Welcome to the inaugural edition of our weekly digest, where we showcase the top 7 articles from the past week in the field of Ismāʿīlī Studies. This carefully curated selection highlights the most compelling and influential research, discussions, and discoveries that have captured the attention of scholars and enthusiasts alike. Dive into this week's selection to stay at the forefront of academic exploration in Ismāʿīlī Studies.
Top 7 Posts
Ismaili Ta'wil of Religious Rites: Interpretation of Obligatory Prayer in Ja'far b. Mansur al-Yaman's Rida fi l-Batin
Abstract: In what was labelled “exaggerating” Shiʿism (ghuluww) by various Islamic orthodoxies (Twelver Shiʿism, Sunnism, and Fatimid Ismailism), it was commonly held that the Islamic prescriptions had to be interpreted as referring to specific persons (ashkhāṣ)—which sometimes led to antinomianism. Stemming from this tradition, Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yama…
Early Swahili Mosques: The Role of Ibadi and Ismaili Communities, Ninth to Twelfth Centuries
“The role of trade has been crutial in the process of Islamisation in sub-Saharan Africa. Arab, Berber, Persian and Indian merchants spread Islam across the vast geographic areas of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean. The first African converts were among the elite, most often merchants and local leaders. Islamised cities and kingdoms quickly took advantag…
La réorganisation du système judiciaire fatimide sous al-Muizz [The reorganization of the Fatimid judicial system under al-Muizz]
Résumé: Le décret émis par la chancellerie de l’Imam-calife fatimide al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh en 343/954 nomme Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad (m. 363/974) aux plus hautes charges judiciaires de l’État en Ifrīqiya. Al-Nuʿmān copia ce décret dans son Kitāb Iḫtilāf uṣūl al-maḏāhib (La divergence des principes juridiques des écoles de droit), un ouvrage de …