Papers resulting from a 2010 colloquium sponsored by the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

In English and Arabic.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. History and Historiography. Introduction / Wilferd Madelung -- Reflections on the Expression din 'Ali : The Origins of the Shi'i Faith / Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi -- The Study of the Ismailis : Phases and Issues / Farhad Daftary -- Al-Maqrizis Connection to the Fatimids / Nasser Rabbat. Part II. The Qur'an and its Shi'i interpretations. Introduction / Meir M. Bar-Asher -- What Defines a (Pre-modern) Shi'i Tafsir? Notes Towards the History of the Genre of Tafsir in Islam, in Light of the Study of the Shi'i Contribution / Andrew Rippin -- The Tafsir of al-Hibari (d. 286/899) : Qur'anic Exegesis and Early Shi'i Esotericism / Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi -- The Empire Writes Back : Fatimid Ismaili Ta'wil (Allegoresis) and the Mysteries of the Ancient Greeks / David Hollenberg The Authority to Interpret the Qur'an / Meir M. Bar-Asher. Part III. Shi'i Hadith. Introduction / Etan Kohlberg -- Writing and Resistance : The Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Early Shi'ism / Maria Massi Dakake -- Pre-Buyid Hadith Literature: The Case of al-Barqi from Qumm (d. 274/888 or 280/894) in Twelve Sections / Roy Vilozny -- The Story of 'Pen and Paper' and its Interpretation in Muslim Literary and Historical Tradition / Gurdofarid Miskinzoda. Part IV. Shi'i law. Introduction / Mohyddin Yahia -- Renunciation (Zuhd) in the Early Shi'i Tradition / Christopher Melchert -- The Evolution of al-Qadi al-Nu'man's Theory of Ismaili Jurisprudence as Reflected in the Chronology of his Works on Jurisprudence / Ismail K. Poonawala -- The Theory of Mal among the Zaydis / Sayyid Zayd al-Wazir. Part V. Authority. Introduction / Andrew J. Newman -- 'Seeking the Face of God' : The Safawid Hikmat Tradition's Conceptualisation of Walaya Takwiniyya / Sajjad Rizvi -- The Role of the Imam-caliph as Depicted in Official Treatises and Documents Issued by the Fatimids / Paul E. Walker -- Minority Reports : Twelver Shi'i Disputations and Authority in the Buyid Period / Andrew J. Newman. Part VI. Theology. Introduction / Wilferd Madelung -- Early Imami Theology as Reflected in the Kitab al-kafi of al-KuIayni / Wilferd Madelung -- Al-Shaykh al-Tusi: His Writings on Theology and their Reception / Hassan Ansari and Sabine Schmidtke. Part VII. Rites and Rituals. Introduction / Gerald R. Hawting -- Ashura Rituals, Identity and Politics : A Comparative Approach (Lebanon and India) / Sabrina Mervin -- The Luminous Lamp : The Practice of Chiragh-i rawshan among the Ismailis of Central Asia / Hakim Elnazarov. Part VIII. Philosophy and Intellectual Traditions. Introduction / Daniel De Smet -- Shahrastani's Hanif Revelation : A Shi'i Philosophico-Hermeneutical System / Toby Mayer -- Philosophising at the Margins of Shi'i Studies : Reflections on Ibn Sina's Ontology / Nader El-Bizri.