Salvation and destiny in Islam: the Shiʻi Ismaili perspective of Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirm̄anī

New York: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies ; (2018)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Medieval Islamic philosophers were occupied with questions of cosmology, predestination and salvation and human responsibility for actions. For Ismailis, the related notions of religious leadership, namely the imamate, and the eschatological role of the prophets and imams were equally central. These were also a matter of doctrinal controversy within the so-called Iranian school of Ismaili philosophical theology. Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani (d. after 411/1020) was one of the most important theologians in the Fatimid period, who rose to prominence during the reign of the imam-caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 386/996–411/1021). He is renowned for blending the Neoplatonic philosophical heritage with Ismaili religious tradition. This book provides an analysis of al-Kirmani’s thought and sheds new light on the many layers of allusion which characterise his writings. Through a translation and analytical commentary of the eighth chapter of al-Kirmani’s Kitab al-Riyad (Book of Meadows), which is devoted to the subject of divine preordination and human redemption, Maria De Cillis shows readers first-hand his theologically distinctive interpretation of qada’ and qadar (divine decree and destiny). Here, al-Kirmani attempts to harmonise the views of earlier renowned Ismaili missionaries, Abu Hatim Ahmad b. Hamdan al-Razi (d. 322/934), Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Nasafi (d. 331/942) and Abu Ya'qub Ishaq b. Ahmad al-Sijistani (d. c. 361/971). De Cillis skilfully guides the reader through al-Kirmani’s metaphysical and esoteric correspondences, offering new insights into Shi’i/Ismaili philosophical thought which will be of great interest to those in the field of Shi’i studies and, more broadly, to scholars of medieval philosophy.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Faith and ethics: the vision of the Ismaili Imamat.M. Ali Lakhani - 2018 - New York: I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.
Paradise of submission: a medieval treatise on Ismaili thought.Nasir al-Din al-Tusi - 2005 - New York: I.B. Tauris in association with Institute of Ismaili Studies. Edited by S. J. Badakhchani, Christian Jambet & Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ṭūsī.
Ismaili faith, fundamentals, and philosophy.A. M. Sadaruddin (ed.) - 1974 - [Nairobi: Shia Imami Ismailia Association for Kenya.
Al-Ghazālī and the Ismailis: a debate on reason and authority in medieval Islam.Farouk Mitha - 2001 - New York: Distributed in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press.
Religious Pluralism and Salvation.John Hick - 1988 - Faith and Philosophy 5 (4):365-377.
Zod-ul-musofirin.Nāṣir-I. Khusraw - 2010 - Dushanbe: Shujoiën.
Many ways to God, many ways to salvation.Syafa'atun Almirzanah - 2021 - HTS Theological Studies 77 (2):1-10.

Analytics

Added to PP
2022-12-06

Downloads
5 (#1,344,154)

6 months
3 (#445,838)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references