Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood

by Sumaiya A. Hamdani

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.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2007

Reviews

[Tariq Mustafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insider history of the Ismailia movement within Islam written as a distant history. The book gives an interesting account of how the religious movement was (surprise!) got some surprise support from characters from the prevalent Sunni faction figures who joined the movement and gave it some of its necessary support structures of legal, theological works.

For someone who has seen the contemporary Ismaili Muslims up close from my early school days, I was thrilled to discover the more conventional Arabic and Quranic aspects of the faith of the movement. The historic accounts of the various Dai's detailed in the book also makes for interesting reading and the author has done a good job in bringing them out as characters of reason and logic with a strong desire to lead and serve the community they preside.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

در کتاب حاضر، مهم‌ترین آثار متکلم و فقیه قرن دهم قمری، «قاضی نعمان» بررسی می‌شود. نوشته‌های قاضی نعمان، ژانرها و نوع‌های ادبی جدید و مهمی را عرضه کرده که منجر به بروز تحولی در ادبیات شیعی ـ اسماعیلی شده است. قاضی که در دوره فاطمیان از شهرت و اعتبار برخوردار بود، در نوشته‌های خود تاریخچه‌ای از نخستین موفقیت‌های فاطمیان به همراه عقاید فقه اسماعیلیه درباره مشروعیت و نحوه شکل‌گیری مکتب فاطمیان را ارائه کرده است. در این کتاب، همه جوانب و نگاه‌های قاضی نعمان بررسی و تحلیل‌های دقیقی از آراء و اندیشه‌های او مطرح شده است.