf attributed to Jaʿfar b. Mansur al-Yaman

The Renaissance of Shiʿi Islam: Facets of Thought and Practice

Words of Power: Hurufi Teachings between Shi’ism and Sufism in Medieval Islam

A History of Shiʿi Islam Ismaili Heritage Series

This series shines a spotlight on Ismaili history, thought, and traditions. These books take a historical, academic approach and provide a lot of detail on the subjects they cover. Rich with citations, these books are excellent for researchers of these subjects.

Open Access books in this series:

Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveler and Philosopher.

Central Asian Ismailis: An Annotated Bibliography of Russian, Tajik, and other sources.

Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia

Other Open Access books

Texts, Scribes, and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Community and Beyond

A Companion to the Muslim World

Civil Society in the Muslim World: Contemporary Perspectives

The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam

A Modern History of the Ismailis: Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community

An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, Vol 2: Ismaili Thought in the Classical Age

Diversity and Pluralism in Islam: Historical and Contemporary Discourses Amongst Muslims.



Upcoming Events
What happened to half of humanity? | Arabic and Islamic History
Yasmin Amin explores the Qur’anic term al-insān al-kāmil and its application to both men and women in an Arabic-language lecture on 9 January at 4:30pm BST.

Al-Sijistānī Explains the Qāʾim: who, when, what | Islamic History and Thought
Paul E Walker explores the Qāʾim, and his role in spiritual resurrection, in early Ismaili thought through the work of al-Sijistani. The latest Islamic History and Thought lecture will be held online on 13 February at 17.00 BST

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Events at IIS
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  • Theologies of Truth and Salvation in Catholic Christianity and Ash'ari Islam
    Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour analytically and critically compares the historical development of Catholic theologies of truth and salvation with similar developments in Islamic theological traditions.
  • Time for Atoms
    Dr David Bennett examines three key problems that illustrate kalām reckoning with developments in contemporaneous theories of time and causality: volition and the temporal process of thought; the so-called “ceasing instant” problem (when did “now” end?); and the Muʿtazilite theory of secondary causality (the efficacy of intermediate, generated states).

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