The eminent Muslim scholar al-Shahrast膩n墨, who may have been a crypto-Ismaili, wrote the Majlis-i makt奴b in the final years of his life, some time between 538/1143 and his death in 548/1153. No longer in government service and having withdrawn to the village of Shahrast膩na, in Khur膩s膩n, it is possible that he felt he could express his personal beliefs more openly than hitherto. At any event, the Ismaili character of the work has been noted in the past and this element of the Majlis receives further confirmation in this new edition and translation. Its theme is the Divine Command, Be! (kunIn the Qur鈥檃n, the divine imperative (amr), meaning 鈥楤e,鈥 (as in Q. 2:117: 鈥榳hen He decrees a thing, He but says to it: 鈥榖e鈥 and it is鈥). Ismaili Neoplatonist authors…) and Creation, a topic central to the Ismaili understanding of cosmology. This theme is presented in the form of a sermon (飞补士锄) comparable to the sermons of the great Fatimid 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…, al-Mu示ayyad fi鈥檒-D墨n al-Sh墨r膩z墨 (d. 470/1078) collected in his al-Maj膩lis al-Mu示ayyadiyya, or those of the medieval Persian poets R奴m墨 and Sa士d墨.
The style of the Majlis is varied, immediate and engaging, and it includes logical argumentation as well as two dramatic duologues, between God and 滨产濒墨蝉The name given in the Qur鈥檃n to the Devil, mostly when he is said to have refused to bow down before Adam (Q. 2:34, etc,). Also called al-shay峁乶 (鈥榯he demon鈥)… and then Moses and Khidr. In the course of the sermon al-Shahrast膩n墨 challenges the arguments of various theological schools, including the Ash士ar墨s, Mu士tazil墨s and the Karr膩m墨s, as well as those of the philosophers. In the end it is the mystical truths of the enigmatic Khidr that he affirms. The concepts he outlines here went on to influence later Ismaili ideas, notably those concerning the declaration of the 辩颈测腻尘补迟 by the fourth lord of Alam奴t, 岣san II 士al膩 dhikrihi鈥檒-sal膩m, which took place in 559 /1164. As a result, this new edition and translation of the Majlis-i makt奴b by Daryoush Mohammad Poor is an important addition to the study of early Niz膩r墨 Ismaili thought and provides a unique insight for anyone seeking to explore Islamic thought of the medieval era in general.
Preface
Introduction
Majlis-i makt奴b mun士aqid dar Khw膩rzm (English translation)
Select Bibliography
Index
Index of Qur示anic Citations
Index of Qur示anic Citations (Arabic)
Majlis-i makt奴b mun士aqid dar Khw膩rzm (Persian edition)
Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Academic Research and Publications at the Institute of Ismaili Studies and a lecturer for its Department of Graduate Studies. His first monograph, Authority without Territory: The Aga Khan Development NetworkThe Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the ethics and social conscience of Islam through institutional action. More and the Ismaili Imamate (2014) is a fresh theoretical engagement with contemporary institutions of the Ismaili imamate. As part of the Diamond Jubilee publications of the 鸟大大影院, he has co-edited and translated the autobiography of Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. I, with Daniel Beben, under the title of The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam (2018).