The Fatimid period was the golden age of Ismaili thought and literature, when the Shi士ite Ismaili Imams ruled over the vast areas of the Muslim world as the Fatimid caliphs and 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. made important contributions to Islamic civilization.
In this book, Heinz Halm investigates from a historical perspective the intellectual traditions that developed among the Ismailis from the rise of the Fatimid state in North Africa to the cultural brilliance of what the author calls 鈥榦ne of the great eras in Egyptian history and in Islamic history in general.鈥
The topics discussed include the training of the Ismaili 诲腻士墨蝉 or missionaries, the establishment of academic institutions such as al-AzharA major mosque and institution of learning founded in Cairo by the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mu士izz (d. 975). and the D膩r al-士IlmLit. 鈥楬ouse of Knowledge,鈥 an institution of learning established in Cairo by the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-岣つ乲im (d. 1021). See also Dar al-岣kma. (House of Knowledge) through which the FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973鈥1171) More encouraged learning, and the special 鈥榮essions of wisdom鈥 (尘补箩腻濒颈蝉Pl. of majlis; a term which literally means ‘a place to sit’ and refers to any formal gathering or assembly of peoples. 补濒-岣办尘补) for advanced instruction in Ismaili esoteric teachings.
Preface
Introduction
1. The Ismaili Mission and the Fatimid Caliphate
2. The Mission of the 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 and the 鈥楾eaching Sessions鈥
3. The Fatimids in Egypt
4. Ismaili Teaching and Learning: 岷撃乭颈谤The outward, apparent or exoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescriptions, from which the 产腻峁璱苍 is educed. and 产腻峁璱苍The inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescription, often contrasted with 岷撃乭颈谤. See also 产腻峁璱苍墨 ta示w墨l and B膩峁璱niyya.
5. The Organisation of the 诲补士飞补Lit. ‘summons’, ‘mission’ or invitation to Islam. Amongst Shi’i Muslims, it was the invitation to adopt the cause of the Imamat. It also refers more specifically to the hierarchy of…
6. Al鈥撫袱膩kim鈥檚 鈥楬ouse of Knowledge鈥
7. Scientific Institutions under the Fatimids
Epilogue
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Heinz Halm is Professor of Islamic history at the University of Tubingen and Editor of Die Welt des Orients. A leading German Islamicist and an authority in Ismaili studies, he is author of numerous books, including Kosmologie und Heilslehre der fr眉hen Isma’iliya (Wiesbaden, 1978), Die islamische Gnosis (Zurich, 1982), Shiism (Islamic Surveys, Edinburgh 1991), and The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids (Leiden, 1996).