Between Revolution and State

Between Revolution and State PDF Author: Sumaiya Hamdani
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This book examines the most important writings of a tenth century Islamic theologian and jurist who was one of the most original thinkers of his period. It argues that Qadi al-Nu'man's works constituted new and vital genres in Ismaili Shi'i literature, an emergence necessitated by the Fatimids' transition from revolutionary movement to statehood, and by their desire to establish their authority as a Shi'i alternative to the Sunni Abbasid caliphate. Al-Nu'man, already famous in the Fatimid era, produced a legacy which consists of a school of law, historical and biographical works, new interpretations of Ismaili doctrine, and the formulation of a ceremonial language achieved through his work on court protocol. Between Revolution and State represents a sophisticated and readable analysis of one of the seminal figures of the Fatimid period.

Between Revolution and State

Between Revolution and State PDF Author: Sumaiya Hamdani
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the most important writings of a tenth century Islamic theologian and jurist who was one of the most original thinkers of his period. It argues that Qadi al-Nu'man's works constituted new and vital genres in Ismaili Shi'i literature, an emergence necessitated by the Fatimids' transition from revolutionary movement to statehood, and by their desire to establish their authority as a Shi'i alternative to the Sunni Abbasid caliphate. Al-Nu'man, already famous in the Fatimid era, produced a legacy which consists of a school of law, historical and biographical works, new interpretations of Ismaili doctrine, and the formulation of a ceremonial language achieved through his work on court protocol. Between Revolution and State represents a sophisticated and readable analysis of one of the seminal figures of the Fatimid period.

Apocalyptic History of the Early Fatimid Empire

Apocalyptic History of the Early Fatimid Empire PDF Author: Jamel Velji
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748690891
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Explores the role of apocalyptic symbolism in the formation and maintenance of a medieval Islamic empireHow can religion transform a society? This book investigates the ways in which a medieval Islamic movement harnessed Quranic visions of utopia to construct one of the most brilliant and lasting empires in Islamic history (979-1171). The Fatimids apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth century. Yet the realities that they faced on the ground often challenged their status as the custodians of a pristine Islam at the end of time.Through a detailed examination of some of the structural features of the Fatimid revolution, as well as early works of ta'wil, or symbolic interpretation, Jamel Velji illustrates how the Fatimids conceived of their mission as one that would bring about an imminent utopia. He then examines how the Fatimids reinterpreted their place in history when the expected end never materialised. The book ends with an extensive discussion of another apocalyptic event linked to a Fatimid lineage: the Nizari Ismaili declaration of the end of time on August 8, 1164.Key featuresIntroduces selected themes, texts and theoretical problems in early Fatimid history and thought to those unfamiliar with Islam or the Shia tradition Explores the nature of apocalyptic rhetoric, what constitutes an apocalypse and how apocalyptic prophecies can be reinterpretedUses techniques from religious studies and rhetorical analysis on data from the Fatimid tradition, showing how Islam can contribute to broader discussions in the history of religionsContains extensive translations from two Fatimid texts, including: the Kitab al-Kashf (Book of unveiling), and Qadi l-Nu'mans Ta'wil al-da'a'im (Symbolic interpretation of his Pillars of Islam)

The Almohad Revolution

The Almohad Revolution PDF Author: Maribel Fierro
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351219480
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 527

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Book Description
The studies in this collection comprise a series of explorations into the revolutionary character of the Almohad movement in medieval North Africa and Spain and how it was expressed, including through compelling visual and auditory means. Almohad silver coins were minted square instead of round, and they carried no date, as if to indicate that a new era had begun. The new age was symbolized in the texts appearing on the coins, reminding Muslims that 'God is our Lord, Muhammad is our Prophet, the Mahdi is our imam', and that a new caliphate had begun. Almoravid mosques were purified and attempts were made to correct their orientation (qibla). Also, both non-Almohad Muslims and non-Muslims were obliged to learn the Almohad profession of faith, in what was in fact a forced conversion to the Almohad understanding of true religion. New scholarly elites - entrusted with the propagation and maintenance of Almohad beliefs and practices - were created by the Almohad caliphs. Philosophy flourished with Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) serving the new rulers. These articles by Professor Fierro are an attempt at explaining what put in motion such a revolution, how it developed and changed, and the influences it had both in the Islamic and non Islamic worlds. Eight of the studies have been translated into English, from Spanish and French, specially for publication here.

كتاب اختلاف أصول المذاهب

كتاب اختلاف أصول المذاهب PDF Author: Abū Ḥanīfah Nuʻmān ibn Muḥammad
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814763758
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
A masterful overview of Islamic law and its diversity Al-Qadi al-Nu'man was the chief legal theorist and ideologue of the North African Fatimid dynasty in the tenth century. This translation makes available in English for the first time his major work on Islamic legal theory, which presents a legal model in support of the Fatimids’ principle of legitimate rule over the Islamic community. Composed as part of a grand project to establish the theoretical bases of the official Fatimid legal school, Disagreements of the Jurists expounds a distinctly Shi'i system of hermeneutics, which refutes the methods of legal interpretation adopted by Sunni jurists. The work begins with a discussion of the historical causes of jurisprudential divergence in the first Islamic centuries, and goes on to address, point by point, the specific interpretive methods of Sunni legal theory, arguing that they are both illegitimate and ineffective. While its immediate mission is to pave the foundation of the legal Isma'ili tradition, the text also preserves several Islamic legal theoretical works no longer extant—including Ibn Dawud’s manual, al-Wusul ila ma'rifat al-usul—and thus throws light on a critical stage in the historical development of Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) that would otherwise be lost to history. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Encounters with the Hidden Imam in Early and Pre-Modern Twelver Shīʿī Islam

Encounters with the Hidden Imam in Early and Pre-Modern Twelver Shīʿī Islam PDF Author: Omid Ghaemmaghami
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004413154
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The history of Twelver Shīʿī Islam is a history of attempts to deal with the abrupt loss of the Imam. In Encounters with the Hidden Imam in Early and Pre- Modern Twelver Shīʿī Islam, Omid Ghaemmaghami demonstrates that in the early years of what came to be known as the Greater Occultation, Shīʿī authorities maintained that all contact with the Imam had been sundered, forcing him to remain incommunicado until his (re)appearance . This position, however, proved untenable to maintain. Almost a century after the start of the Greater Occultation, prominent scholars began to concede the possibility that some Shīʿa can meet the Hidden Imam. Accounts of encounters with the Imam from the Greater Occultation soon began to appear, adumbrating their exponential growth in later centuries.

Violence in Islamic Thought from the QurASA?Ae?n to the Mongols

Violence in Islamic Thought from the QurASA?Ae?n to the Mongols PDF Author: Robert Gleave
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 147440345X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This volume brings together some of the leading researchers on early Islamic history and thought to study the legitimacy of violence.

les Fatimides et la mer (909-1171)

les Fatimides et la mer (909-1171) PDF Author: David Bramoullé
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004410643
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 776

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Book Description
The Fatimids (10th - 12th centuries C.E) are known to have been the first Shiite caliphal dynasty and to have founded Cairo, the city that became their capital in 973 when they left Tunisia for Egypt. During their reign, the Fatimids built an effective war fleet that inflicted several defeats on Christian navies. This is the first study on the Fatimid naval force and, more generally, on the role of the sea for the Fatimids whose territories touched both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The documentation presented in this study demonstrates how, in the course of two centuries, this Ismaeli dynasty set up a maritime policy and developed a communication strategy in which their control of the sea helped legitimize their universalist claims against competing powers. Les Fatimides (10e -12e s. ap. J.-C) sont connus pour avoir été la première dynastie califale chiite et pour avoir fondé Le Caire qui devint leur capitale à partir de 973 lorsque la dynastie quitta la Tunisie actuelle pour s’installer en Egypte et prendre possession d’un empire qui s’étendait de l’Algérie orientale jusqu’à la Syrie en passant par la Sicile et certains territoires de la péninsule arabique. Durant leur règne, ils disposèrent d’une flotte de guerre efficace qui infligea plusieurs défaites aux marines chrétiennes. Au-delà de la chronologie des batailles navales, aucune étude n’existait sur le rôle de cette force navale et plus généralement sur le rôle de la mer pour les Fatimides dont les territoires touchaient à la fois la Méditerranée et la mer Rouge. La documentation met pourtant en évidence que sur durant plus de deux siècles, les Fatimides mirent en place une politique maritime qui dépassait largement les considérations militaires. Ils développèrent ainsi une stratégie de communication dans laquelle la mer jouait un rôle majeur pour à la fois légitimer les prétentions universalistes de cette dynastie ismaélienne face à des pouvoirs concurrents et pour lui permettre de survivre.

The Fatimid Caliphate

The Fatimid Caliphate PDF Author: Farhad Daftary
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786723093
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies The Fatimids ruled much of the Mediterranean world for over two centuries. From the conquest of Qayrawan in 909 to defeat at the hands of Saladin in 1171, the Fatimid caliphate governed a vast area stretching, at its peak, from the Red Sea in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West. Their leaders - the Ismaili Shi`i Imam-caliphs - were distinctive in largely pursuing a policy of tolerance towards the religious and ethnic communities of their realm, and they embraced diverse approaches to the practicalities of administering a vast empire. Such methods of negotiating government and diversity created a lasting pluralistic legacy. The present volume, edited by Farhad Daftary and Shainool Jiwa, brings together a series of original contributions from a number of leading authorities in the field. Based on analyses of primary sources, the chapters shed fresh light on the impact of Fatimid rule. The book presents little explored aspects of state-society relations such as the Fatimid model of the vizierate, Sunni legal responses to Fatimid observance, and the role of women in prayer. Highlighting the distinctive nature of the Fatimid empire and its legacy, this book will be of special interest to researchers in mediaeval Islamic history and thought.

The Early History of Ismaili Jurisprudence

The Early History of Ismaili Jurisprudence PDF Author: Agostino Cilardo
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178672460X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Researchers have shed light on the literary production of the Ismailis since the early 1930s. The cataloguing of these work has been carried out by Ivanow, Fyzee, Goriawala, Poonawala, Gacek, Cortese and de Bloise. Many works attributable to Ismaili scholars, however, are still unavailable either because they remain hidden in private collections or because they have not survived. Ismaili law, in particular, is still a largely unexplored field of study. Al-Qadi Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man is generally considered the founder and greatest exponent of Ismaili jurisprudence, Many of his works have been lost, and information on some others is scattered; yet other works remain in manuscript form, and only a few have been published. The present book is a critical edition and translation of al-Nu'man's Minhaj al-fara'id, based on its three known copies. It deals with the law of inheritance, one of the most complex in Islamic law. In comparing the Minhaj with two published works (the Da'a'im al-Islam and Kitab al-iqtisar) as well as a manuscript (Mukhtasar al-athar) of al-Nu'man, a significant doctrinal evolution clearly emerges, reflecting his early Maliki training and then his work under four Fatimid imams. Ismaili law is also compared with the doctrines of the Imami school as well as the legal system of the four Sunni schools. This book thus allows us to determine the time of the composition of the Minhaj al-fara id, the development and the originality of Ismaili jurisprudence, and its relation to other schools of law.

Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia

Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia PDF Author: Ivy Corfis
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047441540
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The 12 articles of this volume show the many facets of contact in al-Andalus and Medieval Iberia, reminding us of how contact influenced art and learning in a wide range of fields: politics, science, philosophy, music and religion; offering views of how contact between societies affects both language, stereotype and assimilation; examining how war and conflict (re)define the representation of ideas, places and people; and demonstrating how representations changed over time through contact and conflict. Lessons of the past apply today as al-Andalus captures the modern imagination and cultures continue to come into contact across borders which either allow fluid diffusion of ideas or block passage.